E-Textbooks

With the cost of textbooks soaring, many colleges and universities are looking to alternatives to the traditional paper text. The electronic textbook field is still emerging, and higher education is experimenting with the concept in various modes. Explore this resource site—a collection of all EDUCAUSE resources related to E-Textbooks.

EDUCAUSE and Internet2 E-Text Pilots

EDUCAUSE and Internet2 are implementing a series of e-text pilot efforts with colleges and universities to evaluate technologies and business models in the fast evolving migration from traditional textbooks to electronic content. Learn More >

E-Texts Constituent Group

Intended for general discussion in addition to news about the pilot, the E-Texts Constituent Group discusses the rapidly evolving domain of digital textbooks, multimedia supplements, tutorial websites, e-reader/annotation software, and related materials. Learn More >

New Resources

7 Things You Should Know About the Evolution of the Textbook, ELI 7 Things, April 2012. This resource examines a new breed of rich-media publishing tools that offer an evolving set of opportunities both for the creation process and for the kinds of resources that can be produced.
Developing a Digital Textbook Strategy for Your Campus, Florida Distance Learning Consortium, February 2012. This one-day symposium examined institution and state level digital textbook initiatives, including national trends and prevailing models for both publisher digital textbooks and open textbooks.
eTexts: A Perishable Opportunity for Higher Education?, EDUCAUSE Live!, January 24, 2012 - This EDUCAUSE Live! program addressd the strategic, business, and policy implications for institutions in light of a changing world of consumer electronics and new models for digital educational resources such as eTexts, website tutorials, and other licensed content.

Articles, Papers, and Reports

A Study of Four Textbook Distribution Models, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, December 2011. In preparation for campus-wide e-text adoption, Daytona State College completed a two-year comparative study of four textbook distribution models: print purchase, print rental, e-text rental, and e-text rental with e-reader device.
Digital Texts and the Future of Education: Why Books?, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, March 2011. Abilene Christian University and GYLO partnered to investigate student attitudes and perceptions of the impact of using a mobile device as a supplemental tool for teaching statistics.
7 Things You Should Know About Open Textbook Publishing, ELI 7 Things, March 2011. Open textbooks can be offered by commercial publishers or found in open repositories. Open resources can promote active learning through student interaction with the text, particularly when they contribute to authorship.
A Cover to Cover Solution: How Open Textbooks are the Path to Textbook Affordability, Student PIRGs, September 2010. This report evaluates cost-reducing options from the traditional textbook market—rentals, e-books and e-readers—and open textbooks as potential next steps to reduce the high cost of textbooks.
E-Textbooks: “An Interesting Ride”, EDUCAUSE Review, March/April 2010. An interview conducted at the EDUCAUSE 2009 Annual Conference about the use of digital textbooks in higher education.
E-Books in Higher Education: Are We There Yet?, ECAR Research Bulletin, January 2010. This ECAR research bulletin presents an update to the rapidly changing e-book and e-textbook landscape and provides some higher education stakeholders with a clearer view of the road ahead.
A Campus-Wide E-Textbook Initiative, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, July 2009. This article focuses on the process that Northwest Missouri State University followed in studying the feasibility of transitioning from the rental of traditional textbooks to the rental of e-textbooks, along with the extensive integration of e-textbooks across the university’s academic environment.

Presentations, Podcasts, Seminars, and Videos

Got Open Textbook? ELI Online Fall Focus Session, September 2011. This session speaker discusses resource discovery, implementation issues, and the pros and cons of using open-source materials and concludes with some recommendations applicable for any stage of open-source resource adoption.
Textbook Affordability: Emerging Solutions in Ohio, ELI Web Seminar, March 2011. This webinar discusses why textbook costs have skyrocketed; how textbook costs impact students, faculty, and institutions; and current initiatives by the University System of Ohio to address textbook affordability and learning outcomes.
Digital Content in Higher Education—Practical Findings, ELI Web Seminar, March 2011. This webinar provides an overview of the digital textbook landscape as it currently exists and a glimpse into the emerging trends that will shape higher education digital content in the near future.

EDUCAUSE Staff Picks

7 Things You Should Know About the Evolution of the Textbook, ELI 7 Things, April 2012. This resource examines a new breed of rich-media publishing tools that offer an evolving set of opportunities both for the creation process and for the kinds of resources that can be produced.
eTexts: A Perishable Opportunity for Higher Education?, EDUCAUSE Live!, January 24, 2012 - This EDUCAUSE Live! program addressd the strategic, business, and policy implications for institutions in light of a changing world of consumer electronics and new models for digital educational resources such as eTexts, website tutorials, and other licensed content.
A Study of Four Textbook Distribution Models, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, December 2011. In preparation for campus-wide e-text adoption, Daytona State College completed a two-year comparative study of four textbook distribution models: print purchase, print rental, e-text rental, and e-text rental with e-reader device.
7 Things You Should Know About Open Textbook Publishing, ELI 7 Things, March 2011. Open textbooks can be offered by commercial publishers or found in open repositories. Open resources can promote active learning through student interaction with the text, particularly when they contribute to authorship.

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EDUCAUSE Library Items for E-Textbooks

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Ultra-Affordable Online Courses and the Transformation of Higher Education: January 23, 2013

Brian Voss and Burck Smith will explore higher education's changing landscape and what it means for our IT community. Join us for a discussion spanning traditional institutions, entrepre…
Emerging Insights on Learning, Technology, and the Road Ahead: February 14, 2013 | A session at the West/Southwest Regional Conference
In this presentation we'll explore emerging insights in the quickly changing world of learning. We'll look to models from today and envision the road ahead on issues including the inter…
Sharing and Protecting Ideas and Knowledge in the 21st Century: February 15, 2012 | A session at the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative 2012 Annual Meeting
How do the ideals of knowledge sharing and education intersect with market forces and modern technology? What is the tension between openness and traditional models of education? Where are the fric…
The Obviousness of Open Policy: February 24, 2012 | A session at the EDUCAUSE West/Southwest Regional Conference 2012
The Internet, increasingly affordable computing, open licensing, open access journals, and open educational resources provide the foundation for a world in which a quality education can be a basic …
Goldilocks and the 13 Open Repositories (Finding the “Just Right” One): November 7, 2011

Join Malcolm Brown, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative director, and Veronica Diaz, ELI associate director, as they moderate this webinar with Jacky Hood. Repositories of open educational resources …
Open Content for Open Minds: November 1, 2011

Malcolm Brown, ELI director, and Veronica Diaz, ELI associate director, moderate this seminar with Judy Baker. Openly licensed educational content, commonly referred to as open educational resour…
Openness: Decoupling the Future to Radically Improve Access to Education: October 10, 2011

The costs of higher education are soaring for a variety of reasons. A significant factor that will continue to drive costs over the next two decades is that the number of students trying to ente…
How Digital Content + Open Licenses + Open Policies = Sustainable Educational Resources for All: September 12, 2011

Cable Green, Director of Global Learning @ Creative Commons, will discuss how, if we are smart, we will use today's technical and legal tools to build and share high quality, affordable edu…
Kaleidoscope Project: Improving Student Success through Collaborative Open Courses: September 14, 2011 | A session at the ELI 2011 Online Fall Focus Session
The NGLC-funded Kaleidoscope Project brings together eight colleges that serve predominantly at-risk students to create and improve general education courses using open educational resources. The…
Got Open Textbook?: September 15, 2011 | A session at the ELI 2011 Online Fall Focus Session
This session will focus on my journey of finding, adopting, and using open-source educational resources in physics and astronomy classes over the past three years. Enrollment in classes is up, st…

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