Customer Reviews

Audioguides Volume I

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As an instructor, I want to point out something that I consider a huge plus to Experience History, and that is its connection to an online system called "Learn Smart." Learn Smart is a quizzing system that instructors can use in a variety of ways to enhance student learning. It provides a series of quizzes for the student to take for each chapter that allow both the student and the instructor see how well the student is "getting" the material. I used the quizzes in a way that allowed students to retake them until mastering them, but what is really special is that the system gauges the student's level of preparedness and reacts to it. For example, if a student understands questions and gets them correct, the system asks progressively more challenging questions. On the other hand, if the student is having trouble with the material, the system continues to ask lower-level questions until the student starts to master the material, at which point it eases into more difficult questions. If the student continually misses questions about a specific term or concept, Learn Smart will eventually tell the student to go back and read and will provide the page numbers. This encourages students to read the text until they understand the material. My students really liked Learn Smart. In fact, one student had to take another instructor for 1302 because of scheduling limitations, and she asked me "But what if they don't do Learn Smart? How am I supposed to learn this stuff without Learn Smart?" While I used the program in this way, it could also be used to provide the actual tests for the course. The possiblities are very impressive.

I purchased this book for a US History class. We are now half way through the semester and I find myself having to search other sources to answer the questions that the professor asks. The book covers many topics but the "important" detail seems to be left out. It seems as if half the book is fluff and the rest of the book is very loose explanations of the topics. The book gives a heading for a specific topic then talks about the topic very little, interjecting useless stories and references to other parts of the book that equally as ambiguous/incomplete that just serve to confuse the reader. If possible I would find a professor that uses a different book, if you actually want to learn something about History.

Well written and organized and good pedagogy presenting conflicting primary sources, some artistic and other cultural items and photographs, artwork, etc., and nicely presented "after the fact"discussions.

I'm usually a speed reader, and I enjoy reading more than anybody, but this book is awful. It has too much information than required for a US History course, it seems more like an Encyclopedia than a textbook. It is also written in a way that will have you thinking about other things every couple minutes, it's not engaging, it isn't easy to read, it's not well written. I think this is the first time I rate a textbook this low, but compared to all the textbooks I've read, and I've read quite a lot, this is the only one that seems to be impossible to digest.

I don't normally enjoy textbooks, but this particular book was extremely interesting. There were several excellent pictures to go along with the text. I thought the chapters were excessively long which made for tedious reading.

As a student, I believe that the CONNECT online activities for this book are outstanding. They are much more effective than the online study aids I have utilized in other classes and with other texts. CONNECT is simply the best way to engage with history, and the exercises, quizzes, and critical missions greatly enhanced my learning experience in the classroom. They're interactive, and they're fun. I found myself remembering information and making connections that I would not have been able to draw up had I only read the text itself. A+++!

Very informative book, it has some perspectives not commonly known about American government & history.

Textbook arrived the same date my history class started, textbook was as described; very good condition and the price was only a fraction of what bookstores ask for a used textbook. I will definitely do business again with this seller next semester.

How many new editions do you need. A fifth edition is now available for this book and I bet it is the same material repackaged with a slightly revamped "interactive CD" that no student will find helpful. Any book that costs over one hundred dollars must be full of useful information, until, of course, they become last years edition and they are no longer relevant. Books hold value like the latest cell phone technology...what a marketing skeem. Someone needs to help students since the Universities will not, and the teachers require these latest versions.

The only issue I had with this purchase was unexpected highlighting throughout. It did not necessarily bother me, but the highlighting was not pertinent information for my class so if anything it was a mild distraction. Otherwise, received timely.