Garage sales to become illegal?

[The_Douger]

Students who get "screwed" over are morons who have never used the internet. My students are savvy when it comes to buying and selling books from amazon and half.com. As to your first assertion: So, they should take more than two semesters to cover the material in the book so that they can get more use out of it?

No, the professors should use the book longer than 2 semesters for the same class and not make the students buy expensive new editions that say the same thing.

You really think kids don't look around for the best deal? That still doesn't change the fact that the universities screw over kids in buyback on a continual basis.

[wuapinmon]

No, the professors should use the book longer than 2 semesters for the same class and not make the students buy expensive new editions that say the same thing.

You really think kids don't look around for the best deal? That still doesn't change the fact that the universities screw over kids in buyback on a continual basis.

You didn't understand a thing I said.

[The_Douger]

I don't think you understood what I said.

[wuapinmon]

I don't think you understood what I said.

Please note, I always understand everything that you say. You didn't comprehend that my students use the same book for two semesters (that's two classes). Other people got it (check their posts). You want me to not switch books after two semesters. 1. I'll switch books when I feel like the switch benefits pedagogy, something that my extensive training and 13 years of university-level teaching experience allow me to know, understand, and improve. 2. I'll switch books whenever I feel like the switch benefits my students and my workload. Switching from a paper SAM to an electronic SAM was a win/win for everyone. 3. I'll switch books if I feel like the price is too high (as I did in 2007) for what my students were getting (the publisher hiked the price without a new edition or any improvements. 4. I'll switch books if I send corrections to a publisher and they do not fix them in the new edition (as I did this year). 5. And, I'll switch books whenever I damn well please because it's my class and I decide the curriculum.

[Devildog]

Please note, I always understand everything that you say.

5. And, I'll switch books whenever I damn well please because it's my class and I decide the curriculum.

NSFW!

[YOUTUBE]8C716C8V9bQ&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

[wuapinmon]

NSFW!

[YOUTUBE]8C716C8V9bQ&feature=related[/YOUTUBE]

Roll your eyes all you want, pero tú usarás el puto texto que elijo y así será hoy, mañana y siempre jamás.

[The_Douger]

Please note, I always understand everything that you say. You didn't comprehend that my students use the same book for two semesters (that's two classes). Other people got it (check their posts). You want me to not switch books after two semesters. 1. I'll switch books when I feel like the switch benefits pedagogy, something that my extensive training and 13 years of university-level teaching experience allow me to know, understand, and improve. 2. I'll switch books whenever I feel like the switch benefits my students and my workload. Switching from a paper SAM to an electronic SAM was a win/win for everyone. 3. I'll switch books if I feel like the price is too high (as I did in 2007) for what my students were getting (the publisher hiked the price without a new edition or any improvements. 4. I'll switch books if I send corrections to a publisher and they do not fix them in the new edition (as I did this year). 5. And, I'll switch books whenever I damn well please because it's my class and I decide the curriculum.

Sure I did. I understood it just fine. Textbook prices are still way too high. I don't really care what you do or don't do. I'm not calling you out in particular, and you're looking for a fight where there isn't one.

You still don't understand what I'm saying. Each incoming group of students shouldn't be required to buy a new edition regardless of whether they use the book for 2 semesters or not. There's an inherent conflict of interests with teachers who sell students their ripoff book every year for their American Studies 101, and order the new edition for the next class every subsequent year after that, driving book sales and money to their pocket.

That's great that the kids in your class get a book that you like that lasts for 2 semesters. That didn't happen in the university classes I took, which were a constant switching of books from semester to semester without continuity. By never sticking to the same text for the class for a few semesters, it resulted in lots of money spent and no market at the university to sell to the students taking the class the next semester.

My anecdotal experience isn't necessarily how it goes everywhere, but it certainly was a consistent source of frustration for me while I did my undergrad and graduate coursework. When I say they should use a book for more than 2 semesters, I mean that the next group of students that comes through to take the class the next year should have access to used books of the same edition and not have to pony up for a way different book or new edition of the same book.

What subject do you teach, btw?

[statman]

Textbooks are very very expensive to produce, including all of the media and web functions that are now expected by students. Couple that with a limited shelf life in many fields and you get high costs. The average textbook nowadays is on glossy paper with multiple graphs, photos, charts, and such on each page. My textbook includes a complete vtext version with a FERPA-compliant website that contains an online SAM and exam and quiz capabilities. It has a soap opera with actors and plot tied to each chapter on DVD or streaming on the web.

It costs $150 and is good for two semesters. I get sick of people whining about the high price of textbooks. They are expensive for a reason, a valid one.

Cry me a river. I agree that what you say is generally accurate, but that still doesn't explain why are they selling them for so much less overseas? Those same costs still apply, so why make the US consumer foot all the bill?

If a company chooses to pursue a strategy where it sells below cost in one market and recoups all fixed costs (and profit) through high prices in another market, they're exposing themselves to gray imports. Now we have an illiberal US Court legalizing & enforcing that practice, ensuring that the US consumer pays high prices for any copyrighted material in perpetuity.

Companies always take on a certain amount of risk by adopting different pricing strategies in different parts of the world. Now US courts are removing that risk from the companies, solely at the expense of US consumers.

[snowcat]

Cry me a river. I agree that what you say is generally accurate, but that still doesn't explain why are they selling them for so much less overseas? Those same costs still apply, so why make the US consumer foot all the bill?

If a company chooses to pursue a strategy where it sells below cost in one market and recoups all fixed costs (and profit) through high prices in another market, they're exposing themselves to gray imports. Now we have an illiberal US Court legalizing & enforcing that practice, ensuring that the US consumer pays high prices for any copyrighted material in perpetuity.

Companies always take on a certain amount of risk by adopting different pricing strategies in different parts of the world. Now US courts are removing that risk from the companies, solely at the expense of US consumers.

[Joe Public]

The USSC decided in favor of the reseller in the Kirtsaeng case. The votes went as follows: Breyer, Roberts, Thomas, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan for; Ginsburg, Kennedy, Scalia against.

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/11-697_d1o2.pdf

[Katy Lied]

Whew. I am glad they ruled that way. Textbook publishers are price discriminating monopolists, which is illegal in most parts of America. They re-issue textbooks every 2-3 years to maintain barriers to textbook trade so that their high prices prevail.

Accounting textbooks are the worst. New editions contain nothing new; all they do is shuffle the chapters and/or change the numbers of the homework exercises. i dont think that Wuap would determine to switch editions based upon financial considerations; everything we know about him tells us that he wouldn't do this. However, there are plenty of professors who would do this.

YEah! Now if only I could figure out how to sell my digital content. I have plenty of kindle books that I'd like to sell.

[All-American]

Textbooks are very very expensive to produce, including all of the media and web functions that are now expected by students. Couple that with a limited shelf life in many fields and you get high costs. The average textbook nowadays is on glossy paper with multiple graphs, photos, charts, and such on each page. My textbook includes a complete vtext version with a FERPA-compliant website that contains an online SAM and exam and quiz capabilities. It has a soap opera with actors and plot tied to each chapter on DVD or streaming on the web.

It costs $150 and is good for two semesters. I get sick of people whining about the high price of textbooks. They are expensive for a reason, a valid one.

Oh, please. Students could care less if the paper is glossy or has a soap opera film to go along with it. I cared much more about the sticker price than I did about the pretty pictures and graphs. And don't give me this line about the book coming with quiz questions. Write your own darn tests.

Mine was a major where the text is a speech from 2,000 years ago. The day that I realized that I didn't have to pay $95.99 for an introductory statement by Utah State's finest classics professor to get a book that has been in the public domain longer than English has existed was a good day that came embarassingly late in the game for me.

[Pelado]

For example, any resale of an illegally ‘pirated’ phonorecord would be an infringement, but the disposition of a phonorecord legally made under the compulsory licensing provisions of section 115 would not.

Can someone put this into layman's terms? How does someone make such a phonorecord?

[wuapinmon]

Write your own darn tests.

I write every test or quiz I give. By "Capabilities" I meant that I can administer them in an on-line or computer lab format, which allows me to do aural comprehension tests that aren't possible in the classroom. It also allows me to give exams without using class time. As for the soap opera, it's an on-level bit of realia in the target language, a pedagogically sound teaching tool to help them learn the following C's from ACTFL's language learning goals:

CulturesCultural understanding is an important part of world languages education. Experiencing other cultures develops a better understanding and appreciation of the relationship between languages and other cultures, as well as the student's native culture. Students become better able to understand other people's points of view, ways of life, and contributions to the world.

ComparisonsStudents are encouraged to compare and contrast languages and cultures. They discover patterns, make predictions, and analyze similarities and differences across languages and cultures. Students often come to understand their native language and culture better through such comparisons.

CommunicationThe communication standard stresses the use of language for communication in "real life" situations. It emphasizes "what students can do with language" rather than "what they know about language." Students are asked to communicate in oral and written form, interpret oral and written messages, show cultural understanding when they communicate, and present oral and written information to various audiences for a variety of purposes.

To give you an idea of how these things can be helpful, check out this free one from the BBC.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/

My own assessment of student learning outcomes shows that usage of ESAM's and web-based content has a significant impact on the bottom cohorts of students, moreso than printed workbooks. With the book I currently use, students end SPA 102 typically at the Intermediate Low range, instead of Novice High. That was not the case with the previous text we were using. I can only do so much in the classroom. Technology allows me to make use of resources beyond the printed page, resources that greatly impact learning outcomes. The entire Spanish program is switching to this book next year: http://vistahigherlearning.com/stude...d-edition.html

It will cost right under $200, and they can use it for four semesters, through SPA 202.

I do take costs into consideration when I teach. For example, I just finished a SPA 225 (Written Communication) course at the beginning of this month, and we used no textbook. The only expense was $9 to buy food for a food night at my house. The students had to write out a recipe in Spanish that they had made before. They all came to my house, and we made frijoles negros, arroz, plátanos maduros, patacones, yuca frita, from-scratch tortillas, and huevos fritos. For homework, they had to 1) write a new recipe explaining one of the things that we made that night, and 2) a critique of the food describing taste, temperature, texture, plating, and so on. We spoke Spanish the entire time, and all of the work had to be completed in Spanish.

However, costs should not be the ultimate arbiter of which book I use. My decisions are informed solely by which tool I think will do the best job to reach the goals that we have stated in the syllabus.