Discover SMARTe, an online platform with digital versions of your casebooks.
- Eliminates the need to carry a heavy textbook
- Quickly search for terms/content within the casebook
- Highlight text with multi-colored highlighters
- Integrate your notes in the text
- Create, store, and export your case briefs using the unique Brief Builder tool
- See law in context via media links
- Use the intuitive interface (searchable text, notes, highlighting, brief builder tool)
- Same page organization as the printed casebook
- Links to Loislaw (database of cases)
- Help & User Guides
Want print and digital? Try these loose leaf titles priced at $135. Find these titles at aspenlaw.com:
| Author | Title | ISBN |
| Warren / Westbrook | The Law of Debtors and Creditors: Text, Cases, and Problems, 6E | 9781454819981 |
| Glannon / Perlman | Civil Procedure: A Coursebook | 9781454822134 |
| Chemerinsky | Constitutional Law, 3E | 9781454815310 |
| Stone / Seidman | Constitutional Law, 6E | 9781454817956 |
| Weisberg / Appleton | Modern Family Law: Cases & Materials, 4E | 9781454819998 |
| Dukeminier / Krier | Property, 7E | 9781454815266 |
| Singer | Property Law: Rules Policies and Practices, 5E | 9781454815327 |
| Best / Barnes | Basic Tort Law: Cases, Statutes, and Problems, 3E | 9781454819967 |
| Dukeminier / Sitkoff | Wills, Trusts, and Estates, 8E | 9781454816300 |
Share your comments with us if you have used a SMARTe edition.
I used the Smarte edition of Wills, Trusts and Estates and was surprised how much I loved it compared to the traditional textbook. I regret not using Smarte editions for my other classes. The Smarte edition is much more convenient for several reasons:
1. you can avoid carrying around a heavy textbook
2. you can easily access your Smarte title through your laptop or ipad
3. you can make notes and highlight on your Smarte title
4. you can edit any notes or highlights you make, unlike with a textbook
5. the Smarte title is usually cheaper than the textbook
6. you can easily conduct an electronic search throughout the Smarte title, rather than flip through pages in a textbook
I highly recommend the Smarte titles for any classes you can obtain them for. I wish I was able to use this type of book throughout my entire law school career.
I used the SMARTe Book for my property class over the fall, and was really surprised at how much I loved it! Although I have had a kindle for a few years now, I have been really hesitant about using electronic casebooks. I finally decided to try it because it is more cost efficient, plus it is easier than trying to lug around a ton of books. As the other comments have said, there are a TON of great features about the SMARTe books. Highlighting and note taking is super easy, and really easy to read during class and while outlining. What I liked the best about the SMARTe Book is that I can access it anytime, anywhere. I work, and it was nice to be able to log on and access my book from my computer at work during downtime, and be able to catch up on reading. It made my life a million times easier! I would recommend the SMARTe version of books to anyone, you will be just as pleased.
I used the Smarte edition for my Evidence class last semester, but I also had a physical loose leaf copy of the book as well.. This was the first time I had ever used an electronic version of a textbook for class. There were pros and cons and electronic book.
The Pros: I LOVED not having to carry a heavy textbook with me from Point A to Point B. I also loved that you could type in little notes in the margins as you highlight text. This was the biggest pro for me. The one thing I hate about loose leaf textbooks is the weight. If you have an ipad or a tablet, the smartbook will work great for you.
The Cons: In the Pros section, I mentioned that if you have an ipad or tablet, the book will work great for you. If you’re reading it on a regular laptop, the read could get a little uncomfortable. Before you decide on purchasing an electronic textbook, you should always check to see whether or not you professor allows computers/electronic devices to be used in class. At our school, some professors have a no-laptop policy. This could be problematic if you decide to purchase the electronic version and don’t have a loose leaf copy to go by in class. I may be a bit old fashioned, but having the electronic version just didn’t “feel” the same as having the real copy in my hand. It felt like I had a better learning experience with the real copy.
I was really excited about trying out an e-book because it would allow me to carry less books to school – I have really bad posture and carrying more really adds to back discomfort. Generally my experience with the e-book was good, but it is limited by the Adobe Digital Edition reader’s capabilities.
PROS
I previously experimented with a free e-book that came with my Intellectual Property book (also through Aspen). With the older versions of e-books, there was no way to jump around the different chapters, much less the subsections. They’ve upgraded so that you can now jump around the different sections! The highlighting and search functions are real time savers. The best part of having an e-book is not having to carry around multiple books during the semester, which can get burdensome and heavy. Also, you save time by not having to go to your locker or other storage for your books. So long as you have your computer you have your books as well.
CONS
Having only one highlight color is a real disadvantage for those of us who use coloring systems to notate to ourselves holding, facts, rule, procedural posture. This would be a program fix on the Adobe reader, not the book itself. Not having a physical book also puts you at a disadvantage for the open book tests if you just want to look something up for a second. All exams at my school are taken with ExamSoft, which pretty much locks your computer down so that you can only use the open screen you’re typing on. Only physical copies of books are allowed into the exam room, not digital ones. That being said, you don’t have much time to look at books in open book exams anyways.
The biggest downside is the lack of resale value. There is none. However, the books are a good 30-40% cheaper than the physical copies.
I purchased the SmartE of Wills, Trusts and Estates (Dukeminier 8th ed.). I really enjoyed the SmartE version of the book. It was easy to find pages and subjects. It was also A LOT easier to carry around than the hard back version of the book. Since I take notes on my computer during lecture, I found it very convenient to have the book open while I was taking notes. Additionally, it made it extremely easy to outline at the end of the semester, a task that I usually find extremely daunting. Another bonus of the SmartE version of the book is that you do not get highlighter all over the place. I am a high-lighting fanatic, and always end up with highlighter all over my hands and whatnot. What makes the SmartE version even better is that you can highlight in different colors, so that you can still notate the holding from the facts. I also love the fact that SmartE books are environmentally friendly and that they cost a lot less than a traditional textbook. This was the first SmartE version of a textbook that I have bought and I am a convert. I would recommend it to anyone and plan to use them in the future. There is no need to purchase a hardback 250 page textbook if there is a SmartE version available. I am just sad that they were not available for my first year textbooks.
The first Smart E Book I used was the E Book for my Criminal Law class. I had messed up my aspen or amazon order somehow and still did not have a book; naturally I was immediately assigned something that couldn’t wait, and the only way I could access the assignment was through a smart E Book copy of my Criminal law text. One quick and easy online payment and the installation of the e-book on your computer takes about 5 seconds. Having the smart e-book on my computer meant I would constantly be able to access it, since I use and spend time on my computer more than any other “thing” in my life. Having my laptop as the medium by which I used my actual casebook was incredibly effective because I was naturally always having to be on my computer and as such could immediately and at any point get to my textbook for Crim. Law class– and the casebook is what most Professors consider to be the very core of our overall legal education.
I began to realize exactly how useful the smart e book really is when I got the e book version of Glannon, Pearlman, and Raven-Hansen’s Civil Procedure Casebook for my first year Civil Procedure class. I used it to supplement the text itself and other study guides I had for this class/book (Examples and Explanations for Civil Procedure, Glannon’s Guide to Civil Procedure, Casebriefs, etc.). Now that I’ve used it, I’m very confident that the Smart E Book “version” of the Glannon text is an extremely effective way of learning first year Civ Pro a’ la Glannon. A number of technical aspects of the smart e book make it an ideal way to study any given subject. But legal subjects– Civil Procedure, in particular– are particularly conducive to the way smart e books work. Just being on your computer means you have the ability to read, work with and think about the Glannon text, and it is often said, and something I believe wholeheartedly after going to law school, that for a number of legal subjects including the first year Civil Procedure course, the best and possibly only way to truly grasp a subject is to spend as much time immersed in it as possible. Having the Glannon text on my computer meant I was constantly getting to interact with, familiarize myself with, and test my understanding of Civil Procedure as espoused by Glannon et al. in his Casebook. If I had a lot of time then I would either do my actual class reading, take notes and highlight the most important parts of the whole document and be able to look at all the notes compiled, or use any number of the featured components that are helpful. If I didn’t have a lot of time, though, I would look just at my notes or highlighted text of the casebook for whatever particular issue I sought to better understand. I could easily place the text I had highlighted in a new folder and change the way I had been reading my material by re-organizing it into the most study-conducive document. New technical features like word forums truly make the Smart e book the most advanced way to be taught any subject. Without such features I wouldn’t have been able to reap the educational benefits of having constant access to a highly individualized and technologically impressive version of the class’ casebook.
As incredible as the technological features have been at revolutionizing the way students can learn, the ability to study your casebook through using your computer has actualized some of the value of habitual studying as the means of best understanding a subject. It truly became a habit to open my Civ. Pro. book this semester. I was able to use the Smart E book to my fullest advantage by being able to coordinate the organization of my notes and markings on the actual pages of my textbook.
I also purchased a loose-leaf copy of Wills, Trusts, and Estates (Dukeminier 8th ed.) and a SmartE text came with it. I used the SmartE version moreso than the loose-leaf copy of the textbook, primarily because of the convenience and the accessibility that came with such SmartE book. I very much enjoyed this because it allowed me to avoid carrying the heavy book around.
The post it notes function in the margins is also extremely useful since it avoids unnecessary highlighting and messiness of the traditional bookmarketing.
I’ve been using the SMARTe ALWD citation manual and it is amazing. Typically, I tend to shy away from techno products–I don’t have a smart phone, kindle, or even an MP3 player. That is, I usually prefer books that are, well…you know, actual books. However, I found the SMARTe book so easy to use, in addition to having many useful features. I especially loved the multi-colored highlighting capability—I was able to use my color-code system without having to dig around in the blackhole of my backpack to find the right, (and hopefully still functional) highlighter. Also, very cool was the note taking feature. While my professor was lecturing about topics and citations, I was able to quickly and fully integrate her key points and examples into my SMARTe book—this was perfect for when I was doing my exam review and working on my legal research writing project. I also loved the price of the SMARTe book, and the fact that it is environmentally-friendly. I will never again buy a casebook if a SMARTe book is an available.
The SMARTe books are amazing. I am currently using the ALWD citation manual for my legal research and legal writing classes. I am typically a book and pen with paper student. I love having the book online. When I need to look for a citation for a case or secondary source, all I have to do in get online, and use the search function. I no longer have to look through a book and multiple pages to find what I need.
I look forward to using more of these books in my studies. It is nice to have a book that you can make notes, highlight, and have my books with me at all times. This will allow anyone to study at anytime, anywhere and not have to carry those large books.
I started using the SMARTe book for the first time this semester for my Trusts and Estates class. It has been phenomenal in so many ways and I will hesitate in returning to regular hard books next semester. First, it allows me to avoid carrying around another heavy book, something that all law students struggle with. Second, I used to prefer books over online sources because of highlighting. I use several different colored highlighters to differentiate the facts, holding, reasoning, etc. and the fact that this online book has many colors is great. I can no longer complain about this: a huge reason why I didn’t typically like reading online. Also, I really like that I can add notes in the margin next to the text that it refers to. This saves lots of time for note taking. Additionally, I can copy and paste the text directly into my notes document so briefing is super simple. Finally, the SMARTe book has media links, which often help to illustrate points, and searchable text which is great when the professor asks a targeted question in class and I can pull up that part of the case quickly. In all, the use of this online book has transformed my studying and I wouldn’t want to go back.
I love the SMARTe editions. What started as an “addition” to my study routine has become a key tool front and center.
My favorite feature is that I always have it, but NEVER have to carry heavy casebooks around. Between school, work, study groups, it is nice to be able to “carry around” your books, without having to haul thousands of pages everywhere. Last year, the SMARTe edition was bundled with my Civ Pro book, so I tried it. This year, I jumped on it. I love the fact that I can just leave my casebooks at school, and can get everything on my computer. Big bulky backpack – NO MORE! Messenger bag all the way for me, now.
Alexandra’s comments touched on it, but the best feature is the highlighting. My vision suffers a bit, and I struggle with neon colors on paper – not a worry with my SMARTe edition. All the colors, right there at my disposal, right on my screen and easy to read.
With the ability to cut and paste straight from the text into OneNote, I no longer have a good excuse to say “Not prepared” in class. And, it’s so easy to use, when my classmates call me gunner, I can show them that I only work smarter, not harder.
It’s that time of year where you start shopping for next semester’s books. But, not me, just find the SMARTe edition, my shopping is over.
This fall when I purchased a loose-leaf copy of Wills, Trusts, and Estates (Dukeminier 8th ed.), I received a complimentary SMARTe edition of the book as well. At first, I didn’t expect to use the SMARTe version – I figured it was great a bonus, but I had always preferred reading and taking notes with a hardcopy text.
However, when I activated my online SMARTe version, I was hooked. I still bring my loose-leaf version to class everyday but here are a few things I love about the SMARTe online edition:
-I can cut and copy text from the book right into my notes…which ultimately cuts my briefing time in half.
-I can access the book anywhere I have Internet…I live off campus and often forget my textbooks in my locker – this saves me a trip to school. Also I can read in a coffee shop or at the airport (without having to lug around my books).
-I can insert “post-it” notes in the margins and after questions in the text. For example, the Wills, Trusts, and Estates text often references a specific citation and asks how that case was decided…with the SMARTe edition, I can cut and copy the citation into Westlaw and then copy the helpful text back onto a “post-it” in the SMARTe version. I can easily click and save the “post-it” and I have the answer ready in class.
-Different colored highlighters make online briefing as convenient as book briefing (minus having to carry around a rainbow of highlighters in my bag, which inevitably dry out far too quickly).
Overall, the SMARTe edition is a welcome addition to my study routine.