Do I need physical books for my online course?

With the rise of e-books and online learning, the topic of digital vs printed is constantly debated. Maybe you’re questioning whether it’s worth investing in yet another textbook?

Whilst not a necessity, thanks to the wonder of online learning, having hard copies of books can be an invaluable supporting tool. Don’t overlook a possible silver bullet boost for your learning.

Write by hand

Using pen and paper for note-taking helps boost memory and the ability to understand for some individuals more so than laptops, mobiles or tablets.

One of our favourite tips is to write down your thoughts as you read. Being able to link theory to your own thoughts on a subject matter will help cement them in your brain.

You can also use post-it notes to mark up sections you want to go back to and highlight areas to concentrate on. You’ll definitely find some modules tougher than others on your accountancy education journey. Sometimes the physical action of marking up a book can really help you come to grips with a topic.

Seeing double

When you’ve got a textbook as well as your computer screen – why not double up?

Keep your book open at the same time as you have content up on your screen. By doing this you’ll have twice the level of information to refer to.

You can never have too much information, and you can never do too much reading. To help with your studies, set aside some time to do extra research into a topic from the book on the screen, and put the new information into the physical book. And vice versa. You can see it as a hard copy backup of screen learning.

You’ll always have them

We know how quickly things change online – keeping track of where you’re finding information can sometimes be tricky.

With using a physical book – if you need to refer to something in the future, you know that the information will still be right there. It’s a guarantee that you won’t lose that vital information.

Thinking about the future, buying textbooks could be super useful to look back and compare what’s changed and what stayed the same with regulations and legislation.

Imagine working hard on your laptop one day and the internet goes down. How do you keep on studying? Well, now you have a hard copy of everything you need when you have a book. You don’t just need an internet connection to learn.

One of our favourite things about physical books – you can carry them everywhere. We’re massive fans of distance learning and love that you can take study everywhere from a coffee shop to your sofa.

With a book, it’s easy to keep it in your bag ‘just in case’. Now you have no excuse not to squeeze some extra revision in on your bus or train rides.

Yes, we know you can carry your laptop, but you don’t need a charger or special carry case for a book.

Delve a little deeper

Osborne Books helps to give you the full picture. Eagle’s online materials cover everything you need to know to pass, but say you want to go that extra mile and really get under the skin of Taxation, or any topic for that matter, Osborne will help get you there.

As well as this, if you want extra information, extra exercises and extra practice assessments – that’s what you can find in a physical book.

Eagle offers both

With an Eagle subscription, you get the best of both worlds. You can study on your own terms, at your own pace online. And you can get exclusive discounts on Kaplan Publishing or Osborne Books hard copy materials*.

50% off Osborne Books materials for AAT students. 50% off Kaplan materials for ACCA and CIMA students.