Electronic copies of course notes

Does ActEd provide electronic copies of their course notes? And if not, why not?

The course notes take up so much space, but I don't want to get rid of them because they're useful for reference. Why doesn't ActEd make a pdf available for all the course notes? They take up no space and they're easier to search.

I don't think there's any issue of people just downloading the notes and not paying for them, as ActEd know when you sit an exam and you haven't paid for the notes. Even if there is, they could just email them to students on request.

 

I asked this before and was told a definite no.

One option is to ask Acted for a form that permits you to photocopy the notes for personal use and then shrink it to A5. Or just buy more bookshelves!

 

Did they give you a reason why?

 

I quite like reading from paper copies, but being able to use the search function on a pdf copy would be REALLY helpful. I spend ages seaching through the notes for things not in the index.

 

i was given the reason of piracy. i guess people probably would just forward it by email to their friends etc.

 

I prefer paper!

And, anyway, how can ActEd possibly know when we sit exams? They're not the Institute, are they. S'pose they could guess from the pass lists (sounds tedious to me), but then what about the majority that fail?! And what about retakers?

Hey, Gareth's a "forum master"! How d'you manage that?

 

loool probably by posting too much!

it's possible to order core reading directly from the Institute anyway, so whether you pass an exam or not proves nothing.

 

Why would piracy be more of a problem then it is with paper notes? Surely if you were the type of person to email somebody the notes then you would currently be willing to lend people your paper notes for them to photocopy? With email there is even evidence that you did it, you can't just leave them laying around like paper notes.

Plus, considering most employees pay for notes, why would anyone risk breaking the rules and being kicked out of the profession? There would be no gain to yourself, but lots of risk. Actuaries don't like risk

 

It may be that with an electronic version, they worry that people could actually modify them. This could be maliciously or to seek a quick profit when distributing further. So there is all kinds of risk including reputational and financial.

Sorry, but I think they are right on this one.

 

i suppose someone would probably stick it on emule / p2p eventually as well.

 

Apparently, some students have been caught out by either the Institue and/or ActEd when they've sat an exam without first buying the notes. So this is a potential problem with paper notes anyway. And it wouldn't require much coordination between the Institute and ActEd to check, if they don't already. Plus comparing two lists of candidates and customers would take about 2 minutes in Excel.

I think the risks of ActEd potentially loosing revenue are fairly minor. Just about anybody who would be willing to pay for a copy of the notes has them paid for by their employer anyway. If anybody else gets a copy, who cares? They may even decide to do the exams and then be compelled to pay ActEd for notes and any tutorials.

I prefer paper too when I'm studying for the first time. But that's not the point. I'm talking about having reference notes for after you've past the exam, but are easy to search and don't take up half your living room.

 

Some thoughts:

1) If you wanted to copy notes for someone else it isn't really that tough at the moment. (Or to hand them down to the next student when you pass.)
2) With those late night study sessions I would much prefer to be reading paper than screwing up my vision on a screen.
3) You can scawl & highlight on paper!
4) You don't waste half your life printing out notes & punching holes.
5) For a quick reference guide I tend to use my handwritten summary notes. They're where I can find all the useful equations (as opposed to the padding that makes up a lot of the course).
6) Cost isn't a problem when your employer pays.
7) My computer broke while I was at uni and I almost lost my dissertation. I don't want to do that again. People would have to hold multiple copies to protect against breakdown - one on CD, one on their laptop etc etc.

On the other hand:

A) It's modern
B) It's quicker
C) It's cheaper
D) There is demand
E) Search facility would be fabulous

 

Um, you are allowed to take exams without using Acted's materials aren't you?

Might have done so for CT3 for example. But as everyone else says, seeing as my employer was paying anyway...

 

of course you can! i passed 103 using only core reading. in theory you could just sit in the Institute Library at Staple Inn and read the acted notes there each day.

 

online copy

okay, i understand about piracy and all if you get pdf yourself..what i'm after is online versions (php et al) where you can view them as html rather than download...or probably some other technology..i dunno..but it does take ages for me to surf through the notes if I am looking for something..it seems to me as dark ages..with technology it can be so much easier..each student has their own acted student number..which they could use to just refer the material and not copy it on hard drive..surely technology allows us to do that..

 

hear hear

 

Oh come on, it would be good to have electronic access to the notes – no doubt. But let’s be realistic, if ActEd produced these notes as .pdf files – or whatever – it’s only a matter of time before they end up on some file sharing network – and once they are out there, there is no going back. On another front, ActEd don’t wholly own the material – much of it is F/I core reading. It is unrealistic to expect ActEd to produce their study materials in such easily compromisable form.

 

Electronic copies

I agree, if electronic copies were published they would soon become easily available. I don't think this would be fair on ActEd or students/employers who buy the products.

Although it is a nightmare to store all the paper copies of course work, I still prefer looking something up on paper rather than on a computer. Just a personal preference though.

 

oh come on chaps!! haven't you seen pdf files which can't be copied to hard drive. Save functionality is DISABLED!! so you can only open it, view it, print it and close it. surely, this is not road to sharing!!

 

I didn't know such pdf's existed. In the long term, it would probably only be a matter of time before someone cracked saving them, if not already.

 

There are always ways around these things but........