The majority of my students are finally becoming internet equipped. (This is kind of a big deal here in India). Whenever I start a new session, students ask me to recommend a textbook for them. I use my own experience and recommend a basic book and an advanced book, and online references. However, in the last few weeks, an additional question is being asked. They ask me, Sir, should I go for an ebook or a paper bookBeing in software training, almost everything I have is digital. Yet, when I decided to learn iOS programming 3 months ago, I decided to go for a printed book. However, I also see the appeal of eBooks as in individual, seeing how my kindle filled with dozens of novels. For my students though, I am not sure what I should tell them and why.Additional considerations.eBooks are usually cheaper compared to their printed counterparts. Sometimes, the printed versions are simply not available or take too long to ship.Further, since most books can be read in a browser, lot of studentsshare their accounts (kind of like how folks share there Netflixpassword) so that more people can read expensive books.
Paper Books or eBooks?
student motivation;textbook
[Wished to close this question by updating what I eventually decided to do]Looking at the comments and answers above (with nothing definitive but useful suggestions), I have decided to just go with e-books. They are cheap, DRM (just make peace with it) and easy to share and discuss. Also, no need to carry your books to each class because you already have your laptop/tablet and that has all your books. 