How to Get Free Textbooks Online

Paying for college isn't limited to just tuition, housing and associated fees. The cost of educational materials including textbooks must be factored in as well. These days, textbooks can be quite expensive, even if they are used. Some of the reasons textbooks are so expensive include:

o The amount of work and research that goes into writing the content

ROM BEDS

o Productions costs for heavy, hardcover volumes with color graphics

o Extras such as included study guides, CD-ROM or DVD's

Buying more than one, and in some cases various textbooks for each class you take can be a heavy financial burden. Borrowing or sharing textbooks isn't realistic as it is difficult enough as a student to budget your time without having constraints on when and where you can use any given textbook. Luckily, there are ways to save money when it comes to textbooks.

The Internet has made it possible for us to communicate with anyone in the world on any given subject, including textbooks. What this means, is that you are no longer limited to acquiring required textbooks from your campus bookstore. There are several ways to get your textbooks on the Web for cheap or free.

Know What You Need

Try to get a head start on getting all your textbooks by finding out which books will be required for each course ahead of time. It is a good idea to contact the department or the professor of each course to confirm that the books listed are still the ones that will be used. Pay close attention to the details such as authors, ISBN numbers and versions. The earlier you start this process the more likely you'll be to find your textbooks for free or cheap before your competing classmates are also searching for them.

Get Your Textbooks for Cheap

There are a myriad Web sites dedicated to offering educational textbooks to students at a significant discount. Below is a list of some of the most popular textbook sites on the Web. To find each site, simply perform a search engine query for the below-listed title. Visit each site to see where you can get the textbooks you need for the cheapest. Some of the sites even include a side-by-side comparison feature that allows you to compare costs from different resellers. Make sure you taking shipping costs into consideration. Even if your textbooks are cheaper on one site, shipping discounts on another site might make the entire transaction cost less overall.

o Alibris

o Best Book Buys

o Big Words

o Buy Used Textbooks

Get Your Textbooks for Free

For the more cash-strapped, resourceful student, there are ways to actually get your textbooks for free. One of the best ways to do this is to actually swap or trade your textbooks from last semester for the ones you require now. There are a few Web sites dedicated to this type of arrangement. Below are the names of a few.

o Campus Book Swap

o CollegeSwapShop

You can also use public bulletin board or classified sites to find free textbooks online. Simply go to any classified Web site (such as Craigslist or Kijiji) and post an ad that details which books you need and which textbooks you can offer for a trade. Be creative, offer to trade your services (proofreading, tutoring, doing laundry, etc.) in exchange for the textbooks you are looking for.

Finally, there are actually ways of finding the textbooks you need (or their equivalent in terms of information) completely free online. Search for them online to read more about what they offer:

o Freeload Press

o The Internet Public Library

o OpenCourseWare Finder

o Textbook Revolution

How to Get Free Textbooks Online

ROM BEDS

Teaching Textbooks - Homeschool Math Programs - Is it Worth the Money?

I have never been a fan of Saxon Math. I used it during my first few years homeschooling because it was the most well-known and most recommended program. If I had it to do over, I never would have used Saxon at all. My kids and I found it tedious to slog through - it had such a public school feel to it. Lots of added on extras, just so the state standards got covered. At least that is how I perceive the program.

In the early grades (K-6) I prefer to use something like ABeka or Horizons and then switch to the "Key To" series" for reinforcement in fractions and decimals, and then switch to Teaching Textbook after that.

ROM BEDS

My reasons for this are that the very early grades (K-3) are straightforward and easy to teach, and I never saw the point in overwhelming a young child with so many problems and exercises to practice on the basics (except for drill work with multiplication tables). Also, as the math difficulty increased with things like long division, fractions and decimals, my children didn't find their explanations and examples to be adequate.

When my now 15-year-old son was 13, I got him the Teaching Textbook Pre-Algebra program. There is a corresponding white board lecture on CD-ROM for each lesson in the textbook. My son was able to understand most things without extra help or explanation from me. Face it, most homeschool parents are not math majors and don't remember much about Algebra (that was only 20 years ago!). It matters on how well the explanations are done for us as well. I couldn't count the number of times I have looked at math lessons and had to understand the explanations in order to help my child.

Fortunately, with Teaching Textbook, there was very little of this, at least much less than I have had with any other math program. I also felt that it left my son very well prepared for the Algebra course he is taking this year in tenth grade and he is having no problems keeping up.

It is true the Teaching Textbook program is expensive. However,you could very well get a bargain on a used program on E-bay. Also, I have always saved my pennies to buy expensive programs when it really counts, because you will really appreciate the extra help with those tougher high school math courses.

In short, forget buying the .00 math Saxon program for your first grader with all of the bells and whistles, when you really don't need it. Instead, save yourself valuable time, frustration and money by buying a top-quality program, like Teaching Textbook, down the road, when you will really need and appreciate it.

Teaching Textbooks - Homeschool Math Programs - Is it Worth the Money?

ROM BEDS