Well, I'm back from the conference. While some sessions weren't that great, others were very interesting and I got a lot of good information from them. There were three tables with representatives from textbook publishers. I use books from all three of them, so all have good options. I was really glad to see that my estate planning textbook is coming out with a new edition this summer, so I signed up to get a copy as soon as it's published. I really like the book, but it's getting outdated and I was thinking I'd have to change texts altogether. Thankfully, now I won't have to do that.
Other than the estates book, I wasn't really thinking about changing the text for any of my classes. Students don't like it when you change books because current students can't sell theirs back, and new students won't have used copies available. So changing books isn't something I do lightly. However, I found a really great business orgs book that I think I have to try. It's a brand new textbook, which is kind of exciting. What I really like about it is that each chapter has several case studies at the end. I'm always looking for things to do in the classroom beyond just lecture, but it's sometimes hard to come up with them myself. With this book, it would be easy! I also like the way it's written. There are charts and graphs to help visual learners, and the language level is appropriate. It also pretty much follows the format of the text I use now, so I wouldn't need to adjust the syllabus too much to accommodate it.
It might be too late to use this book next Fall, but I am definitely going to look to order it for my students in Spring 2012 at the latest. I think the students will really like it, and I'll like teaching from it.
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