BackIn this digital age students are increasingly turning to new technologies over traditional methods of study. According to an article on canada.com, more than 7,000 post-secondary textbooks are now available to download either to computers or mobile devices such as the iPhone.
Twelve of the large North American publishers now have electronic versions of their textbooks available to downlaod through the CourseSmart website including John Wiley & Sons Inc., McGraw Hill Higher Education and Nelson Education. Frank Lyman, Executive Vice-President of CourseSmart said:
“Textbooks right now are very much a print business, but more and more students are aware that they have a choice. I don’t think it’s the end of the print textbook business. But for a lot of students out there, this is a better way to learn and study and it’s a better fit for their lifestyle.”
Figures from a CourseSmart press release state that: “More than one third of the most popular college textbook titles (those expected to sell at least 200 copies nationwide this Fall) are now available in eTextbook versions from CourseSmart, according to data compiled by industry analysts at R.R. Bowker’s PubTrack Business Intelligence Division. Because of this dramatic increase in available eTextbooks, millions of college students can now choose to buy their assigned textbook as an eTextbook. ”
The response so far from students and academics has been positive. Lyman said: “Most institutions are accepting that (students) want a variety of ways to access their materials. It’s at an early stage and it will be interesting to see how many institutions take a proactive approach.”
Students are also increasingly active in protecting the environment so many students will also be attracted to the prospect of turning to virtual textbooks for the environmental benefits.
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Hopefully there will be big cost reductions compared with the print versions too. I’ve got used to spending up to £40 on a book for one course (and I have several courses per term) and what’s worse is that slight changes each year mean new editions are released and then my books are hard to sell on. I can’t really rely on library books as there are only a few available and hundreds of people wanting to borrow them at once!