Help Shannon's students afford printed textbooks

Every semester for the past 17-odd years, I teach a Spanish class at a local university.

These days university textbook publishers push virtual textbooks ("v"-texts) on us. They do also sell printed textbooks, but for a considerably higher price.

Because of the cost, most of my colleagues now reluctantly assign the v-text, rather than requiring our students to fork out the extra money for printed books. For a number of years I resisted that pressure, but I finally gave in last year and let them to buy the v-book. These two semesters have given me enough time to conclude that online textbooks are disastrous.

They are awful things to navigate. It takes longer to open the virtual book and get to certain pages, and it's harder working on more than one page at a time and flipping back and forth between pages. Tech glitches and constant distractions are endemic. I, as are most of my colleagues, am convinced that v-books are hampering language acquisition.

I have decided that this semester I will once again require my students to buy the printed textbook. I plan to use a couple hundred of my own dollars to help them offset the difference, but a friend suggested that I also start a go fund me drive, so here I am, asking you to help foot the bill for my students, who are now being forced, by me, to buy the printed, rather than virtual textbooks.

It will cost each student $80 more. I presently have 10 students registered for my class, though by the end of week 2 of the Fall semester I will probably have closer to 15. I plan to distribute my own money, combined with whatever I am able to collect here, among those students who need it.

I should warn you that I may end up hitting you up every semester, so if you are inspired to contribute, best to space it out, and any small donation will help.

Thanks. Love you guys.

Shannon