An Exploration of e-Textbooks

Based on the definition by PC Magazine, an e-textbook is a book that is instructionally or educationally based and is provided in a digital format. While e-textbooks are used more commonly in the university setting at this time, possibilities in the K-12 sector are growing. School districts are deciding to use some of their budget earmarked for textbooks to start tablet programs. In Charlottesville, Virginia, students can use Fujitsu tablets to complete assignments, work in groups, and read and interact with e-textbooks, some of which are open access (Davis, 2012). Openly accessible e-textbook sites are not plentiful, but their numbers are increasing. Some examples are:

CK-12: A nonprofit foundation that works to promote high quality content in the STEM fields. Their website provides textbooks, videos, images, quizzes, and standards integration (www.ck12.org/student).

California Learning Resource Network: A resource for educators that offers a selection of free online supplemental material. Textbooks are one of many resources offered (www.clrn.org).

OER Commons: OER has been curating information in the field of education since 2007. Among other resources, their website features openly accessible textbooks. CK-12 textbooks are included in this collection, along with many others (www.oercommons.org).

Project Gutenberg: Over 40,000 free e-books to download, many of which are in the humanities fields, but depending on the subject (literature, reading, social studies, language arts), this site can provide needed textbooks (www.gutenberg.org).

Wikibooks: Similar to Wikipedia, Wikibooks are books created for the public by the public. Anyone can access them, and anyone can edit them (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page).

IMPLEMENTATION AT UNIVERSITIES

Options to offset textbook costs have traditionally included the used textbook market, textbook rental, and textbook reserves within libraries. Students continue to seek these methods to offset the cost of textbooks and so do universities themselves. However, as textbook costs continue to rise, e-textbooks are growing in popularity. Virginia Tech, in the fall of 2012, started an e-textbook pilot study with 1,211 students. Working with McGraw-Hill, faculty at Virginia Tech wanted to look at whether the idea of e-textbooks could work for students and faculty, if students could use the collaborative tools built into the McGraw-Hill e-textbooks, if the books were readily available technologically, both online and offline, and the crucial needs of those using the e-textbooks.

Throughout the study, cost, weight, accessibility, convenience, and ease of searching were high on the list of positive aspects in the use of e-textbooks. “Students found that they were doing more reading when they could carry all of their books with them on one device,” stated Dr. Jennifer Sparrow, director of InnovationSpace at Virginia Tech’s Emerging Technologies Center. The program was successful. Most students were reading their textbooks on their laptops. They interacted with the books. They could take notes, share notes with peers, collaborate, and create more knowledge. Professors had the opportunity to add notes from class and carry the notes over from one semester to the next. The books are no longer static items, they are a growing body of work.

Asked where she saw e-textbooks fitting into the K-12 sector, Dr. Sparrow shared her thoughts:

“I have a son at home, and it would be great if he could keep a hard copy of the book at school and have an e-copy at home. Students can’t forget material or leave it at school if it’s electronically based. There would be no more worry about the weight of carrying; all of the books are on one device or computer. E-textbooks offer the ability for our students to become contributors of knowledge. They can read the book, take notes, add and share those notes, and contribute to the body of knowledge at large. Say that you are in an AP history class and reading about Martin Luther. A student finds two videos on YouTube, links those videos to the e-textbook, shares them with friends, and adds to the collection. If students are creators, they will gain a greater knowledge. They become part of the collective intelligence.”

INTERACTIVE AND CONNECTED E-TEXTBOOKS

At this time many e-textbooks are PDF based. For interactivity and personalization of the content it will be necessary to move away from the PDF-only format. Dr. Sparrow finished her conversation by talking about her vision for an environment where teachers would have a classroom system such as Edmodo, Collaborize Classroom, or Blackboard, one that is similar to iTunes where we can pick a song to download and play. We as educators and librarians could go in and choose book chapters or portions of books for students to read. Such a system is already available with video and music; it could easily be transferred to reading.

IBOOKS AUTHOR

So you have everything ready for your classes or library. You know what you want to teach—your subject, curriculum, and ideas. You have looked at different textbooks, e-textbooks, and other resources. But no single book meets your needs. Well, the answer is simple: You write your own. Publishing a textbook has become even easier with platforms such as iBooks Author. Dr. Bruce Mahin, professor of music and director of the Center for Music Technology at Radford (Virginia) University wrote the textbook I Love Music for his Music Appreciation course. No textbook matched the approach that he desired to teach. He wanted to integrate music fundamentals into the history of music, breaking down the invisible barriers between music and nonmusicians that people may perceive because they think of music as something overly complicated. Mahin has been using his self-published e-textbook for three semesters.

When asked about the positive elements of using iBooks in the classroom, Dr. Mahin described how iBooks allow for a great deal of student interaction with the content. It moves students closer to the musical score and in turn to the music. Mahin has scores and audio examples built into his iBook; when students read about Beethoven they can also listen to the music. Mahin describes music as “an invisible art.” He says, “To see music and understand it, it takes a little bit of training.” An interactive e-textbook such as the one he has created certainly helps. Dr. Mahin does not require the students to own I Love Music. It is a supplemental text for his class. He also has the content for this class on Desire 2 Learn, which is a classroom system similar to Edmodo or Blackboard. If students want the iBook, they need an iPod, iPad, or other IOS device to view it.

Publishing in the iBooks Author arena has made the releasing of books easier. There are how-to guides on publishing in this format, such as Publishing with iBooks Author: An Introduction to Creating Ebooks for the iPad by McKesson and Witwer. However, as Dr. Mahin reminds us, writing a book is still writing a book. Whether in iBooks or for any other publisher, it still takes time. With iBooks Author you have to be your own editor, proofreader, and marketer. On the other hand, iBooks are interactive, fun to look at, and students will be highly engaged. Updating your iBook is also easy to do.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

E-textbooks are a cost efficient way to meet students’ needs. They are easy to transport, convenient, and easily accessible from most devices and computers. E-textbooks also offer the ability to be interactive and engaging. They encourage collaboration among students and can offer many opportunities in methods of differentiated instruction. We already know that tablets, e-readers, and similar devices are prevalent in our students’ homes. E-textbooks are a logical step and can aid our students along the learning path.