It’s a
given, many in the education world say, that almost all textbooks and other
course materials will go digital within a few years. Paper texts will be as
dead as the trees from which they’re made.
That seems
likely if you consider indicators such as the financial statements from major
publishers. Pearson, the largest of the textbook producers, reported a few
weeks ago that digital publishing and services now make up half of its income—a
first for the company. Other textbook publishers are also experiencing rises in
digital sales.
Yet,
college students aren’t all that crazy about digital textbooks, even though
they prefer digital formats for personal communications and entertainment. A
commentary in Carnegie Mellon University’s campus newspaper, written by a CMU
student who first experienced online course materials in high school, describes
how the negatives of digital textbooks ultimately cancel out the positives.
In short,
the student writer says, it’s simply harder to study course materials on a
digital screen. Even homework is often online now, he notes, and some
multiple-choice exercises can be gamed, undermining retention of concepts.
If sales of
digital course materials are growing, it’s probably because they frequently
cost less, a persuasive factor. The Educause/Internet2 e-textbook pilot conducted during the 2012-13 academic year found that lower prices was the
biggest incentive for using digital materials for both students and faculty
members.
