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Double Click on the padlet itself.

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My huge lecture courses that I had to take even thought they didn't really apply to my major always made us buy some sort of book whether online or tangible. A lot of the time the information in those books were in all the powerpoints and so I genuinely didn't even need them. It was really frustrating.

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I feel like textbooks are almost useless in today's life. I don't think I have actually referred to a textbook for a question. Yet, I am required to spend lots of money on these textbooks. I feel as if they are almost useless and not needed.

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For the most part, the textbooks are not worth it. Homework assignments might pull straight from the textbook and not what your professor has taught in class. This can be frustrating because having the textbook will help you with the assignment, but that's about it. To prepare for exams, the most useful resources are notes, presentation slides, and practice problems.

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Even though I'm only a freshman, I have not bought a single textbook. I've found alternate versions online through amazon that I can access through Kindle. Most of my classes require textbooks, but I can't bring myself to buy something that's expensive and will never be used again.

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I had an intro to creative writing class, where we "needed" three books for the class, and we had to have the physical copies with us every class period because we would read aloud to each other. We did this maybe one time for only one of the books, and the other two just sat in my bag hurting my shoulders.

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I had an intro to creative writing class, where we "needed" three books for the class, and we had to have the physical copies with us every class period because we would read aloud to each other. We did this maybe one time for only one of the books, and the other two just sat in my bag hurting my shoulders.

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I bought an $80 textbook, have not opened/used it other than one time. The information I did find though was easily searched online, it was a very big waste of money.

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Many of the textbooks I have been forced to buy have been the online textbooks that are automatically bought for you unless you opt out, but they aren’t worth the cost just to lose access after the course ends. The only physical textbooks I have bought have been ones related to my major and future career that I would like to physically own. Other than that I see no point to pay for a textbook I won’t be able to use after the course is over.

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I had a professor last year tell us that there was an expensive textbook that we didn’t necessarily need for the current class, but that classes he taught beyond it would utilize. I didn’t buy the textbook and I’m glad, I’ve taken every course he teaches here and we never used it…

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If textbooks are required, they should be used in class

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If textbooks are required, they should be used in class

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I have a class that required a textbook, but the teacher has yet to mention the textbook or use it during her teaching.

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Textbook cost for most of my courses has been associated with a rather expensive document that is scarcely used beyond referring to homework problems. However, this was a much bigger issue in my gen ed courses as opposed to the majority of my engineering coursework.

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As someone who is going into their senior year, I believe that even though most professors don't use the textbook for their own exams or assignments it is still valuable to buy textbooks, especially in the academic field that is your major. I think with the impact of COVID especially coming in to college having the textbook allowed me to get insights and different perspectives on topic that my be prevalent to my major. While it does suck having to pay exuberant amounts of money, it should still be in everyone's best interest to further their education and their understanding of a topic.

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It is unnecessary to require students, who are already paying thousands of dollars, to buy textbooks that are hundreds of dollars.

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As a senior I have tried not to buy textbooks since I was a freshman. I wait until the book is absolutely required for assignments and still will weigh if the assignment is worth spending the money on the book.

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I believe OER should be used in any and all courses possible. Expensive textbooks reduce access and make it very difficult for students. They cause unnecessary headaches for students on a tighter budget, and often times aren't even needed in the courses requiring them.

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My personal experience has led me to believe that textbooks may not be helpful all the time but can be a turning point for a student. My first resource when I cannot understand material or homework questions is gonna be the textbook. I know most students would say that is not very helpful since the textbook just explains simple problems and or only shows the theory. Usually this is all I need to get a break through on a problem. The second case I have found with the textbook being helpful is with professor who lectures with slides that cut and paste the information from the textbook. In my personal experience with engineering, sometimes the information cut and pasted into the slides is missing crucial information that may prove helpful for some students. Having a textbook in this case is extremely helpful because you can find the source of the information and be able to pull additional information that was not included in lectures. While I can firmly say that I have never not opened a textbook, but they can get pricey for students especially when the textbook and the online homework portal costs upward of $400 for single engineering class.

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Most of my textbooks were thankfully online this semester, so I didn't have to pay an egregious amount. The only textbook I paid for personally and own physically is the one I reference the least. I think it is silly to require a textbook if all of the content on the exams can be found within the class lectures alone. Offering cheaper online options not only broadens your audience but makes learning more affordable.

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As a freshman this semester, I’ve only had a couple of textbooks I’ve needed to buy. All of these textbooks have been online and for 2 out of the 3 we don’t even use the textbook itself. The only reason for buying these expensive online tools is to do the assignments, all information comes from class and the teachers PowerPoints which is usually located in canvas. I don’t see the point in paying over $100 just to be able to do your work and get the grade for the class.

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I have not bought a textbook to start a semester since my freshman year. I wait until it is absolutely necessary for me to buy it during the semester. Even when I have to have it for an assignment I will weigh if completing the assignment is worth the textbook cost.

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in some of my classes, most activities/quizzes/tests are only available through the books website. this is kind of frustrating considering the professor could just create these questions and post them in a word document, rather than assigning what i call "busy work", that is graded automatically.

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The only offline, physical book I needed to buy was for a lab class, which happened to be authored by the professor over-seeing the class... Haven't used it for anything but the excel tips inside since all the relevant information is already in the course online. If the information is able to be provided online the cost should never be added, especially when we already pay a low-mid class working salary to be here each year.

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I had a class use a digital OER textbook and it was just as effective if not more effective then paper books I have had to purchase. Most textbooks for courses end up being completely useless. It's one thing to make students purchase a textbook if it will truly benefit their time in a class, but it happens all too often where a class has an assigned textbook that is never opened.

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I spend around $300 minimum for textbooks each semester, but I rarely open them. The ones online are entirely unhelpful and only used for homework. And the tests rarely have questions reliant on the books.

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Incredibly expensive textbooks with little to no return value will push people away from education. I don't think we can keep operating under this system we have now.

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As a junior, I have purchased many textbooks that I never opened throughout the semesters. While I have been fortunate enough to never have to pay more than $150 for a textbook, they do add up when you take over 4 classes in a semester. I would have to agree with the student's statement above that said "there was no need for the textbook." Many of my professors make their own slides and generate test questions from these slides alone. Because of this, I find myself frustrated that I paid for a textbook that I will never open. If there is no incentive to use the book, it is likely I will not, even if I have already purchased it.

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I have experienced this as well; I ordered a textbook then never actually used it even though it was listed as required. I could have saved money if I had known that.

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Having had experience with both required texts and optional ones, I recall enjoying courses more and learning more when the material was optional. In these cases, students that can afford textbooks can share with those who cannot. The most frustrating scenarios are ones in which you are directly billed for an online textbook you might not even need, and won't have access to after that semester. I tutor several of the classes I have taken, and I often find myself without a textbook (online access or a physical copy) to refer to when teaching other students. That being said, courses in which faculty made a point to provide affordable textbook options showed me that they cared about my financial and mental well-being.

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My professors usually have required textbooks that they say are necessary and will have readings from, but either never do or have open notes for the exam. I have been directly billed for books I won’t have access to after a semester whether if the book was helpful or not. The worst part about it, is not being able to buy a textbook that could help you later in a career or buying one before switching majors or career paths (which happened to me)