Digital BooksMarie Shaw and Robyn McKenney

February 3, 2012

Sixty-two percent of college presidents believe that more than half of the textbooks used by

students in their institutions a decade from now will be digital.

PEW Internet: The Digital Revolution and Higher Education, 2011

© Shaw & McKenney 2012

Availability of digital textbooks

• Proprietary vendors with e-readers such as Amazon Kindle and Apple

• Free sites: Google Books and Project Gutenberg

• Teacher created assemblages of audio, visual, interactive, and text resources presented on the web (Edline, Blackboard, etc.)

• Academic Courseware –course content from multiple publishers packaged as an e-textbook with web access

Digital Textbook Courseware (ECAR)

CourseSmart

• “Full textbook experience” (full color and multi-media)

• Digital textbooks continue to evolve and improve.

• Students rent content, license varies between 6-18 mos.

• Digital text can be customized to meet curriculum standards.

AcademicPub

Benefits of Digital Books (University of Minnesota )

e-Books

• Consumer popularity• E-books are usually less

expensive than print books.• Hundreds of e-books on one

device. • Purchase and download in a few

minutes. • Searchable for words or topics.• E-readers support notes,

dictionaries, and printing.

e-Textbooks

• Same features as e-Books• Customization • Some publishers provide "build-

a-book" options• Emerging technologies (Apple

textbooks, augmented reality)• Manageability for students• Multimedia (nonlinear learning

experience)

Research Findings of Digitalization(Simmons College, 2009)

Benefits• Anytime, anywhere access• Support for distance education• Instantaneous access upon

purchase or rental• Better searching of text• Space savings• Eliminates theft of books

Challenges• Platform diversity• Need for high quality, non-

proprietary readers• Electronic format availability

lags behind print availability• Licensing management• Ownership of content

Digital Texts- Slow reception from academia(ECAR)

• Initial market of e-readers was for consumers

• Lack standard file formats for e-readers

• Intellectual property rights slowed adoption of digital texts in academia

• Cultural differences – reluctance of faculty to replace paper textbooks with e-books

• Requirements for leisure reading differ greatly from those of academic reading

Academic Reading has specific functional requirements

(ECAR)

Print “books enable a set of practices that support both individual learning and classroom interactions :

transcribing

note taking

referencing

…rapid navigation necessary in a group discussion”

Requirements for successful implementation in academia (ECAR)

Features of digital texts:• Accessibility• Navigation• Documentation• Writing• Notation• Legibility of equations• Multiple language and script

ability• Text-to-speech

Support needed for:• Faculty-generated content.• Enhanced images/graphics• Course reserves• Support for audio content• Continued access to content

after the course is over• Protect intellectual property• Compliance with copyright)

Research Findings: Reading digital textbooks

Concerns:• Children perceive reading on

the web different than reading books (Sutherland-Smith, 2002).

• Digital media does not promote in-depth reading (Liu, 2009)

• Multimedia digital textbooks require a different kind of reading across interactive layers consisting of visual clues, hypertext, digital paper, and image (Thomas, 2005)

• Despite the improvements to e-readers, users read 20%-30% more slowly, use more effort, and are more tired than when reading on paper (Asmodt, 2009).

• Digital textbook user interfaces do not seem designed for sustained reading. Readers prefer digital text for shorter tasks like verifying facts (JISC, 2009).

What devices support the use of digital textbooks?

• Netbooks and computers

• iPad, iPhone, iPod: apps support ibooks, PDF, EPUB, Kindle, and other file types

• Tablets & Phones: various tablets and cell phones have apps that support acquisition of e-books

• Emergent technologies: devices continue to evolve and improve

Digital Textbooks: True Savings?

• Will schools be required to purchase devices for all students?

• How will IT support one-to-one devices?

• Home connectivity: Will schools be required to provide print texts to students who do not have access to high speed Internet or readers?

• Mobile devices are limited in their educational use (small screens, data plans are expensive, limited image size, keyboard and mouse functions, etc.)

• Will this exacerbate the digital divide?

• How will the use of digital texts impact current content delivery (Edline?)

• Teachers who have already integrated these systems into their teaching may be reluctant to switch to digital textbooks.

Kindle for K-12

Features:• Kindle wireless is independent

and robust• Content less expensive than

textbooks• Purchased books can be lent

to other Kindles (interesting sharing arrangement)

• Content managed in Amazon through the owner’s library

Concerns:• The reader cannot move

rapidly around a text in a non-sequential manner.

• Quotation, annotation, and summary tools are not robust.

• Not all digital content is Kindle compatible.

iPadFeatures:• Kindle app for compatibility with

Amazon library• ibooks content• Interactive , multimedia textbooks• Academic tools • Multipurpose• Cost

Concerns:• Cost• Multi-purpose• The reader cannot

move rapidly around a text in a non-sequential manner.

Our recommendations for East Lyme Public Schools

Immediate:• Initiate a pilot of e-readers at

each school• Use e-books in classrooms for

narrative reading; consider whether images and color are requirements for comprehension.

• Compile data on our students’ learning

• Provide ongoing PD for staff in use of e-readers

Ongoing:• Determine where digital

textbooks would most enhance student learning

• Preview digital textbooks for content, readability, multimedia, and other functions and features.

• Explore multiple devices for content delivery

• Understand licensing, intellectual property and copyright

• Ongoing cost/benefit analysis (fluid pricing, discount purchasing, state contracts, etc.)

Questions?

• Do we rent or purchase content?• Will changing file formats make the

content inaccessible in the future?• Will we have incompatibility issues

with e-readers?• Can we offer simultaneous use in

multiple classrooms?• What are the limitations of

licensing and ownership –transferability among devices?

• Can our infrastructure support the use of digital textbooks?

• Who provides the e-reader?• What devices are most appropriate

and flexible?• What alternate provisions will be

made for students who do not adapt to e-readers?

• What supports for teachers (developing content, teaching reading)will be offered?

• What supports for students will be provided?

• How will all teachers adapt to teaching with digital texts?

How will digital books and textbooks change the way we engage with content?

Works CitedAnson, Catherine, and Ruth R. Connell. E-book Collections. Washington, D.C.:

Association of Research Libraries, 2009. Print.

Campbell, Alex. “New digital tools let professors tailor their own textbooks for under $20.” The Chronicle of Higher Education (Oct. 2011): A11. Print.

DeSantis, Nick. “E-Textbooks saved many students only $1, a college determines.” The Chronicle of Higher Education (Jan. 2012): 15. Print.

The digital revolution and higher education. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Pew Internet, 2012. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://www.pewinternet.org/ Reports/ 2011/ College-presidents/ Report/ Part-2.aspx>.

Foster, Gavin, and Eric Remy. E-books for academe: a study from Gettysburg College. Gettysburg, PA: Educause Center for Applied Research, 2009. Print.

From paper to pixel: digital textbooks and Florida schools. Tallahassee, FL: The PALM Center, 2010. Print.

Hwang, S. “ Using e-textbooks in your class?” Technology enhanced learning at the University of Minnesota. University of Minnesota, Dec. 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2012.

“New survey: students who own tablets more likely to favor digital textbooks.” Pearson Foundation. Pearson, 23 May 2011. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://www.pearsonfoundation.org/ pr/ new-survey-students-who-own>.

Rachlin, Natalia. “Digital textbooks slow to catch on.” ASU Online. Arizona State University, 2010. Web. 28 Jan. 2012. <http://asuonline.asu.edu>.

Richman, Jon. “A campus-wide e-textbook initiative.” EDUCAUSE Quarterly. EDUCAUSE, 2009. Web. 28 Jan. 2012.

Works Cited: Images

• Books and ipad [Online Image] available @ http://asburyseedbed.com/theme/images/articles/134820068.jpg

• Books [Online Image] available @ http://chipchase.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/textbookblog1.jpg• Bug Text [Online Image] available @ http://photos.appleinsider.com/textbooks-120119-1.jpg 1/29/12• Coursesmart [Online Image] available @

http://www.whfreeman.com/Catalog/uploadedImages/Content/WHF/Discipline/CourseSmartMobile_Freeman_web%20.jpg 1/29/12

• Five Little Monkeys [Online Image] available @ http://eduscapes.com/fluid/monkey.jpg 1/29/12 • Google[Online Image] available @ http://tech.massivelinks.com/uploads/Google-eBooks.png 1/29/12• ibooks: [Online Image] available @ http://www.dailyifix.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/iBooks.jpg

1/29/12• Kindle [Online Image] available @

http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/wp- content/uploads/2011/09/kindle-touch.jpg 1/29/12• Kindle Reader [Online Image] available @

http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4096/5441103471_6aa0793f0f_z.jpg 1/29/12• Portrait [Online Image] available @

http://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/4826939037_3c18d7cc92_z.png 1/29/12 • Students with Tablets [Online Image] available @

http://www.sp.edu.sg/wps/wcm/connect/b0fc73004948b60e9f609f7bcdeb833c/2/02.JPG?MOD=AJPERES&lmod=375376414 1/29/12

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