Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

eTextbook access, usage, and beliefs: implications for adoption in higher education

eTextbook access, usage, and beliefs: implications for adoption in higher education Purpose – Dynamic features of eTextbooks, such as taking interactive quizzes and sharing notes can make the practice of reading a textbook more supportive and engaging than before. While promising, challenges exist regarding the integration of eTextbooks in higher education, such as cost, usability, and lack of instructor development. There is a need for a more informed understanding of how instructors and learners are integrating eTextbooks to revolutionize learning spaces, in order to formulate next steps of action on a university level. While studies exist regarding universities with eTextbook initiatives, there is little empirical data concerning universities that offer eTextbooks without a focussed initiative. This paper aims to fill this gap. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the results of a university‐wide student survey are shared, which provide insight into factors such as the selection and use of eTextbooks, access, and beliefs regarding eTextbook use and learning. Findings – Generally, we found that in a university setting without an eTextbook initiative, eTextbook use is relatively low and their features are not being effectively utilized by students or instructors. In any university that offers eTextbooks, instructor development is critical. Originality/value – Findings from this survey guide the instructional design of instructor development. The findings also identify pertinent issues that any university is likely to face when considering an eTextbook initiative, such as raising student awareness, working with publishers, and providing effective technical and pedagogical support. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Emerald Publishing

eTextbook access, usage, and beliefs: implications for adoption in higher education

Loading next page...
 
/lp/emerald-publishing/etextbook-access-usage-and-beliefs-implications-for-adoption-in-higher-sQwDPm7Dk2

References (9)

Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
2050-7003
DOI
10.1108/JARHE-12-2012-0065
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – Dynamic features of eTextbooks, such as taking interactive quizzes and sharing notes can make the practice of reading a textbook more supportive and engaging than before. While promising, challenges exist regarding the integration of eTextbooks in higher education, such as cost, usability, and lack of instructor development. There is a need for a more informed understanding of how instructors and learners are integrating eTextbooks to revolutionize learning spaces, in order to formulate next steps of action on a university level. While studies exist regarding universities with eTextbook initiatives, there is little empirical data concerning universities that offer eTextbooks without a focussed initiative. This paper aims to fill this gap. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the results of a university‐wide student survey are shared, which provide insight into factors such as the selection and use of eTextbooks, access, and beliefs regarding eTextbook use and learning. Findings – Generally, we found that in a university setting without an eTextbook initiative, eTextbook use is relatively low and their features are not being effectively utilized by students or instructors. In any university that offers eTextbooks, instructor development is critical. Originality/value – Findings from this survey guide the instructional design of instructor development. The findings also identify pertinent issues that any university is likely to face when considering an eTextbook initiative, such as raising student awareness, working with publishers, and providing effective technical and pedagogical support.

Journal

Journal of Applied Research in Higher EducationEmerald Publishing

Published: Sep 20, 2013

Keywords: eTextbook; Digital textbook; Instructional design; Higher education; Learning methods

There are no references for this article.