Have ebooks worked for you?

[beth83]

I'm debating about purchasing our first ebook curriculum.  I'm not switching over everything.  Just one upcoming purchase.

 

It started with me being impatient.  I can have instant access to the pdf and start planning.  I got nervous that I would want a hard copy, so I talked myself out of it.

 

Since then, others using the same curriculum have said the pdf was really nice.  I just hate wasting money.  I don't want to buy it and wish I would have purchased the hard copy.

 

It isn't a workbook and there really won't be any page flipping back and forth.  I see how it would be doable with the pdf.  Plus, it can never get dirty and pages won't rip.  Hmmmm.

 

Has anyone else been nervous about jumping to an ebook and it worked out? Or maybe it didn't, after all?

 

 

[FO4UR]

I *LOVE* having teacher's manuals on my Kindle.  I have gone through periods where I had to fit all school into one backpack, and it was a necessity. Now, it's just efficient use of space and I am not searching hither and yon for them all over the house. all.on.one.kindle. 

 

The kids prefer working with real books mostly.  

[Farrar]

I strongly prefer having the pdf since I can print multiple copies instead of photocopying, and can have them use it on the iPad if I like.  I'm less keen on epub and other ebook formats for curriculum specifically - most don't come in that format since you need to be able to print student pages, but I have seen manuals that way sometimes.  I wouldn't refer to them as often and I don't love the ways to mark text in Kindle or iBook apps.  I prefer Notability.

[TGHEALTHYMOM]

It depends on what type of book.  If it is an expensive book and I can print out what I need a little at a time as well as read it on my laptop then, I get the pdf.  I am strongly considering binding some books since I got a mother load of them on Currclick that are great for Pre-K - High School for Seasons and Math especially! 

 

I do read on my Kindle some but I still prefer a book in my hands!

[sewingmama]

I prefer it. Nearly all my curriculum is on PDF. Saves me heaps on shipping cost and I don't have to store the books. It's also usually cheaper then the hardcopy. I have them all stored on my Ipad which makes it easy and convenient to use.

 

Love my ebook curriculum.

[journey00]

Not really. I get too impatient with downloading to my computer then transferring to my iPad via Dropbox or whatever then figuring out how use it and save it on Evernote or Notability with multiple kids. It is just too many steps for me, I rather throw everyone their own workbook. However, I do have some teachers manuals and curriculum on my iPad that I browse through which is nice but if the kids can't use it then theres no point for me.

[jenn&charles]

I'm debating about purchasing our first ebook curriculum.  I'm not switching over everything.  Just one upcoming purchase.

 

It started with me being impatient.  I can have instant access to the pdf and start planning.  I got nervous that I would want a hard copy, so I talked myself out of it.

 

Since then, others using the same curriculum have said the pdf was really nice.  I just hate wasting money.  I don't want to buy it and wish I would have purchased the hard copy.

 

It isn't a workbook and there really won't be any page flipping back and forth.  I see how it would be doable with the pdf.  Plus, it can never get dirty and pages won't rip.  Hmmmm.

 

Has anyone else been nervous about jumping to an ebook and it worked out? Or maybe it didn't, after all?

 

I prefer e-books over hard copies. They are so much more convenient. You can reprint the pages for another student. You can reprint a page out if one gets messed up (or if Mr. Sloppy Handwriting was careless and needs to redo his work). If I had a tablet, I'd have pages filled out electronically (and save on printing costs).

I like my teacher's manuals to be in e-book format too. Saves me shelf space and it's just easier to look (nice big print on the screen), etc. I like being able to get something instantly as well, in those moments when I want to try something RIGHT NOW and not have to wait a week or more for shipping.

 

If I could get all my curriculum in this format, I probably would with just a few exceptions.

[happypamama]

I generally buy ebooks when they are available, and I generally like them.

 

-They are usually cheaper.

-I can print multiple copies of things for multiple children; with five children, that's a big money-saver.

-I can access them anywhere and have multiple copies for ease of use.

-For some things, we can write directly on the PDFs on a tablet and not have so much paper to handle.

-Annotating them is really easy -- makes my lesson-planning simple!

-I prefer reading on my tablet because it's easier for me to hold with one hand (since I am often rocking or nursing someone).

-One of my children really likes e-reading more than physical paper -- whatever encourages them to read more is fine in my book! Also, no excuse for not being able to do work because "I didn't bring the book" -- Mom has it on her tablet.

-Since the tablet is portable, it's really easy to take the e-books wherever, which is often convenient. Today, for instance, I needed some info that I hadn't expected to need while we were at the library, and I was able to call up the PDF on the tablet.

 

The downside, of course, is that you can't sell them if they don't work out. So far, that hasn't been an issue.

 

Now, I don't buy everything that I possibly could in e-form. This year, I have Mr. Q science, two levels of History Odyssey, and the student book to WWS1 in e-form. I did not buy the teacher book to WWS1 in e-form, nor the book for WWE3, because I didn't want to have a backlog of people needing the tablet all at once.

[Hunter]

I love eBooks, but ONLY if I like the device I'm reading them on. I did not convert to eBooks until I got my iPad Mini.

 

And if I want to flip back and forth in a document, I sometimes load the eBook on my phone too, and then glance from one screen to the other instead of flipping back and forth in the book.

[stripe]

What is the curriculum, first of all? Or at least, what kind -- science, math, writing,... it might make a difference.

 

I use MEP teaching materials this way, but I've downloaded lots of other stuff that tends to get lost in storage. Printable things are very convenient, to me.

[My3girls]

Love ebook curriculum. As long as we are not getting less, I am all for it. I wanted to get History of US, but reviews said it was missing all the pics and side bars so we're using the library editions for now. SotW is working great on Kindles. We have Math Mammoth in PDF. We get most of our classics on Kindle for free and some for $2 or less. We have BFSU and CK12 on kindle for science, as well.

 

Eta: one benefit is that you can change the display and font size. This really helped with dd8 who had major issues with reading when we started homeschooling in June. Changed the screen to black and words to white and made the font bigger. It's helped her tremendously... Much more than than the highlighted strips that the school recommended.

[boscopup]

It really depends on the specific curriculum for me. Some I prefer PDF format, and some I prefer hard copy.

 

I've used WWE in hard copy format, but Getting Started With Latin was perfect for reading on a Kindle.

 

I bought WWS in PDF format because it was sooooo cheap. Not sure yet how I'll use it for the kiddo. I'm going through it myself on the computer, but I can type well. Kiddo will likely be hand writing some, so we'll see how I end up using it. I need to try putting it on his Kindle and see how that looks. Or I could put it on my 10" tablet (ezPDF on Android lets you mark things up, which could be useful for some pages).

 

If the hard copy is cheaper than the PDF and is not consumable, I usually will go hard copy.

[happypamama]

Just a note: DD uses the student version of WWS1 in PDF form, and when she reads it on her basic Kindle, sometimes the formatting gets messed up. Then she. Reds to look at it on the iPad or in my teacher version. It wasn't enough of a deterrent to keep us from getting PDFs for both WWS2 books for next year (not with PHP's incredibly generous 40% off sale!), but it is a little annoying.

[Mom22ns]

We really prefer eBooks here. Given the choice, both my kids will read on screen instead of on hard copy. We copy, paste, annotate, share... you get the idea. I love getting them fast and I like the usually cheaper price. The only thing I don't like is not being able to resell, but then again, I don't have to resell!

 

We use as many pdf/ebooks as we can.

 

Oh, and I was hesitant. I resell everything that isn't consumable and thought it wouldn't be worth the higher end cost, but now I do it in spite of the fact it is more expensive in the long run.

 

Debbie

[pantone]

I'm on the PDF bandwagon, too. At least I can always FIND my darned PDFs!! I print out the worksheets that I want them to do. I hand them the iPad to read when necessary. I have copies on the computer so I can line the up side by side and plan for the week. I have copied directions and pasted them into our portfolio to show what the kids are up to. 

 

Printed books are lovely. I really DO love the feel of paper, and I love how books smell. I don't love how often they're dropped behind the sofa, left in the car, lost at park day, or how they hide out in a box somewhere, nor how much shelf space they take up. 

 

That said, I'm much happier having a PDF *file* that's unmanaged by the publisher and unchanging. I wouldn't be very happy with an ebook that could be changed or revoked at a publisher's whim.