Electronic Textbooks – It’s About Time!
The 2010 Horizon Report listed electronic books as one of the “Technologies to Watch.” In the detailed report on electronic books, the authors say that the “Time-to-Adoption Horizon” is two to three years. If this is the case then we better get a move on because I fear we are a little behind schedule.
My own experience with using e-books is limited. Currently I am using the web-based CourseSmart Reader software supplied with the desk copies of the books I get from Cengage Learning. I usually get both the paper and e-book versions of the book so I can access the content anywhere. In most cases I can gain access to the e-book immediately and then wait for the textbook to arrive in the mail.
The e-book interface is pretty simple and I find it to be more than adequate and functional.
Course Smart e-Book Interface
The user can search and add notes and return to the Table of Contents by clicking on the tabs along the left side of the frame. Using the interactive Table of Contents you can jump to any chapter or chapter sub-topic just by clicking. All of the tools available to work with the content are located on the upper right menu. There is a “Go To” option that will allow you to jump to any page in the e-book. The note tool allows you to add your own notes to the page and can be accessed through the “Notes” tab on the Table of Contents.
The highlight tool allows you to highlight content on the page. With the copy tool you can highlight text and copy it to a document. This is handy for making simple note-card documents using Word that could be used as study aids. There is a zoom tool to allow a closer look at charts and graphs. Another convenient tool is the email button that allows you to highlight parts of the text and email these to yourself or someone else. This could also be used to create study aids by allowing the student to collect a set of items that they feel need more attention. Then when time permits these items could be reviewed. The print tool allows the student to print the book content for another type of study aid. There is a help feature and buttons that allow for simple paging through the book.
Let’s take a closer look at the e-book. This is a guided tour of Chemistry in Context, 6th Edition.
