I enjoy that the reading material is essentially also counted as homework for my class due to the included activities. It's honestly a very useful tool. We havebeen working since 2012 to offerthe best STEM courseware. It is a good way to learn certain topics without getting too detailed in the explanations. I know that Zybooks can be printed however-the cost of printing with a home printer is too costly. I think this is a wonderfully effective tool and am very excited to have been introduced to it. This course is teaching students that you must follow code down to the last newline argument instead of rewarding them for creating functional code. A important part of this proccess is the interaction of the student with the programs that he creates: Is by interaction that the student's mind can solidify the concepts that he learn, and is by interaction that he can learn how to fix errors. I definitely prefer using zyBooks over a traditional book. See notes at the bottom for what we have done, and for discussion about the responses. This feels like I am getting the short end of the stick. For example, I think it was in the chapter about user defined functions where the challenges incorporated vectors and classes, something I that had not been covered at all previously, hence, I had a lot of difficulty figuring it out. These small details did not necessarily make it more difficult than it had to be, but I just feel like zyBooks should not ALWAYS be used for major projects. Where my instructor lacked code examples, zybooks picked up that slack. Zybooks is good as supplementary material, but for the class I'm currently taking right now, it's the only material being taught. However, in some cases, I feel that with larger coding assignments, zybooks makes life harder for me. I liked that it was conceptual and interactive. ZyBooks was nothing like. I wish There were more videos tho for more visual learning to balance off the tremendous amount of reading and make it faster process. zyBooks is great and it doesn't lag. I think the tool is great. It was really easy to navigate, very informative, and useful. Giving virtual examples of concepts was extremely helpful. I'd rather use zybooks than zoom lectures. Really cool program. IT's a fantastic interactive learning platform. Also, sometimes the explanations can be somewhat bare minimum, leaving me to have to do some trial and errors to figure out exactly what was meant in the explanations. My favored textbook variety. Well done. I love how you guys explain the problem by pictures and gifs. I think it is very helpful to set the strong background knowledges through zyBooks. zyBooks can include configurable embedded coding environments that allow students to work with real code, on the fly. I found it overall a great platform to use, especially for a CS class, i feel it is very coveient and modern vs toting a book around with you and selling them back to the bookstore for near to nothing. it's kind of annoying to program in these text boxes with no linting or auto completion of brackets/paranthesis, etc. I'd like to talk about the material in the books, but I never had access to them, so this is only especulation based on the level of understanding of SNHU's students: It seems to me that the material tries to simplify things, but what it actually happens is that it doesn't cover concepts well, and students feel that the material is doing big leaps from one concept to another. Zybooks is very clear and helpful with ever concept. I do find it helpful however, I feel having some videos where someone is taking us through the algorithms will be better than us keep playing play. Especially with the data structures. It does not need to be severe, just enough to encourage people to actually read the material. not reliable at times. You show so many complicated and confusing concepts to newer coders right off the bat and leave out so many basic principles at the same time. It is a lot easier to follow than a regular textbook. It is a great platform to learn as zybooks allows you to interact with the material and have the best experience. From Mind to Market: zyBooks | UCR Magazine It provided an intuitive system for extended education beyond the traditional in-class lectures. Overall, it is an easy and efficient implementation of an online textbook, especially compared to similar services. I Love the activities and ability to really delve into my learning, It was okay, but I don't think it taught me computer science. i wish i could look back at old books and do some exercises to freshen up on things, without buying it again, like a real book, Some parts of zybooks were confusing and frustrating at times, but I worked around it, Helped me better understand data structure. Bad meme aside, it's been an extremely helpful and coincidental tool once my instructor strictly transitioned to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. I've never had an issue when using zyBooks. Comedy is great, I love comedy and there's so many great ways to include comedy in education and that's just not one of them. I really dislike the labs. I liked it a lot, it helped me study the best I could. Our class was flipped, so this is how we learned new material. It's helpful, especially the challenge questions. I think its a pretty good program. Instructors can evaluate any full zyBook for free. It seems like Udacity would be a better option for this program. Tell me and I forget. Go to Zybooks (or refresh the page). So, we manually examined those responses (we had to skip 240 Nos to total 1000 Yess) and found the negative comment rate was only 8%, which is just slightly higher than the negative rate of the Yess. Instructors often wonder if their students will like zyBooks. It really helped me a lot to understand the course and made it really easy. I love zybooks!! They are very informational and the example pictures of code along with the challenge problems are helpful with understanding syntax and actually formatting the code. Using zyBooks makes the course easier to learn from and practice the lessons. Katherine Murphy, Student, Clemson University, zyBooks gives just the right level of content for students learning to program, packaged in an interactive online experience that also allows for instructor customization. If I don't understand something and get answers wrong it lets me see the answer and helps me see why the answer is the answer. Instead, below we provide every student comment, whether positive or negative, so you can see for yourself what students really think. Its about the same as a book rental; a scam. I didn't actually have a problem with zyBooks itself, but I didn't like that we were doing the class in C because I don't really have a use it for in my degree (applied math). I find that learning with interactive material on zyBooks is more beneficial than just reading examples and notes. It introduces material at a good pace and is a great companion to computer science classes. It's a nice, interactive tool to facilitate material. I appreciate all of the practice problems and interactive examples. Fill in short answers for you. The concept is great but answers are stupid. It surprisingly helped so much with understanding basics of java. Love the challenge problems and lots of examples. It is so organized I know exactly what need to do and can easily see my progress. From my experience of using zyBooks, I feel that it is a great tool for learning java. into thin air outside magazine article 1996; Also, scaffolding opportunities would be extremely helpful with the ending coding exercises. Anonymize references to competitor products (using ___). I took this class the previous semester, and for the entire time, I really just had no idea what was going on in terms of how I could implement what I had learned in class to solve a problem. Get a demo today. The lessons really help me grasp information needed to pass the class. It is easy to use, works in all browsers even with ad-block, and has great teaching methods. I am usually against the use of online textbooks, I find them hard to navigate (I also dislike looking at a computer screen for long periods of time reading but that isn't relevant). zyBooks is very easy to use, user friendly, and provides great learning tools. How good is the zyBooks eBook for C programming? - Quora Trustworthy source. Jose Maya, Student, IUPUI, The combination of online exercises, lectures, and targeted programming assignments, in addition to the book material, provides an effective, multi-tiered approach. However resources in the book including interactive opportunities to compile C++ helped me pick up skills quickly but were at time frustrating to use due to adding whitespace out of habit that would mark answers wrong. Zybooks is great but the only thing is that I wish some of the challenge activities were more simple like the practice problems. What Do Students Really Think of zyBooks? - zyBooks However, with my learning habits, simply reading about the complex concepts about programming was not enough. The questions in the book helped me master the topics. I personally favored zybooks of all the shitty homework softwares I had to use lol. Especially since we transitioned online. I enjoy ZyBooks much more than traditional books. Well continue to educate students and improve on this issue. I can learn in my own time. 269: zyBooks is a very good platform for educational purposes. I enjoy the interactive aspect of the site that is not paralleled in any regular physical textbook. Only show 1000 responses, even though we had several thousand more. This is the zyBooks company profile. but would be value add more separate reading offline access then lab online access. I really liked the platform, material presentation followed a logical progression. It's a great resource but reading the lessons is more time consuming then I would like - I wish I could make it move a little faster. They do not have clear instructions or teach what to do clearly. within one lesson using zyBooks. We did not filter responses based on positive or negative comments. Skip responses where students answered No to a question at the surveys end asking if we could use their survey comments in marketing materials. I used to take an introductory programming course when I was still in electrical engineering but that was structured terribly for first-time programmers. I really enjoyed the course material and the interactive learning within the course. The lessons were interactive and easily accessible . It helped me learn with the readings and then practice/ apply my new-found knowledge with the labs. I stared at and attempted the lab for over 45 minutes before understanding what it asked, but there was no helpful hints on where to even start. I have always struggled with math and this year I wasn't doing so well. Before, I had no experience with python but now i feel confident in my knowledge of the material. However, would run better with videos and more help on the activity challenges on the bottom of the page. I really like it and it is helping me to learn. 3.2 For loops Survey The following questions are part of a zyBooks survey to help us improve our content so we can offer the best experience for students. zyBooks Overall, the participation activities are fine. Clearly, some of those 50% of students are going to be upset they cant access our content free or just ignore it (due to points). The platform adopts a dynamic approach to STEM education, illustrating concepts through animations, question sets, experimentation . I think it is a helpful resource that allows me to learn at my own pace and work through things slowly without worrying about my grade dropping. Fantastic! I found the graphics extremely helpful in understanding how everything interacts in an operating system. I really enjoyed the fact that the zyBooks had the option to get the answers correct by attempting multiple times until I get it right. I would sometimes get frustrated with it linking correctly with my Canvas but for the most part it was great. Our teacher didn't even know what the chapters were about. With zybooks I was able to get the practice and explanations that I really needed and I started doing a lot better on my exams and quizzes. Sometimes the lessons are a bit long and confusing, so by the time you get to the challenge questions there is just too much information, but overall its a good system. I've really enjoyed doing the activities as I learn. The information was direct and to the point, but I would like to have seen some examples other than what was in the solution to the homework assignments. It is engaging and exciting! I benefitted from the many exercises in coding and reading/solving code outcomes. Zybooks is great because it does not expect you to know anything about programming. I really like everything about it. I liked the interactive element of zyBooks, however for the assignments there were some elements that sometimes felt redundant or too time-consuming. The repetition from typing in answers helps reinforce Java syntax. Students: Using a zyBook in your class? zyBooks Engaged Employer Overview 22 Reviews -- Jobs 16 Salaries 3 Interviews 2 Benefits -- Photos 9 Diversity + Add a Review zyBooks Reviews Updated Sep 19, 2022 Find Reviews Clear All Full-time, Part-time English Filter Found 17 of over 22 reviews Sort Popular Popular COVID-19 Related Highest Rating Lowest Rating Most Recent Oldest First 4.4 Terms of Use Privacy DMCA Notification Policy 2021 zyBooks, Katherine Murphy, Student, Clemson University, Dale Reed, University of Chicago, Illinois, Laiba Mustafa, Student, University of Guelph, inspired by a Chinese philosopher, 818 AD. I love the concept, particularly fitting for computer science.