Ever dreamed of completing college without having to buy books or even go to school? Who hasn't. Well the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is making that a reality for many of it's students. Many of their classes are online and they recently built a brand new library without a single book.
Some "old-fashioned" teacher, and even a few students, argue that this "digital classroom" disrupts the experience that people should get when attending college. But others argue that this makes class time more useful. Teachers are able to spend more time one-on-one with students and students are able to ask more relevant questions.
Book makers don't like this book free library and similar ones. Text book sales are worth more then eight billion dollars a year. Colleges and Universities, by buying on copy, can distribute it to as many students as they want. Publishers can't even charge as much for the books people do buy. Producers of e-readers and ipad are benefiting from the transition from text to digital. Colleges and Universities are purchasing these for their libraries. They allow students to rent them and download books. The libraries are gaining money from this process.
In my opinion, this is a very good idea. I believe this is how all people will learn some day. I never have enough time in class to and questions and understand what it is, exactly, that I'm supposed to be learning. Nobody ever has enough money. Being cheaper than printed books, e-books will help more people pay for higher education.
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