Porridge Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 I'm preparing to purchase AOPS Pre-Alg and saw that there is a online book available. This is not an online class. It looks like just an online copy of the text and solutions. Do people find that the online book offers any advantages over the paper copy? It seems like it would be more portable - you don't have to lug 600+ pages around with you -- but are there any advantages other than portability? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibiche Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 (edited) It has links to answers and related videos, but if it is a choice between the two I would get the hard copy. We usually get both versions because we travel a lot, but if we did not I would stick with the physical copy. Edited April 1, 2017 by bibiche 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Porridge Posted March 31, 2017 Author Share Posted March 31, 2017 many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igbu Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 We've always purchased both. Personally, I would prefer the hard copy (old school I guess), but both my DC prefer the online books. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal_Bear Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Hard copy...the physical act of turning and feeling pages increases encoding of information in the brain and by extension retention. While I have no problem with screens, I prefer to minimize and not maximize usage as it messes with your eyes and ability to sleep if done excessively. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 but are there any advantages other than portability? We didn't get the online prealgebra book because there wasn't an online version when my oldest started AoPS. However at 8 years old, large print classics were great for him. I also downloaded books from Gutenberg or internet archive because he could zoom in/ make the font size larger on his iPad. When the online version came out, I bought the intermediate algebra, intro to geometry for him. Now he has the online versions of precalculus and calculus as well. Even now at 12, he sometimes still enlarge the text on the iPad screen and he is nearsighted. He has all the hardcopy version of the books as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted April 1, 2017 Share Posted April 1, 2017 An advantage of the online versions is they have all the error corrections to date. I think this is more of an issue with the later books, and if you are (like me) really super concerned if there is a tiny error and I don't trust myself to know whether it's a typo or my own mistake. I'm not even sure they are updating the AoPS errata pages anymore. I do like the paper copy, but we keep an electronic copy so we can check for what we think are errors and also so I can do prep while one of the kids is also using the book. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravi B Posted April 2, 2017 Share Posted April 2, 2017 (edited) I'm not even sure they are updating the AoPS errata pages anymore. Yes, the AoPS errata pages are updated as necessary, with any new errors fixed in the next printing of the book. Here is the link to the errata pages: http://artofproblemsolving.com/booklinks If any of you finds an error in one of the books, you can report it to the email address listed on that book's errata page. If it's for the Prealgebra book specifically, you can alternatively message me. It's been more than 2 years since we last found an error in the Prealgebra book. Edited April 2, 2017 by Ravi B 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted April 3, 2017 Share Posted April 3, 2017 (edited) We have online editions of Intro C&P and Intro Geom. my DD prefers them because you can enter in the "problems" and "exercises" and see solutions right away. Also (with C&P at least and I'm assuming Intro Alg and PreA) the videos are embedded so it's very seamless. Necessary? No. Just a format preference. We still bought textbooks because the cost to add ebook was low and textbooks are easy to use offline and resellable. Edited April 3, 2017 by Targhee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 Timely question. I think I have decided to get both. It will take about 6 weeks to get the book anyway. I might have to create a new account just for the book though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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