The purpose of this research was to understand the perspectives of teachers and students regarding their use of specific e-textbooks in a higher education learning environment. The e-textbooks used by the teachers and students were examined in order to determine functions and features to focus on during the inquiry. This study was particularly…

Using tools to support learning design has been proven feasible in improving the integration of technology into the curriculum. However, novice teachers are faced with two major issues, including their limited experience in learning design and limited ability in using new technologies. Learning map is explored and developed in e-Textbooks to…

This case study examines faculty attitudes related to using electronic texts in business classes. The following areas of faculty opinion were evaluated: comfort level when using the technology, content quality, technical ease of use, and value added to the classroom teaching experience. The research consisted of a focus group with seven faculty…

Implementation of ICT in the educational process has allowed us especially in the last decade to fully develop cognitive and psychomotor skills of students. A typical example is the use of multimedia, through which the learner gradually formed and developed their skills in the area of sensory perception. The paper is focused on one of the modern…

Textbook prices are continuously rising in higher education. This paper analyzes a business model which makes commercial textbooks more expensive, and explains why this issue tends to be more severe in the field of distance learning in higher education. It reports a case of adoption of open educational resources (OER) textbook for an online course…

Adopting digital materials such as eTextbooks and e-coursepacks is a potential strategy to address textbook affordability in the United States. However, university business relationships with bookstore vendors implicitly structure which instructional resources are available and in what manner. In this study, a document analysis was conducted on…

Integrating theory with practice has become a mandatory requirement for universities of technology. Using educational technology to supplement traditional pedagogical approaches has contributed significantly to achieving this mandate. However, which educational technologies could help improve the educational experience of students in a statistical…

Learning a foreign language may be a challenge for most people due to differences in the form and structure between one's mother tongue and a new one. However, there are some tools that facilitate the teaching and learning of a foreign language, for instance, new applications for digital devices, video blogs, educational platforms, and teaching…

eTextbooks are both texts and tools. They provide opportunities for textbook companies to expand their services. Some large textbook companies are offering extensive educational technology products and services along with texts. These etexts, integrated into the Learning Management System (LMS), give instructors opportunities to use integrated…

This article details the results of testing an e-book in two differential calculus classes. Although we, as math instructors, were drawn to the components of the e-book that promote conceptual understanding--such as the interactive figures--the students reported liking the assessment support most. We found that students were initially excited…

In 2009, the National Science Foundation funded the "Dynabook: A Digital Resource and Preservice Model for Developing TPCK" project through its Discovery Research K-12 program. Dynabook project leaders and the National Science Foundation (NSF) recognized that digital textbooks would soon be a primary instructional resource, and seized…

The purpose of this study is to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a scalable concept map based navigation system for a digital textbook. A literature review has been conducted to identify possible methods to promote conceptual understanding in the context of a digital textbook, and these hypothesized solutions will be evaluated through…

Many college students and their families are concerned about the high costs of textbooks. A company called Flat World Knowledge both gives away and sells open-source textbooks in a way it believes to be financially sustainable. This article reports on the financial sustainability of the Flat World Knowledge open-source textbook model after one…

This article presents a case study of the adoption and use of open textbooks by three high school teachers in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The textbooks, collaboratively authored and distributed through the South African initiative, Siyavula, are available online and are openly licensed, allowing teachers to freely use, modify,…

The dissertation study described here examines Algebra 1 students' use of print and digital mathematics textbooks within the classroom setting. Following the emergence of digital textbooks in U.S. schools, the study responds to a critical need to understand not only the potential of innovative digital instructional materials, but also the actual…