The Clarion / January 31, 2011 / Georgia Howard
There has been a recent push in Ohio colleges, including Sinclair Community College to promote e-textbooks over traditional textbooks. On Jan. 21, there was an e-textbook workshop that covered issues such as information about e-textbooks, the State of Ohio Digital Bookshelf initiative and an e-textbook exploratory pilot project.
[snip]
A large advantage of having an e-textbook is the affordability of these books compared to regular textbooks, according to [Greg] Deye, [manager of Learning Technology Parent Support]. He said that an e-textbook can save you 40 to 60 percent off of the price of a regular textbook.
[snip]
Deye said that one advantage of having e-textbooks on one device instead of carrying around several heavy books. [snip].
According to Deye, e-textbooks would be a great fit for distance learning students who are going to be online for their classes. He adds that e-textbooks can help students learn in a better way as long as the student is comfortable learning online. He said that some students learn easier through e-texts because it makes it easier for them to take and access their notes.
“There maybe be multimedia in the textbook such as video and audio and animations built into the textbook."
And there are some that are pretty much a copy of whatever is on the paper version, what’s online. But even with the paper version that is online , you have the ability to highlight, annotate and put notes on the page. Whenever you access that page, you can access those notes at all time,” Deye said.
A disadvantage for many people is that most e-textbooks can only be used for the quarter or semester and you can’t keep a copy of it, according to Deye. [snip].
[snip]
“The only thing I would say ultimately is that the e-textbook is certainly an option that I think everyone should look at but think about whether or not it meets your learning style. A lot of times we will put money in the forefront but if you are not able to learn from it then maybe that money saved isn’t really worth it. Keep the learning in front and follow it up with the money if at all possible,” he concludes.
Source
[http://www.sinclairclarion.com/home/news/2011/01/31/e-textbooks-an-option-for-students/]
ASU > New Initiative Puts iPads In Students’ Hands
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The Herald / Arkansas State University / Updated: Monday, January 31, 2011 17:01 / Joshua Scott
President Barack Obama emphasized America's need to become innovative in the application of technology during his State of the Union address last Tuesday. ASU is one of a few universities testing those waters by implementing a new pilot program that provides iPads for students in two classes this semester.
Obama said, "It's about a firefighter who can download the design of a burning building onto a handheld device; a student who can take classes with a digital textbook; or a patient who can have face-to-face video chats with her doctor."
Students enrolled in American political thought and intergovernmental relations will get a chance to translate his words into actions. They will be introduced to what political science professor Jason Adams calls "paper-free learning." As part of the initiative, 45 of the tablet devices have been provided by the school for the students to keep in and out of class during the remainder of the semester.
[snip]
While future developments depend on the success of the program in actually improving the educational experience, and on ASU budgeting, Henry Torres at ITTC talked about assisting more professors in the future with incorporating new technology and ideas in their curriculum.
[snip]
Other schools, such as Duke University, have been experimenting with their own pilot programs that obtain iPads for educational purposes.
[snip]
"I see myself using the iPad for e-textbooks as opposed to standard textbooks since the capability is there to annotate notes to myself on the pages without doing any damage to the file," said Kirk Lonidier, a political science major participating in the program. "It is very convenient to have a device that can replace several textbooks. This is my first time using an iPad, but there is little difference in the function of it as opposed to an iPhone or iPod Touch. The only difference is size."
[snip]
Other students have already begun to put their iPads to use.
"The first day I received the iPad I downloaded, from Google Books and Kindle, four books for Dr. Tusalem's revolutions and foreign policy class and a book for Dr. Adams' class," said Steven Rockwell, another student in the pilot program. "Within the read highlighter tool, a dictionary, set bookmarks, post notes, write in the margins and search the entire book. I can also access my books from my desktop computer, the iPad or my iPhone, so I always have them with me, however, the iPad provides the best reading experience."
[snip]
"I am both proud and appreciative of ASU for its progressive approach toward higher education," he said.
While there are still many things to figure out during the course of ASU's iPad experiment, Adams sees other ways the iPad will benefit students besides its e-book role.
"One thing I have them using on the iPad is an application called AudioNote, which can record lectures while you take notes, and I'm also going to have them use Keynote for presentations," he said. "We'll plug in the iPads into to the projector and then with an extended VGA cable, the student can have their presentation device with all their notes and everything right in front of them, while the relevant videos and images appear on the screen for the entire class."
[snip]
Source
MLive.com > ... eTextbook Sales Boom At The University Of Michigan-Flint
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MLive.com / Flint Journal / Updated January 30, 2011, 6:10 AM / Beata Mostafavi
FLINT, Michigan — Amir Baz didn’t lug a heavy textbook around for his college history class. He just read the chapters on his iPhone.
Fewer textbooks are being spotted on the University of Michigan-Flint campus as more students such as Baz “carry” books on laptops, iPads, Nooks, Kindles and even smart phones this semester. The demand for eTextbooks seems to be booming, with the UM-Flint bookstore seeing a tenfold increase in sales in the last year.
“As we become more high-tech, I think more students are going to get into the habit of getting textbooks online,” said Baz, 18, of Fenton. “I think eTextbooks will eventually take over regular textbooks.”
[snip]
Baz said new editions seem to come out almost every year for textbooks that can be hundreds of pages long and cost a couple of hundred dollars each. Many times, the changes in the new edition seem small.
He said some students see eTextbooks that provide the full text of books in a digital format as a greener and sometimes — although not always — cheaper choice.
Publishers are homing in on the market, issuing newer and more sophisticated products to enhance the e-book experience.
iPads and e-readers such as the Nook or Kindle allow students to highlight text and take notes. Programs such as Nook study — recently launched at UM-Flint through the campus’s bookstore owner Barnes and Noble — also allow students to access study guides and other digital aids to enhance digital learning.
[snip]
UM-Flint international business major Todd Ackerman tried his first eTextbook last semester for an accounting class.
He said most students already take laptops to class for note-taking. Now their computers can also allow access to their books.
[snip]
But there were cons, too.
It was more tempting to get distracted by other online activities such as Facebook or YouTube while reading and studying online, he said.
[snip]
The trend hasn’t hit every college, with campuses such as Baker College reporting that the majority of students still prefer hardbound copies. Some professors at local colleges also require textbooks that aren’t offered in a digital format yet.
[snip]
But the numbers of students using eTextbooks continues to grow, with 1 in 10 students reporting the purchase of one, according to digital course materials supplier CourseSmart.
“Print books aren’t going anywhere anytime soon and publishers understand eTextbooks aren’t the right solution for everyone. Everyone has a choice,” said CourseSmart Spokeswoman Karen Marotta. “But eTextbooks are appealing to professors and students mainly because of accessibility and cost and this is definitely something analysts and companies are seeing as the future.”
Source
[http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2011/01/laptops_ipads_and_i-phones_hel.html]
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