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.

Library Items on this Topic

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EDUCAUSE Library Items for E-Textbooks

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EDUCAUSE Research Findings: CIOs, Undergraduates, Mobile Devices, IT Organizationsand More: January 12, 2012 | A session at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference 2012
Do you want to know the latest in what higher education IT organizations are doing with mobile-enabled applications, outsourcing, and teaching and learning technologies? How about what's happe…
Mobile IT in Higher Education, 2011—Slide Presentation: December 2, 2011

In a very short time, mobile computing has become a fixture in many people’s lives , and the 2011 ECAR study of mobile IT investigates how this technology is being incorporated into highe…
Results of the 2011 Core Data Survey: October 19, 2011

The EDUCAUSE Core Data Service (CDS) is in its ninth year. It has been completely overhauled to expand beyond the original focus on higher education IT costs and staffing. The CDS will now provi…
ECAR National Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2011—Slide Presentation: October 14, 2011

Beginning in 2004, ECAR has conducted an annual study of undergraduate students and information technology (IT), seeking to understand patterns of ownership and usage, skills with and preference…
The Higher Education CIO: Portrait of Today, Landscape of Tomorrow—Slide Presentation: September 28, 2011

This slide presentation illuminates findings from the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) 2011 research on the role of the higher education CIO and the state of the IT workforce. This sl…
Really Changing the Game: July 29, 2011

Presentation at the 2011 ECAR Symposium, July 28, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. The foreseeable economics of higher education does not favor the historical “my campus as an island” paradigm of…
IT as a Game Changer in Teaching & Learning: July 28, 2011

Presentation at the 2011 ECAR Symposium, July 28, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Is technology a “game changer” in teaching and learning? Will Facebook and the iPad really change how we deliver…
The Current State of College Students and Technology 2011: July 29, 2011

Presentation at the 2011 ECAR Symposium, July 28, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. This presentation highlights early findings of the 2011 survey of undergraduate students and information technology.…
The Future of ECAR Research: July 28, 2011

Presentation at the 2011 ECAR Symposium, July 28, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. This presentation highlights the future of research from the EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR). How …
Welcome to the 2011 ECAR Symposium: Changing the Game: July 28, 2011

Presentation at the 2011 ECAR Symposium, July 28, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Welcome and opening remarks. How to Cite This Work : Grajek, Susan. "Welcome to the 2011 ECAR Symposium:…