Professor Starts eText Company to Electrify Textbook Field


M. Ryan Haley, a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh economics professor, has started a company he hopes will undercut the academic textbook publishing industry and help college students save a lot of money.

CoreTxt Plus Inc. is distributing a free digital statistics textbook to UW-Oshkosh students.

"We bypassed the middleman, which is the people making all the money off our students," Haley said. "They're putting new editions out every few years now, and it's absurd. Statistics hasn't changed in 150 years."

Haley estimates the e-text has saved UW-Oshkosh students taking the economics and business statistics class $100,000 to $150,000 during the four semesters it has been used.

[snip]

Professors who use the book can customize about 15% of it to their teaching style and needs, Haley said. Students who are more comfortable with a paper textbook can go to the university's copy center and have one made for about $15, he said.

[snip]

CoreTxt is looking to sell the book at other schools at a very low cost and to create digital textbooks for other large-enrollment, introductory-level classes, Haley said.

[snip]

Source and Fulltext Available At 

[http://bit.ly/HOnpyF]

MIT OpenCourseWare Teams Up with Flat World Knowledge ...


MIT OpenCourseWare teams up with Flat World Knowledge to combine free texts and free course materials

Collaboration among open education innovators creates rich learning opportunities for independent learners.

IT OpenCourseWare and textbook publisher Flat World Knowledge have teamed up to provide free, high-quality textbooks to learners accessing OCW’s innovative OCW Scholar courses. This is among the first collaborations between an OpenCourseWare publisher and an open textbook publisher and highlights the growing opportunity for open education efforts to reinforce one another in creating rich learning experiences.

“Open education is moving from a collection of projects to a robust ecosystem,” said Creative Commons CEO Cathy Casserly. "Pairing Creative Commons licensed open textbooks from Flat World Knowledge with Creative Commons licensed MIT OpenCourseWare offers students access to a rich set of open educational resources (OER) that can be combined and customized for a more effective educational experience. This shows how commercial publishers can supplement and improve OER with quality assurance and platform support. Here, building on ‘free’ and ‘open’ means lower textbook costs for students.”

[more]

Source and Fulltext Available At 

[http://bit.ly/ygdyya]

Non-U.S. Digital Textbook Initiatives

I am greatly interested in learning about non-U.S. Digital Textbook initiatives. 



To date I've identified only several  projects outside of the United States, that include:


Digital School Program with Open Textbooks Approved by Polish Government!

http://digital-textbooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/digital-school-program-with-open.html


In South Korean Classrooms, Digital Textbook Revolution Meets Some Resistance

http://digital-textbooks.blogspot.com/2012/03/in-south-koreanclassrooms-digital.html


E-books Venture to Target UK Students

http://digital-textbooks.blogspot.com/2012/04/e-books-venture-to-target-uk-students.html 


I am interested in any / all non-U.S. Digital Textbook projects at the institutional, local, state, regional, and/or national level(s).


BTW-1: I will be giving two (2) lectures and a workshop for the DILL (Digital Library Learning) program in Parma, Italy (http://dill.hioa.no/) during the week of September 17 2012. 


BTW-2: I am more than willing to give presentations / workshops in other European venues after September 19 but no later than September 28 2012, if there is adequate interest and support.


Regards,


/Gerry


gerrymck@iastate.edu 

E-books Venture to Target UK Students


Laura Chesters / Monday, 16 April 2012


US digital textbook rental service CourseSmart is launching in the UK today to coincide with The London Book Fair.


The company, founded by a group of publishers including Pearson, McGrawHill and Macmillan, launched in the US in 2007 and is now targeting UK university students.


Former Random House digital director Fionnuala Duggan is leading the UK business, which claims the service can cut student book bills by 40 per cent.


Students can rent books for six months or more and can make notes on their copy which are saved online. CourseSmart has more than 20,000 etextbooks and has 2.5 million users worldwide – around 90 per cent of the US high education market.


In the UK, it is aiming to have 7,000 titles by the start of the university term in September. It is also targeting partnerships with UK university faculties to ensure it has the books needed for each course.


Duggan said: "It's like a locker based system. You rent the book and can keep it in one of our online 'lockers' so students don't have to have the responsibility of storing it themselves.

[snip]


The company works with 30 publishers in the US, and is planning to work with a similar amount in the UK.4/16/12 E-books venture to target UK students.

[snip]


Source and Fulltext Available 

[http://ind.pn/IuFFX6]

Schools are Switching Textbooks for iPads: Good for Education or Unnecessary Expense?




April 09 2012 / Jennifer Williamson 


Approximately 600 school districts have transitioned from traditional textbooks to the iPad—and the change may soon be coming to college campuses. Proponents of the iPad in schools claim a range of benefits—from lowered costs to less strain on students’ backs. But is the iPad really a good replacement for a textbook? Here’s a look at the pros and cons.


The iPad Advantage


They’re more portable

[snip]


You don’t have to charge an iPad during the day

[snip]


Access to a wide range of learning resources


Where the iPad really excels is in its role as a device for information consumption. Instead of simply reading a textbook, students can take in the e-textbook, online libraries and resources, news sites, and more—all with an easy click. [snip].


More room in schools


With iPads for every student, schools won’t have to maintain distinct computer labs—freeing up space in many crowded schools. However, it should be pointed out that iPads work much better as personal devices than as shared ... .


It makes students more computer-literate


[snip]


Drawbacks of iPads in a Classroom Setting


Cost


[snip] 


There’s a learning curve

[snip]


It’s difficult to type on an iPad

[snip]


The availability of textbooks is still small

[snip]


While a few primary and secondary school districts have made a transition to the iPad, the device is still not ubiquitous on college campuses. However, that may change—especially if administrators can find ways to cut costs by using the iPad. The technology has the potential to make some things easier in the classroom—but educators should also be aware of its limits.


The textbook. Reinvented for iPad.- YouTube.com


Source and Fulltext Available At 

Examining the Reuse of Open Textbooks

John Hilton III and David A. Wiley  / Brigham Young University, USA ;  Neil Lutz  / Rutgers University, USA / April 2012



Abstract

An important element of open educational resources (OER) is the permission to use the materials in new ways, including revising and remixing them. Prior research has shown that the revision and remix rates for OER are relatively low. In this study we examined the extent to which the openly licensed Flat World Knowledge textbooks were being revised and remixed. We found that the levels of revision and remix were similar to those of other OER collections. We discuss the possible significance and implication of these findings.
[snip]
Limitations and Future Research
The primary limitation of the current study is that we only had access to modifications made within FWK’s editing program and could not examine “dark reuse” of FWK content. It is possible that people revised or remixed FWK books outside of this system. For example, one of the authors of this article is currently revising the FWK project management textbook to focus on project management in the instructional design field. Consequently, this study undercounts (potentially significantly) the amount of actual remix that has taken place. In addition, FWK has recently added a new feature to its system in which people who customize textbooks can make their revised version of a textbook available for sale and receive a portion of the profits from the sales of these remixed books. This incentive may encourage more professors to revise and remix textbook content.
Another limitation of this study is that it included only one collection of OER (those published by FWK). While our results are not significantly different from those found by Duncan (2009) and Petrides et al. (2008), additional research should examine other collections of OER to determine if these emerging trends in reuse, revision, and remixing hold in other venues.
Further work should be done not only to determine the extent to which OER are being remixed, but also how important this remixing is to OER in general. It may be that other outcomes of OER (simple reuse, decreased costs, increased access) overshadow the overall importance of how much remixing takes place.
Source and Fulltext Available At


The PhysWiki Dynamic Textbook Project


The PhysWiki is one of seven integral components of the STEMWiki Dynamic Textbook Project (DTP), a multi-institutional collaborative venture to develop the next generation of open-access textbooks to improve STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) at all levels of higher learning. The central aim of the DTP is to develop and disseminate free, virtual, customizable textbooks that will substitute for current, commercial paper texts in multiple courses at post-secondary institutions across the nation. All are licensed Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share-Alike. All seven textbooks in the STEMWiki DTP have been linked together under the direction of Professor Delmar Larsen of the University of California at Davis and include: the ChemWiki (the forefather), the BioWiki, the MathWiki, the StatWiki, the PhysWiki, the GeoWiki, and the SolarWiki.

The goal of this project is to seed the PhysWiki with an open-source, calculus-based textbook, in an effort to expand access and usage of this segment of the STEMWiki. Working with both Professor Delmar Larsen (founder of the STEMWiki DTP) and Professor Paul D’Assandris, Monroe Community College, Rochester, NY (author of Spiral Physics), physics students at South Florida Community College are seeding the PhysWiki with Spiral Physics textbook. Spiral Physics is an OER physics textbook that is currently in use by over 40 two-year colleges nationwide. Spiral Physics comes in three variants (calculus-based, algebra-based, and modern physics) and provides a research-based introductory physics curriculum along with an integrated textbook and workbook activities. Using a restricted equation set, Spiral Physics provides a unique approach to building student success by providing repeated exposure (i.e., spiral) to concepts with increased complexity. It includes alternative problem types, including goal-less problem statements, ranking tasks, and critical analysis tasks which have been research-proven to help students develop conceptual understanding.

[more]

Source and Fulltext Available At 

[http://bit.ly/HRBTuA]


150 Free Textbooks: A Meta Collection

  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business and Management
  • Chemistry
  • Computer Science and Information Systems
  • Earth Science
  • Economics & Finance
  • Education
  • Engineering
  • History
  • Languages
  • Linguistics
  • Mathematics
  • Music
  • Philosophy
  • Physics
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
Source

review ed: Episode #23 > From the Frontlines of E-Textbook Wars


7 Things You Should Know About The Evolution of the Textbook


The Puzzling State of Digital Textbook Sales


In a recent OnCampus Research study, sales data from 45 college and university campus bookstores around the U.S. showed that there was a surprising decrease in digital course material sales by 6.7%. Community college bookstores saw a drastic decline in sales by 70.4%. While 45 colleges represent a mere fraction of the overall picture, these college campuses were chosen to reflect a microcosm of higher education. [snip].


So with the recent increase of tablets and mobile phone use by students, as well as a renewed emphasis on adopting new technology on campus, why are some college stores experiencing a decline in the sale of digital course material?

Based on the research, here are 3 reasons why we might be seeing this trend.

1. Adoption is hard. [snip]/ There has to be more innovation in the digital textbook space, coupled with heavy adoption by campus administrators, before we’ll see a widespread adoption of digital materials by students.
2. Custom publishing doesn’t always work, either. In the OnCampus Research study, university stores saw a 9.1% decrease in custom publishing sales. [snip]
3. Students are opting for rental. [snip]. According to a research study conducted by Q&A Research in 2011, 21% of students rented their textbooks, with 45% of the respondents either not having the option to rent or not knowing about rentals at all. For future reference, 67% of the total students questioned said they would have been likely to rent textbooks if given the option.

Even though this report provides only a preliminary glance into the economics of the textbook market, the data does paint a general picture of how the textbook and digital course materials markets are changing. [snip]. As we’ve said before, publishers will have to get creative with digital content, and ensure that universities are adopting new technologies on campus.

Source and Links Available At 

[http://edcetera.rafter.com/the-puzzling-state-of-digital-textbook-sales/]

Education with Augmented Reality: AR Textbooks Released in Japan (Video)


Summary: A Tokyo publishing company has released textbooks that support Augmented Reality on smartphones. With apps downloadable for free, this textbook displays how AR might be a more practical choice than an iPad for classroom tech.

Although the idea of an iPad for every student may struggle to come to fruition for a few years, Augmented Reality textbooks are paving the way for a smooth transition.

Japanese publishing company Tokyo Shoseki is producing textbooks that support AR apps on smartphones, bringing characters to life for students to listen to.

The textbooks, part of an English course called New Horizon, are intended for adults looking to study English at a high school level again.

By using a smartphone students can interact with the textbook in a different way.

[snip]

Once the New Horizon app is downloaded, students only have to hover the camera over the correct section of the page to launch a conversation.

[snip]

This would not be a problem for Augmented Reality textbooks, where the textbook itself could stay in rotation in schools or business classes, and the app can be updated at will where necessary.

As the app is free, students would only need to delete it when they had finished, and pass the textbook along without worrying about costs.

Changing an entire curriculum, an educational system, and retraining teachers is not something that could happen overnight. Companies like Apple innovating in educational technology is a step in the right direction, but there are any number of intermediate gadgets that could help ease the transition.

Augmented Reality textbooks have been discussed as a possibility for a few years now, and now they are becoming a reality for students. Although this series is aimed at adult learners, who are usually backed by businesses to work on [snip].

[snip]

Source and Links Available At

[http://zd.net/HnWTW0]

Campus Technology 2012 > Digital Textbooks



T07 > Valuing eTexbooks: Business Students Report on Their Use of eTexts


7/17/2012 > 11:15 am - 12:15 pm > Prerequisite: None


Jennifer Little > MLS / Coordinator Library Instruction / The College at Brockport (SUNY) ;  Pat Maxwell > Systems Librarian / The College at Brockport ;  Susan Stites-Doe > Ph.D. /  Professor, Business Economics / The College at Brockport


A series of longitudinal studies explored student attitudes towards eTextbooks and reported on experience reading a course textbook in digital format. Students in both online and traditional classes accessed the eTextbooks with their personal laptops, Kindles, iPads, and smart phones. Findings show that 65 percent of students are likely to purchase another eTextbook; cost savings is the most compelling reason. The presenters will describe student preferences, dislikes, and recommendations.


Source http://bit.ly/Hm9Gch


W27 > eTextbook Use by Faculty and Students in a Small Liberal Arts University


7/18/2012 > 3:45 pm - 4:45 pm > Prerequisite: None


John Lewis >  J.D. / Digital Services Librarian / Salve Regina University ;  Arlene Nicholas > Ph.D. / Assistant Professor / Salve Regina University


The high cost of education includes the rising costs of college textbooks. The presenters will examine the benefits and limitations of eTextbooks as well as the attitudes of faculty and students toward using this less expensive technological alternative. Current trends will be explored, including the satisfaction of students using open access eTextbooks. This session will also explore how students utilize their textbooks and whether any problems outweigh the benefits of an eTextbook.


Source > http://bit.ly/Iou5wN


TH32 > Shifting Sand: Serving Students on Course Materials in a Changing World


07/19/2012 > 8:30 am - 9:30 am > Prerequisite: None


Mike Robinson >  Director of IT / Auburn University ; Chad Stith > Platform Advocate / Bookrenter ; Russel Weldon > Director of Course Materials / Auburn University


Auburn is leading in its approach to educational materials. Realizing that the students of today value choice and service above all else, Auburn has developed a program that features traditional new and used textbook options along side one of the most successful textbook rental and digital offerings. Auburn’s approach allows it to draw more students back to campus for materials and learn more about what it takes to offer and support a cutting-edge course materials program for all students.


Source > http://bit.ly/HvIcE6


TH37 > Integrating Student Response System, Note-Taking Tools, and Assessment with eTextbooks


07/19/2012 > 9:45 am - 10:45 am > Prerequisite: None


Jason Aubrey > B.A. / Director of Sales / LectureTools Inc. ;  Perry Samson > Ph.D. / Professor / University of Michigan


This presentation reports improvements in student engagement and acceptance of online textbooks afforded with integration of in-class student response, note taking, inquiry, and assessment tools with eTextbooks. Students report that they feel far more engaged than in similar classes that do not use these online tools. Moreover, the linkage between classroom activities and eTextbooks drives student purchases of eTextbooks to around 60 percent, far higher than in courses without integration.


Source > http://bit.ly/IdyPL2

Don’t Wait: The Do It Yourself NOW Digital Textbooks

April 5, 2012 - by Mike Shumake


FCC and Secretary Duncan Pave the Way



On March 29th, the FCC published an article highlighting points from a discussion between its Chairman Genachowski, Secretary of Education Duncan, and technology leaders across the country as they discussed some how-to’s of getting digital textbooks into schools across the country in the next five years. There are about 425,000 public high school students in the state of North Carolina, my home state, according to the NC Department of Public Instruction Fast Facts.

[snip]

Your Way Right Away

In my mind at the time, if the state to came up with a digital textbook process, that meant using an outdated program that would be miserable to work with like its HR program, Beacon, or its student data software, NC Wise. [snip] Knowing what I know now, I would have skipped the arduous task of creating a website; I would have used a Livebinder as my textbook. So cut the time-wasters from the bureaucrats at the top who think it needs to take 5 years, and sign up for a Livebinder account tonight to get started on your shift to the digital textbook today.[snip]

[snip]

Source and Links Available At 




EDUCAUSE 2012: Evolving Models for E-Texts


Feb 13th, 2012 / 2:45 PM - 3:45 PM


In this session, we'll briefly describe Indiana University's e-text agreements with five publishers and with Courseload, the provider of the e-text e-reader software. These agreements are resulting in substantial cost savings for students and providing them with new tools for teaching and learning. The IU agreements evolved from two years of pilot testing and in response to substantial input from students, faculty, textbook publishers, and authors. We will also discuss how these agreements can be extended to other institutions through short- and long-term pilot programs, which will allow them to gather valuable data about student and faculty use of e-texts.

Anastasia Morrone
Associate Dean, Learning Technologies
Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

Source and Links To Resources (PPT)

[http://www.educause.edu/ELI12/Program/SESS37]

Don't Touch My Textbook



Texas community college faculty object to common textbook plan


A Texas community college district's move toward standardized and electronic textbooks has raised the hackles of faculty members, who say the process threatens academic freedom and instructor autonomy because individual sections will be limited in their ability to have individual book requirements.

Professors in the Tarrant County College District weren’t willing to speak on the record with Inside Higher Ed, citing concern about their job security, but the faculty association recently passed a resolution by a vote of 714-54 that called on administrators to scrap the standardized textbook plan. That resolution also expressed doubts about any cost savings, and said the plan reinforces the “widely held perception among faculty that their expertise, experience and professional experience” aren’t valued.

David Wells, Tarrant County’s vice chancellor for academic affairs, said the fear of being fired is unfounded, but that the plan to standardize texts starting in fall 2013 is sound.

Here’s how it will work. Instructors in each department will select a common text or e-text for each course that will be used across Tarrant County College’s five campuses. The hope is that textbook costs will go down and students will learn more as the college buys books in bulk, encourages cheaper options and pushes open-source and other online materials.

[snip]

The push for cheaper textbooks isn’t new, and the spat in Tarrant County frames larger debates about the use of open-source texts and the best way to increase student learning while controlling costs. Some community colleges have saved money by working with publishers to create custom books for widespread adoption. [snip] Tarrant County administrators hope that using a common textbook in every class will help push costs down, which will allow more students to buy the books and in turn perform better in the classroom.

But some professors aren’t convinced. [snip]

[snip]

An English professor might want to teach composition a different way than her colleague, that faculty member said, while historians might disagree on whether to emphasize political history or social history in their introductory classes. To ask instructors to use a text that may not play to their strengths in the classroom does everyone a disservice, that faculty member said.

[snip]

Nicole Allen, an affordable textbook advocate for the Student Public Interest Research Groups, said common course materials can be part of the solution to reducing costs, but cautions that it's "not a silver bullet."

"This isn’t a sufficient answer to solve the problem of textbook affordability," Allen said. "It can be an effective strategy, but it’s not in itself the only solution. I think faculty can have a much greater impact on textbook costs by considering lower-cost alternatives" such as open-source materials.

[snip]

Source and Fulltext Available At


[http://bit.ly/HBpgQ2

E-Textbooks and the Textual Revolution


The market for e-textbooks is small but growing quickly: It's up 44.3% from last year, according to publishing industry research firm Simba Information. That's just a drop in the bucket, when you consider that e-textbooks still account for less than 5% of total U.S. textbook sales.

In my previous article, "A Textbook Case of Digital Disruption" we looked at the state of play in the e-textbook space. Now let's cover where to look for investment potential going forward.

Right now, the major publishers -- Pearson [snip], McGraw-Hill [snip] , John Wiley & Sons [snip] , and Cengage -- have their fingers in almost every pie to one degree or another. These companies don't break out their revenues to the granularity I'd like, but here are some indicators:
  • Pearson derives 14% of its global book sales from e-books (of which e-textbooks are a subset). E-book revenues doubled in 2011 compared to the previous year.
  • McGraw-Hill noted in its fourth quarter 2011 earnings that "McGraw-Hill Education is benefiting from the rapid growth of digital products and sales that is transforming the education market." Keep in mind that McGraw-Hill intends to split into two companies -- McGraw-Hill Education and McGraw Hill Financial -- so if you wish to keep following this theme, stick with the former.
  • Wiley reported that for 2011, digital book revenue increased 74% and now accounts for 16% of the relevant business unit's book sales.
[snip]

Pearson and McGraw-Hill seem to be making more of a splash in e-textbooks than Wiley, which is probably more a reflection of Wiley's size than its innovative tendencies. Broadly, the publishers don't yet seem to have committed to a particular vision of the future in this space. McGraw-Hill and Pearson have both said that creating interactive books is a critical part of their strategies, and Wiley sees the huge opportunity before it. [snip].

[snip]

Calling the odds

Ultimately, I think this game is still too close to call, but I expect it to heat up quickly. Keep watching, pay attention to the issues above, and you'll be ready to strike when the time is right. In the meantime, you can read my esteemed colleagues' writing on Pearson, McGraw-Hill, and Wiley. [snip]

[snip]

Source and Fulltext Available At

[http://bit.ly/HQ8GCJ]

A Textbook Case of Digital Disruption


In the era of tablets, smartphones, and general integration of electronics into everyday life, it should come as no surprise that textbooks are going digital. However, the transition from paper to screen is in its infancy, and the field is wide open to produce stock market winners and losers. Let's look at the current state of play.

Killing trees

Old-fashioned, paper-based textbooks present a variety of problems and benefits, depending on your point of view.
  • They're expensive. Really expensive. And they are aimed at a customer base that subsists upon ramen noodles.
  • They're big and heavy, and take up lots of space.
  • They cannot be updated or modified without issuing a whole new edition. (Problem for students, windfall for publishers.)
  • They are the perfect product for secondary markets, where students can buy used books for far less than list price, and resell them at the end of the semester. (Problem for publishers, big savings for students.)
So go digital. Simple, right?

While a switch to digital might seem obvious and straightforward, it's not. Thus far, there is significant variety in platforms, business and pricing models, and delivery mechanisms. There is also the question of whether e-textbook providers generate their own content or act as distributors for existing content. In a field that will require collaboration with major universities, standardization is probably an inevitable outcome.

Let's look at some of the current e-textbook providers and how they compare on key points.

Company
Platform
Pricing
Own Content?
Method
KnoWeb, iPad30% to 50% off print pricingNoEmbeds interactive tools into existing e-books in more intuitive way.
InklingiPad (plans for Web, Android)Chapter-based pricing, full books from $60Sort ofWorks with authors to recreate existing print book in app environment with added features.
CheggPC, Mac, iPad; Internet$20 to $120NoEmphasizes portability, adds some interactive features, significant rental component.
Flat World KnowledgeAll major devices$20 per e-book + digital learning supplementsYesAllows user customization, publishes own, peer-reviewed texts, open licensing.
CourseSmartAll major devices, InternetUp to 60% discount to print versionsNoFocuses on the platform, seamlessly integrating publishers and institutional users.
CourseLoadAll major devices, InternetEnrollment fee; e-books 60% to 70% cheaper than printNoAggregates and distributes all types of digital course materials from multiple sources.
Nature Publishing GroupOnline (device- and platform- independent)$49 (single book roll-out so far)YesProvides dynamic content, constantly updated with latest info.
Apple Apple devices$15 per bookSome of itOffers visual, interactive learning tools through well-established channels.
Barnes & NobleNook, some on Android, iPhoneUp to 50% off print booksNoMostly offering content tied to Nook, but also developing some for broader platforms.
Amazon.com  Kindle, any device capable of running Kindle softwareRentals up to 80% off list price of printNoMostly offering content tied to Kindle, but developing for other platforms as well.

Sources: Individual company websites; USA Today; Washington Post; Wired.com; Chronicle.com; CNN; New York Times; PCMag.com; Forbes; Edtechdigest.wordpress.com.

[snip]

As you can see from this snapshot, companies are trying a variety of approaches, and it is not clear which model(s) will win.

[snip]

Source


Principles of Biology E-Textbook by Nature Education

STEPP > STudent E-rent Pilot Project

STEPP is an eTextbook rental program offering cost-effective textbooks that "all" students can read.                    
  • Cost-Effective: Save an average of 50% or more off the retail cost of a new hardcopy textbook purchase.
  • Convenient: Access eTextbooks on almost any device, anytime, anywhere.
  • Conscious Choice: Practice environmental stewardship; save our trees.                    
STEPP was launched by the Alternative Media Access Center, in partnership with CourseSmart and the AccessText Network, through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DoEd), Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE). This program is designed to meet the textbook rental needs of any postsecondary student and aims to help improve low-cost access to higher education textbooks for all students, including those with print-related disabilities.                     
STEPP leverages the expertise of its three collaborative partners to offer a national solution to promote cost savings for students while eliminating traditional barriers to textbook access.

"STEPP" towards universal access.                    

Quick Links
Source

[http://stepp.gatech.edu/]

FCC/U.S. Dept. of Ed. Highlight Drive for K-12 E-Textbooks


Created by Jarret Cummings (EDUCAUSE) on April 3, 2012

In his latest "DC News" post, my EDUCAUSE Policy colleague, Greg Haledjian, provided information about a recent Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and U.S. Department of Education (ED) forum in which K-12, educational publishing, educational technology, and telecommunications leaders were convened to brainstorm strategies to "move all K-12 schools to interactive digital textbooks in the next five years." The event included a review of findings from a research report indicating that such a transition could save schools $250 per student annually. It also gave the agencies an opportunity to further promote their LEAD Commission process, which seeks to develop a blueprint for improving K-12 education through the use of digital technologies such as interactive e-textbooks.

The event serves as a further indication of the momentum building across the education sectors behind e-textbooks and the use of technology to advance learning in general. It also highlights the linkages between the FCC's National Broadband Plan and ED's National Education Technology Plan, further emphasizing the synergy between the nation's network connectivity and educational achievement agendas as previously discussed by the agencies (see also the Digital Textbook Playbook page). However, the event does not appear to have included representatives from the open educational resources (OER) community, which seems like a significant oversight given the increasing role of OER in the development of e-learning across the K-12 and postsecondary sectors. (For example, see the State of Utah's decision to adopt open textbooks for secondary math, science, and language arts courses statewide, as well as the Washington State Colleges Open Course Library initiative and Washington State's passage of legislation to promote the development and adoption of OER for elementary and secondary education.)

Source

[http://bit.ly/HcSz2c]

Best Read Before ...

Digital School Program with Open Textbooks Approved by Polish Government!

Today Polish Council of Ministers adopted regulation concerning the implementation of „Digital School” program for computerization of Polish schools and raising ICT competences. Pilot of the project aimed for 380 schools in Poland will equip them with hardware (tablets, computers for students, additional equipment). Also digital and free (under Creative Commons Attribution or compatible) textbooks for grades 4-6 in primary schools (K4-K6) will be created (43 millions PLN is assigned for textbooks). This is the first major government project in Poland which creates Open Educational Resources especially textbooks. Creative Commons Poland lead and director of Centrum Cyfrowe Alek Tarkowski participated in Digital School project as advisor from it’s beginning.

[more]

Source

The Book of the Future


Apple and Education: Can Apple Revolutionize Textbooks? [Infographic]


For years, pundits have been predicting that e-textbooks will take the education world by storm, but so far, adoption has been slow. According to one analyst, digital textbooks accounted for only 3 percent of the textbook market at the end of 2011. But all that may be changing, as Apple announced its entry into the market with the new, free iBooks 2. In its first three days, the app delivered more than 350,000 copies of e-textbooks to users. Will Apple's golden touch tip the scales in favor of e-textbooks?

[more]

Source

[http://bit.ly/HCIPfn]

CT > The Price Is Right?

Dian Schaffhauser  > 04/01/12

Logically, e-textbooks should be much cheaper than the print options available to students--but they're not. CT looks at the rationale behind their pricing, and the market factors at play.

[snip]

Many educators--as well as the feds and plenty of state governments--believe that the solution to high textbook costs lies with a shift to digital content. After all, if you eliminate the printing, the trucking, the warehousing, and all the other hassles related to physical inventory, you're left with only the writing, production, development, and marketing. Surely that will bring down the prices students have to pay for curriculum?

Given these conflicting claims and beliefs, CT set out to discover the true cost of e-textbooks, what's driving the pricing, and how these costs compare to those of traditional print products.

Crunching the Numbers

At first glance, e-texts do offer a significant discount over traditional print textbooks. An unscientific review of pricing on CourseSmart, an e-textbook clearinghouse, indicates that e-texts on average sell for 50 to 60 percent of the cost of equivalent new print textbooks. But discounts are dependent on the individual title and the area of study. Architecture e-texts, for example, are often as much as 70 percent of the cost of the new print textbook, while many law e-texts cost 40 percent of the print edition.

In considering these numbers, though, it's important to understand that a digital textbook is essentially a rental--students cannot sell their copies once they're finished with them. Instead, students pay to license the text for a certain amount of time, usually 180 or 360 days.

So what happens to the cost calculation when you factor in buyback of print textbooks? While a host of variables determines the ultimate resale value, students can probably expect to recoup 25 to 50 percent of the cost of the original new textbook. It's still cheaper to buy the digital edition, but the pricing difference is not nearly as extreme. And what of those students who buy secondhand textbooks from the get-go and then resell them at the end of the course? In many cases, their out-of-pocket costs might be less than for the digital version.

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Ultimately, whether a student can do better by leasing an e-text, renting a print copy, or buying a secondhand version depends on many factors, not least the specific title. Overall, though, e-texts cannot be considered a slam-dunk pricing winner.

Can E-Text Prices Be Justified?

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In evaluating student adoption of e-texts, it's also important to remember that e-texts are, for the most part, souped-up PDFs. While CourseSmart's Bookshelf platform allows students to annotate and highlight text, and digital publisher Kno's platform provides some basic multimedia, e-texts are essentially the same as the print product. There is no significant step up in functionality. [IMHO > Incorrect]

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Prisoners of Print

Given such lukewarm performance, what is keeping e-text pricing so high? In a situation like this, shouldn't publishers drop their prices to make the platform more appealing? Unfortunately, e-textbooks are caught in a kind of industry limbo, and prices are unlikely to change until a variety of market factors shake out. In a nutshell, the pricing of e-textbooks is being held hostage to the print business model.

Indeed, the biggest factor affecting e-text pricing has nothing to do with digital media at all. Instead, it revolves around the resale market for print textbooks. [snip].

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You would think that this inherent flaw in the print model would have textbook publishers flocking to digital in droves. After all, the advantage of the digital model for publishers is that it treats a book like software. "Each time that digital book is sold, the publisher will generate income," Straus points out. "In that model, the publisher no longer needs to price the first sale of that book higher." As a result, Straus predicts that at some point the price for digital versions of these survey-type texts will drop from their current levels.

Even so, Straus believes this year and next will be pivotal for the transition to digital textbooks. "Across the board--publishers, technology companies, the institutions--there's more energy on this than there was two or three years ago," he says. "I think everything is set up for success."

The Paradigm Shift

But is that optimism really justified? As long as e-texts are essentially digital copies of print products [IMHO: Incorrect], the same economic factors remain in play. It seems more likely that the pricing link between e-texts and print will be broken only when e-texts actually evolve into a completely different product--dynamic, multimedia learning tools that take full advantage of the technical features of the devices on which they operate. At that point, prices for traditional textbooks--whether print or digital--will probably collapse.

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The transition to feature-rich e-titles is inevitable, though, and publishers are positioning themselves accordingly. Inkling's list of investors includes many of the same publishers that are covering their bets short-term with digital replicas of textbooks

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Regardless of the format, however, publishers are unlikely to lower their prices out of the goodness of their hearts. They are businesses, not nonprofits. Indeed, the biggest brake on the high cost of learning materials might come from outside the publishing world--competition offered by open education resources (OERs).

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At its core, higher education is powered by faculty and administrators who, like Long, are motivated by teaching and learning, not the money. The internet has now made it possible for these educators to share their work outside the framework of conventional publishers. And the availability of easy-to-use publishing tools makes it possible for them to create educational materials that are as compelling as anything put out by major publishers.

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So what does the futures market for course materials look like? Unfortunately, students probably won't pay significantly less. Over time, however, they may well get a bigger bang for their buck. Think of the Macintosh computer--the cost per unit has not come down over the years relative to the actual cost of producing it, but the consumer gets a much more powerful and productive tool.

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Source and Fulltext Available At

[http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2012/04/01/The-Price-Is-Right.aspx]