Iowa College Goes Paperless 421
As reported in this Wired article, joelav22 writes that an "Iowa college plans to go completely paperless. There are no libraries, just work stations for e-books and online information. the article supports that 'The school plans to be an entirely paper-free campus. Last year, about 75 telecommunications students participated in a pilot program to go paperless. Each student used a Compaq iPaq handheld to access e-textbooks, syllabi and class materials, and to take notes and exams.' less time spent in a library equals more time for beer and filming amateur Girls Gone Wild digital video!"
Even in the bathrooms? (Score:4, Funny)
there goes any real quality (Score:2)
Not sure what University you attended or when? (Score:2)
Re:Not sure what University you attended or when? (Score:2)
Re:Not sure what University you attended or when? (Score:2)
I think you have a harsh attitude toward community college. Quoth the parent:
I should have quoted your entire second paragraph. Perhaps not everyone in your seemingly dreaded community college is the brilliant, 185 IQ scholars you apparently are, but you should not discount them all as beer-driven, ADHD-addled, awe-struck and stupefied invalids.
Re:Not sure what University you attended or when? (Score:2)
Is the brilliant, are the brilliant... It's amazing what an extra Preview will do for you.
I never believed in second-drafts, anyway. : )
--
Let he who is without illegally-obtained MP3s cast the first stone.
Re:there goes any real quality (Score:2)
Re:there goes any real quality (Score:2)
We need to modernize the highschools like this (Score:2)
Paperless information allows better distribution. This is proven with the success of the world wide web, file sharing, etc.
What we need to do is get rid of chalk boards and use smartboards, get rid of traditional books and use ebooks, make the information free, produce digital paper so people can download an ebook into an actual book and read it, of course publishers wont like the file sharing community sharing books but its going to happen so get ready for free information and books for all once digital paper is released.
Re:there goes any real quality (Score:4, Interesting)
Richard Stallman's "The Right to Read" (Score:2)
Are you refering to Richard Stallman's short "fictional" story on this subject, "The Right to Read" [gnu.org]?
Re:there goes any real quality (Score:2, Funny)
-- Hunter S. Tolkien
I immediately pictured Bill Murray as Elrond: "Who's going to save you now? Lazlo?" Laughed out loud
Re:there goes any real quality (Score:2)
I have a history degree. I did reseach work with some very old primary and secondary sources -- one of the most useful books for my capstone project had been out of print since 1935.
Re:there goes any real quality (Score:2)
No of course not, He goes to harvard (Score:2)
Harvard always has the newest books.Consider the fact that most people who go to Harvard have much more money than you.
Books vs Screens (Score:2)
This actually brings up a substantial point. There are a large number of people who do not feel comfortable reading on a computer screen. They retain less information off the screen, and the experience is less desirable. Many people print out web pages - they feel more comfortable reading over physical pages. I think this has two sources: the hardware and the sensation.
CRT computer screens are not the easiest thing to read from. They are stressful on the eyes and, especially when combined with fluorescent lights, produce a flickering image, no matter how subtle. Also, CRTs aren't very convenient for very casual or very involved reading, as they tend to be completely fixed in location. LCDs are easier on the eyes, though this may depend upon whom you ask. Desktop LCDs are still adhered to one spot, but laptops break this boundary. You can sit on the couch, lie in bed, take them virtually anywhere a book can go, and read. It isn't a book, but it's a far sight closer than a desktop computer. Of course, that's where the sensation comes in.
When you read, there are certain parts of the experience that play on your senses. Not only can you see the words, but you can instantly guage how far you have come and how far you have to go by looking at the thickness of the book to either side. You may equate this with the scrollbar, or a percentage indicator, but it isn't the same. You can feel the remaining quantity as you read. You can bookmark passages as you read and look back instantly at how many bookmarks you have made. The nature of the book allows you to see how far apart the marks are, the overall density, and the volume of the marks. All this is simple visual acuity that comes pre-programmed (or socially programmed, depending on your views) into our brains. There are not only visual clues, but tactile ones as well to the progress of the book. You may also assign qualitative values to the book based upon the binding and the paper's texture and scent. These things are not found on the screen, nor can they be. Moby Dick has the same value as Green Eggs and Ham when are staring at representative icons.
Perhaps that is a major addition that eBooks need - descriptive icons. Moby Dick may have a thick, dark, leather-bound, strapped volume for the icon where Green Eggs and Ham would be slim, sharp-edged, and bright orange, as it should. If a sufficiently comfortable inerface could be acheived, more people might take to reading eBooks. I do not suggest, however, that we should model the interface after real books. The computer offers us many freedoms that printed voumes do not, and we should take every advantage of them.
There is something to be said for a physical book. There is an involement in a book that is hard to transition to a computer. I have read everything from Science Fiction to Shakespeare in physical text and on the screen of my laptop. There is a positive quality difference to reading with a book. But there are advantages to electronic texts. I can reach a specific point without flipping through chapters. I can search for a quote or a passage. I can carry hundreds of books with me instead of four or five for the same weight. I can read in bed without a separate light source.
And I can learn to appreciate the value of the information over it's presentation.
No books? (Score:5, Interesting)
A college without a library is called a tech training school. They teach people how to pull cable.
Re:No books? (Score:2)
I'd never want to go to a school without a (paper) library.
Re:No books? (Score:2)
Research has been beyond the scope of paper institutions for some time now. Glad to see them putting this tech to efficient, economic use.
I can think of hundreds of more examples. Save money on full time staff, more money goes to professors, or pick your passion.
Save space for the waste of books, build a amphitheatre.
etc etc.
Not What It Sounds Like (Score:2, Interesting)
At least, that's my bet. So don't be alarmed that books are going to be disappearing from colleges and universities, and don't mistake this for the beginning of a revolution in education. It's just a clever marketing spin on the fact that building a separate West Des Moines branch library would be redundant and a waste of funding.
Re:No books? (Score:2)
Re:No books? (Score:2)
No room there. That is where I keep my head. I am a patent examiner.
Dont be silly (Score:2)
Learning how to learn doesnt happen in college, This happens usually in highschool when you either do well in their style of teaching or you teach yourself.
Competition is not as good as Cooperation.
There is no such thing as a smartest person of the world, everyone has strengths and weaknesses, each person is a genius in some areas and just damn slow in others. There are of course people who are well rounded, but those people usually major in liberal arts and become teachers who then try to teach students to be well rounded.
Re:No books? (Score:2)
The point is you may not have used the library, but a lot of people do. Not every student uses the computer lab, yet it is vital for some of us. Did you visit the art museum often (if your college has one)? Most people never do, but you can't have an art/humanities faculty without one.
Heck, I never put one foot in the sports arena at my university, but that doesn't give me the right to say it's useless for college education.
Storing printed works may be more efficient in digital format. Presentation is another matter: try to get any school or business to dump all their printers. Not going to happen.
E-Books are like E-Jobs (Score:5, Insightful)
Case in point -- I work for GameSpy Industries [gamespyindustries.com], doing writing, editing, and management. However, their offices are located in Irvine, California. This is quite a daily commute from Winnipeg, MB, Canada. The solution? Telecomutting.
However, people don't seem to quite grasp the fact that, even though I'm at home, I'm still working. My mother asks me to do housework, people say "dammit Cary, get a real job".. and I make almost 3x as much as they do at their real McJobs.
I imagine that the e-book situation is quite similar -- because there is no tactile book to hold, it isn't "real". (I've been told that, if I had to go to an office but still telecommute, then I have a real job.
Great... (Score:5, Insightful)
Somehow... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Somehow... (Score:2)
The only advantage I can see to e-books is searchability. I do waste time trying to find info in paper books that I could easily find in seconds with an electronic copy. If I had one, I'd probably find the page on the e-book, and then open up the paper book to that page.
Re:Somehow... (Score:2)
I'm at exeter university, UK, I cant get any studying done either, and we do have books!
ebook readers? (Score:2)
I hope... (Score:3, Funny)
New meaning to the phrase ... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:I hope... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:I hope... (Score:2, Funny)
[expletive deleted]
[expletive deleted]
[expletive deleted]
[expletive deleted]
Re:I hope... (Score:2, Funny)
[expletive deleted]
[expletive deleted]
[expletive deleted]
You have been fined 1 credit for violation of the verbal decency act
You have been fined 1 credit for violation of the verbal decency act
You have been fined 1 credit for violation of the verbal decency act
You have been fined 1 credit for violation of the verbal decency act
Re:I hope... (Score:2)
Or Dynomite, like goatse does.
Annoying (Score:4, Insightful)
Give me a Paperport scanner or something similar, and give me electronic versions of my course assignments on a website. But also give me the sheets of paper.
The vital thing is to be able to use paper for what paper is good at, and electronic systems for their own purposes. There is no reason to throw out what is otherwise the right tool for the job.
Removing books is an_stupid_00. That means that your ability to study is limited to the availability of computers, and the functionality of said machines. Multimonitor becomes a MUST in this case. I would not mind electronic versions to do full text searches of, but dammit I want dead tree editions- zero failure chance, save physical loss. I also do not want to be forced into a zero-ownership system for my textbooks (which seems to be the primary thrust of schemes like this.)
The Solution. Technology aids Education. (Score:2)
Digital Paper/Ink Digital Paper [eink.com]
This new paper, with electronic ink would mean one book could hold all your books. One piece of paper could be your news paper, magazine, even your favorite website. One peice of paper could have all your schoolwork on it.
Sympodium [smarttech.com]Interactive Lecture technology, This allows students to view the board, as well as move along at their own pace doing their own thing. This would allow a student to learn more due to the class not slowing them down. Its interactive so if a person wants
more detail about something they can get it.
Reason, Logic, Cause and effect.
This is something schools never teach and this is one of the most important things we must teach kids, as well as adults.
Example [intel.com]
Re:Annoying (Score:2)
Having electronic copies of assignments and lecture notes available is great (I get that at my far-from-paperless university), but I also find it easier to study from notes that I wrote, partly because the writing is familiar and I can remember writing it and the lecture that went with it, but also because I can have many pages all laid out around me at the same time. I would find an iPaq screen very very restrictive.
I wonder how many of those students end up writing notes out on paper later anyhow?
Re:Annoying (Score:2)
New considerations with paperless campus (Score:2)
I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a Mobile P4 2Ghz, 512MB, 30GB, 2.2lb laptop.
Copyright? (Score:5, Interesting)
The book companies have been on "our side" in terms of DMCA and stuff, we don't want to make another RIAA evil organization.
Another step down the Road to Tycho (Score:2, Interesting)
For the one or two of you who haven't read his piece:
The Right to Read [gnu.org]
Everybody loves DRM textbooks! (Score:2)
Now if they were planning on introducing textbooks in entirely restriction-free formats like ascii text, PNG/HTML, or postscript, then I can see this happening, but I trust them to do this like I would trust a drunken frat boy at a catholic girls' junior high school.
The article never mentions DRM, but there is a telling quote about half-way through:
"We are heading toward a world where, instead of reading a bunch of Bill Gates' quotes, you want to have a video clip of him actually speaking that quote."
Thanks, but I won't be burning my bridges just yet.
Re:Everybody loves DRM textbooks! (Score:2)
Private companies that have gone paperless (Score:3, Interesting)
as for replacing BOOKS with electronic texts...that's still a problem because of readability due to resolution. It takes longer to read text on a CRT or LCD vs. a piece of paper. I've noticed it's easier to read text for longer periods of time on an LCD vs. a CRT, but the rate of absorbtion is not as fast as nice sharp text printed at 150 - 600 DPI. Technology will fix this eventually, but until then it's a partial solution at best.
---Mike
Re:Private companies that have gone paperless (Score:2, Interesting)
It was essential to have a paper copy of your benefits so you could know what they were when they were given to you, instead of what they are now.
Re:Private companies that have gone paperless (Score:2)
paying for printnig on a paperless campus (Score:2)
If they were really going paperless, they'd be outlawing printers, too.
This would suck. (Score:4, Insightful)
Besides, nothing (yet) can replace a book you own, a highlighter and a pen for making notes in the margin and taking the whole thing to a study lounge to get away from your roommate's beer party (the sacrifices we make for good grades).
Re:This would suck. (Score:2)
seem to be true for me. It is probably heavily dependant on the font used. Books are typically written with a thicker font than is used on a computer screen. Change the font and the computer screen becomes a lot more legible.
how pleasant (Score:2)
Personally, I'm broke, and have, on more than one occasion, gone to the library to check out a textbook held on reserve instead of spending $100 for a fucking math (ya, lots of work went into those) text that I will never use again.
That said, consoles and wireless = hella cool, tho I have to wonder about the speed of the network w/a lot of people.
Re:how pleasant (Score:2)
I live in iowa (Score:2)
not quite flawless (Score:2)
yeah the Ipaq's have batteries but not the network they would connect to for the libraries of info
that would be a great place to get a contract for UPS systems
This would only work (Score:4, Insightful)
Thanks but no thanks. I would only do this if the book was mine FOREVER.
---rhad
Re:This would only work (Score:2)
tickets (Score:2)
Re:tickets (Score:2)
"You have been fined for illeagl parking. The money will be convienantly deducted from your next student loan.
You have the right to appeal this, but as a safty measure, all your access will be cut off to insure the saftey of the schools data.
thank you"
They Don't Teach Math or Physics, do they? (Score:3, Insightful)
My $.02
BlackGriffen
Absurd concept (Score:2)
On the other hand, most of the static content like books, journals etc. are better read offline.
I am surprised that people keep repeating paperlessness as some kind of an Utopian goal. Not using paper might reduce the number of trees that are felled, but switching off computers saves power! Who's to decide which is a more worthy goal?
Paperless possible but not desirable (Score:3, Insightful)
I find that about 2/3 of the students elect to purchase the book even though it has nothing more than the online material - indeed - the graphics aren't even animated (although there is a CD with simulators and movies).
As one student told me - the book seldom has a glare problem, never flickers, and you can read it in the bath.
It is good to have the material on-line - but there is still a place for "ink-on-pulped-wood" as a transport media. Just because you can do it solely on-line doesn't mean that you should
technology not ready (Score:2, Interesting)
I am not talking about the physical presence of the book, or the convenience of flipping the pages, or the romance of the printed page. Though I grew up with the miles of indexes at the library, and the rows of computer manuals at the computer lab, I transitioned quite happily to central searchable databases and online help. What I am talking about is the sheer quantity of information a student is required to assimilate and fact that all the information needed is never in one place. My desk was generally littered with books to read and resources needed to complete assignments. While having all of this on computer would have been nice, I can't imagine having to read 100 pages a day at screen resolution, or have to flip from screen to screen to find the right information.
On the other hand, I would have killed to have all the classic English, math, and science texts at my fingertips. If all the resources were remotely and wirelessly accessible, that would be way cool. I can see the benefit of not having to search for that one table needed to finish the problem. Manually searching for table is no longer a needed skill. But still, no books at all? I fear for the students eyesight.
Not to troll, but. . . (Score:2)
- Support costs will go through the roof.
- Likewise, most likely, with power costs.
- If I was a petty thief reading slashdot, guess where I'd be enrolling right now? And you thought campus bicycle thefts were bad.
- I must be old fashioned, but the idea of reading everything on a handheld instead of out of a book gives me a headache already. I've used an iPaq, and even though it has a great screen, I'm not sold on eBooks quite yet. In fact, as the article mentions, printing costs are anticipated to go up as people find this out. How exactly is this going to save paper?
I am very supportive of tech in education. However, I don't think we're there yet in terms of paperless college campuses. This almost sounds like a propoganda move prompted by a grant from a huge backer.It's a *community* college (Score:2)
There's no danger of research universities going paperless.
Chris Rock on community college (Score:4, Funny)
the college in question is a community college
Chris Rock on community colleges:
A similar story (Score:2, Interesting)
http://www.d.umn.edu/cse/techreq.html
It requires students in Science and Engineering to purchase IPAQs and extra junk in order to register for classes. The University had tried to require laptops for students, but all EE, CS and ECE students already had several and didn't want to be told what to buy. The laptop deal went to a sutdent vote and failed miserably. This IPAQ initative was never sent to a vote - the chancellor saw the almighty $$ and students had no vote.
I was lucky to graduate before this requirement was imposed. I think it is the school's plan to eventually require all students to purchase this at an inflated price. I am sure some UMD are reading this right now - Do you feel that these PDA's are helping you with your educational experience?
In the professional setting these are great for keeping track of apointments and emails but are not much good for anything else. I am curious how they are getting worked into the cirriculum.
"Sorry teacher my dog ate my IPAQ!"
I don't like the sound of that... (Score:2, Interesting)
"oh my e-mail isn't working"
"my computer crashed"
"my printer doesn't have ink"
"the network is down"
The problem is that these things happen frequently as well so they cannot be just passed off as an excuse. Sure, with the load on school websites around midterm and final time, it is plausible the server might have been inaccessible. So what do you do? Hold it against the student? You can't because of circumstance. Now with this entire e-book thing which I can't stand. I've done a lot of research and sure using an online database to help search the card catalog is nice but reading books online is a drag. Let's face it, staring at a computer screen is far more fatiguing than staring at a book. I want access to both the e-book and the hardcopy. Lastly, I am not shelling out a couple hundred bucks for an iPaq nor am I carrying my laptop on campus. I already have enough to carry and a laptop + charger doesn't help anything. The iPaq is just too much money and I don't see much use for it since I can do everything on my laptop. I bought a Palm pilot when they first came out many years ago. Other than checking for an occassional phone number, I never use the thing. Its a waste of money for me. Sure I see my friends trying to make good use of theirs by sitting their and struggling with the stylus on the same stuff that would take me 1/3 the time.
Bottom line, computer equipment needs to be more reliable, the networks need to be able to take the strain, and PDAs need to come down in price.
Iowa College goes blind (Score:5, Insightful)
Selling Back e-books? (Score:5, Funny)
Student: Hi, I have 300 copies of Postmodernism for Dummies to sell back.
Clerk: Hey, aren't you the guy we bought 500 copies from yesterday?
Student: No sir, that was my roommate. The guy in the room next to me should be stopping by later. I advised everyone on my floor to buy a few hundred copies of each book at the beginning of the year. An investment in "e-books" sounded like a good idea at the time. Guess not.
impossible to do well (Score:2)
I cant see this being done very well at all unless they have a collection the size of a small public library, and even then it wouldnt be cost effective.
I am amazed here... (Score:2)
This is a scary notion that an IPaq must be used. it is sort of like saying to study at this college you must drive this car. When I went through engineering we could choose the calculating device so long as it fufilled a certain subset of calculations.
Scary indeed....
Is this undergraduate only? (Score:2)
rediculous concept (Score:2)
1) as far as i know, Lib still contairs *much* more information than
a) the web
b) whatever online lib you can come up with
c) e-book collections
2) now your library is limited to the number of workstations -- "sorry bud, i know you have an exam tomorrow, but we are simply out of workstations right now"
* note to (2) i know a bunch of you will immediately attempt to point out that you can access this stuff at home -- but most propriatory acedemic stuff is quite copyrighted, and you need to be at the lib to access them, even today. (journal databases, a lot of e-books, for example)
3) have anyone ever tried to read a map on a computer screen? it's rediculous how much time you waste on zoom unzoom pan-left pan-right. instead, in the dead-tree version, all the info is right there. you get your high-res view in one fell swoop. same goes with a lot of other big-sheet stuff. why do you think we have plotters for the archetechture kiddiez? sure -- autoCAD makes it easy to *draw* the building, but it's on huge blueprint paper when it really makes sense.
4) iPaq aside -- i would not want to stare at screens all day. it is
a) bad for your eyes
b) i can't study in bed, or on the toilet (cenveniently) -- and we all know men't greatest enlightments are achieved on the throne. (like the FluxCapacitor)
c) iPaq has shitty resolution for any research i want to do; hell, QXGA screen? wtf? i am using dual UXGA and *still* need more desktop space.
5) i lied about the two gripes thing
EMP during mid-terms (Score:2, Funny)
Built a EMP device and put it in the trash can in the middle of the quad. Set for lunch time. Watch the fun!
Be sure to record results with pen a paper for extra credit!
Not practical for engineering majors (Score:2, Insightful)
Now textbooks are another issue...the disadvantages most definitely out weigh any possible benefits of a paperless environment. This is especially the case for technical texts where it is common for students to add personal notes and comments into their textbooks. Therefore that $100 I spent on my aerodynamics text was not just because my class required it, but was an addition to my personal reference library.
Ideally, it would best to have everything in paper and electronic media. Look up what you want electronically and perform detailed research with both paper and electronic media
Print it anyway... (Score:2, Insightful)
Another problem with the whole iPaq thing: battery life. If you're reading a book that takes more than a few hours to finish, you've got a problem! (Especially if you've got a wireless card or some power-sucker plugged in). From my own observations, a lot of people don't read near outlets all the time.
Sigh... (Score:3, Insightful)
I am an engineering student, but I love to read. Her insights (especially while reading Ulysses) are wonderfully helpful to someone who has a limited knowledge of literature. To boot, I have something that I can really associate with my mother about.
There's something intangible about picking up a 30-year old copy of your favourite novel and knowing that 5 or 6 other people have enjoyed it as well. This might seem sappy, but reading something from a monitor (or even from the screen of an iPaq) just doesn't have the same soul as reading from paper. It's the same reason why the National Post (a Canadian newspaper, eh?) will ALWAYS be better than The National Post [nationalpost.com].
Let's keep books of literature and education alive and relegate more soul-less forms of communication (like porn) to the computer world.
Windside
--------
DRM (Score:2)
Cuddle up with your iPaq? (Score:2)
What happens to bed-time reading? None of the devices I've seen so far are comfortable to fall asleep with...
Also, I don't believe all of the decent content is available in digital form. May be, it is good to have the course materials paperless -- the new content, but the libraries should still carry the old texts.
Finally, sometimes the pure knowledge, that a book you are holding was printed and first read 100-200 years ago can be quite exciting and thought provoking... Not even a reprint would do that, forget an electronic gizmo :-)
Paperless might not be the best (Score:2, Interesting)
I think that for some applications it's just fine -- nobody really needs to see all my archived emails a hundred years from now (though I'm sure it would be interesting to my progeny to learn about me), but what about the research and scientific understanding in our colleges and universities? We ought to do SOMETHING to preserve our knowledge. Maybe inscribe it in stone or metal and send it off to the moon or somewhere, I dunno.
I think going paperless is good. But I think the paper trail to our history should be replaced instead of just chucked out the window. Something for long-term storage of our archived electronic information would be fine -- but it should be in a format that we are sure will be readable in the future.
Battery Life (Score:2)
Is that the new excuse for not being able to take a test? "Sorry, my battery is dead"
Fooling Themselves (Score:3, Insightful)
They won't know what a pink-slip is. (Score:2)
That is not very real-world training. The boss will hand them hand-scribbled notes on a paper reports, and the graduate will reply, "Can you retype your notes into Word, by chance? I am not used to this medium."
They won't even know what the pink-slip is that will then be handed to them.
must....ruin....next....generation....also (Score:2)
what about joints? (Score:2)
As Orwell understood it (Score:4, Insightful)
With new paperless media like DVD-ROM and Ebook and the DMCA, it is already a federal crime to circumvent the Ministry's control over information. Once the DVD player expires, or the rights-managed usage grant expires, then it will be a crime to circumvent protections in order to access un-information. Downloaded music from PressPlay will all die when PressPlay does. It becomes un-music! You'll have to buy the next big star they want to sell you!
Paperless good! Long live Big Brother!
Where can I get e-textbooks? (Score:2)
Don't worry kids (Score:2)
Education driven by format, not quality (Score:3, Insightful)
This is a pretty clear indication that the decision was made to go electronic before any reasonable assessment was made of whether the necessary course materials were actually available in that format.
Did the college factor in the cost of developing their own textbooks into their calculation of the overall cost of this initiative?
Did they pause to consider that maybe their students would benefit more from having the best course materials available for use, regardless of format?
The observation that "students prefer to look things up online" is irrelevant. Part of a decent post-secondary education is learning how to locate the best source of information available, which isn't always the most convenient source.
Re:Money? (Score:2, Informative)
That's a nice plan you have but more and more colleges are including the cost of laptops etc in the tuition, so yes you will buy a PC and you may not like it, but they don't care.
Even cheaper, Digital Paper (Score:2)
Of course its good to have a laptop, but digital paper would be far more useful.
Thats NOT true at all (Score:2)
Lets assume you want to become a programmer, you can learn C and C++ in college, keep the book and use that book later when you need a refrence.
Lets say you have kids, and you took a class like say, discrete math in college, lets say your kids have an interest in math.
Well, you have the math books right there.
Books are always useful until we come to the day where digital paper and ebooks rule all, when we get to that point, expect bookster to be released and dominate the file sharing world. Free information for all.
Re:How paperless is paperless? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Why I like paper (Score:2)
Unless there's a fire.. in which case it's a whole lot easier to carry a stack of your data tapes out the door, or rely on a backup off-site data center, than it is to move 500,000 books.
Re:printing bills (Score:2)
This would be the biggest problem with a paperless campus -- there is a pretty good probablility that research would be lost in a relatively short amount of time.
I have a history degree. In the research for my thesis, one of my most valuable secondary sources was a paper done in the 60's by another student. He's transcribed portions of the original source material which were difficult to read (it was a farm diary, portions of which were written in an ink which had somehow broken down). If this had been digital, I almost certainly wouldn't have found it or been able to access it (I'm sure these bozos are using a proprietary format for their data).
Re:Ever heard of eye strain? (Score:2)
As a poli sci/english student, I've done this and loved it. Last year, I was able to read Plato's Republic, Aristotle's The Politics and a couple of Locke's works without spending a dime, thanks to the e-texts. Of course, they're not necessarily the 'approved' versions, but you can typically get around this. At roughly TWELVE books per english course, with five courses next year, I think Project Gutenberg's going to be my best friend. An additional benefit of Project Gutenberg is that I can do my reading for class during all those hours I do nothing at work right off my monitor.
Thats the problem (Score:2)
Most of the people who get laid alot, are also the least intelligent part of the human population.
I suggest you learn more, and find a nice girl, instead of just worrying about getting laid and having sex all the time.
Thats bullshit though (Score:2)
Per student numbers such as those do not work, because its not evenly distributed money.
Kids in richer areas, get the majority of the money because they pay more taxes. Raising the federal budget helps the people who arent living in rich communities or suburbs.
Have you ever went to new york or some city and looked at the schools there? They are crappy as hell. The solution is to raise the federal budget, or change the method of distribution so that its perfectly even to all schools.
Per student does not work for schools, it does however work for the military because the military protects all cities and neighborhoods, even yours.
Re:Saving money w/ no books (Score:2)