Etextbook Access, Usage, And Beliefs: Implications For Adoption In Higher Education

Purpose – Dynamic features of eTextbooks, such as taking interactive quizzes and sharing notes can make the practice of reading a textbook more supportive and engaging than before. While promising, challenges exist regarding the integration of eTextbooks in higher education, such as cost, usability, and lack of instructor development. There is a need for a more informed understanding of how instructors and learners are integrating eTextbooks to revolutionize learning spaces, in order to formulate next steps of action on a university level. While studies exist regarding universities with eTextbook initiatives, there is little empirical data concerning universities that offer eTextbooks without a focussed initiative. This paper aims to fill this gap. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the results of a university-wide student survey are shared, which provide insight into factors such as the selection and use of eTextbooks, access, and beliefs regarding eTextbook use and learning. Findings – Generally, we found that in a university setting without an eTextbook initiative, eTextbook use is relatively low and their features are not being effectively utilized by students or instructors. In any university that offers eTextbooks, instructor development is critical. Originality/value – Findings from this survey guide the instructional design of instructor development. The findings also identify pertinent issues that any university is likely to face when considering an eTextbook initiative, such as raising student awareness, working with publishers, and providing effective technical and pedagogical support

Facilitating Professional Development Of Mobile And Etextbook Technologies: A Special Interest Group Approach

Purpose – While the integration of mobile and eTextbook technologies is rapidly growing throughout higher education learning environments, these technologies are often challenging to implement across the university landscape. Professional development tailored to these fluid and evolving technologies is essential to supporting effective classroom integration. The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate a special interest group approach to professional development regarding mobile and eTextbook technologies implemented by one university in the USA. Issues such as recruitment of members, selection of face-to-face and online spaces, and curriculum design are addressed. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate effectiveness, a survey was given to the participants that asked about sense of community, perceived increase in knowledge and teaching practices, and overall satisfaction with the experience. Findings – The interrelated factors of sense of community, knowledge, and teaching practices were identified as valuable, along with group organization. Survey results revealed that participants highly valued the opportunity to share best practices with others they typically would not, and benefitted from the expertise of guest speakers. Online spaces were found to serve as a repository of on-demand resources and dissemination of information, while face-to-face meetings capitalized on interactivity and nurtured community. Sharing the work of the members with the university and beyond was critical to incentivizing members to produce, and also built further professional networks. The planning team identified a tension between encouraging active involvement from instructors and offering it in convenient ways given their other commitments. Originality/value – Although this is a single case, this analysis suggests generalizable strategies that may create and sustain a community interested in mobile and eTextbook technologies

eTextbook access, usage, and beliefs: implications for adoption in higher education

Purpose – Dynamic features of eTextbooks, such as taking interactive quizzes and sharing notes can make the practice of reading a textbook more supportive and engaging than before. While promising, challenges exist regarding the integration of eTextbooks in higher education, such as cost, usability, and lack of instructor development. There is a need for a more informed understanding of how instructors and learners are integrating eTextbooks to revolutionize learning spaces, in order to formulate next steps of action on a university level. While studies exist regarding universities with eTextbook initiatives, there is little empirical data concerning universities that offer eTextbooks without a focussed initiative. This paper aims to fill this gap. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the results of a university-wide student survey are shared, which provide insight into factors such as the selection and use of eTextbooks, access, and beliefs regarding eTextbook use and learning. Findings – Generally, we found that in a university setting without an eTextbook initiative, eTextbook use is relatively low and their features are not being effectively utilized by students or instructors. In any university that offers eTextbooks, instructor development is critical. Originality/value – Findings from this survey guide the instructional design of instructor development. The findings also identify pertinent issues that any university is likely to face when considering an eTextbook initiative, such as raising student awareness, working with publishers, and providing effective technical and pedagogical support

Facilitating professional development of mobile and eTextbook technologies

Purpose – While the integration of mobile and eTextbook technologies is rapidly growing throughout higher education learning environments, these technologies are often challenging to implement across the university landscape. Professional development tailored to these fluid and evolving technologies is essential to supporting effective classroom integration. The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate a special interest group approach to professional development regarding mobile and eTextbook technologies implemented by one university in the USA. Issues such as recruitment of members, selection of face-to-face and online spaces, and curriculum design are addressed. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate effectiveness, a survey was given to the participants that asked about sense of community, perceived increase in knowledge and teaching practices, and overall satisfaction with the experience. Findings – The interrelated factors of sense of community, knowledge, and teaching practices were identified as valuable, along with group organization. Survey results revealed that participants highly valued the opportunity to share best practices with others they typically would not, and benefitted from the expertise of guest speakers. Online spaces were found to serve as a repository of on-demand resources and dissemination of information, while face-to-face meetings capitalized on interactivity and nurtured community. Sharing the work of the members with the university and beyond was critical to incentivizing members to produce, and also built further professional networks. The planning team identified a tension between encouraging active involvement from instructors and offering it in convenient ways given their other commitments. Originality/value – Although this is a single case, this analysis suggests generalizable strategies that may create and sustain a community interested in mobile and eTextbook technologies

User Acceptance Of Mobile Technology: A Campus-Wide Implementation Of Blackboard\u27S Mobile\u3csup\u3eTm\u3c/sup\u3e Learn Application

Mobile learning is a fast growing trend in higher education. This study examined how an extended technology acceptance model (TAM) could evaluate and predict the use of a mobile application in learning. A path analysis design was used to measure the mediating effects on the use of Blackboard\u27s Mobile TM Learn application in coursework (N = 77). The results indicate that the hypothesized model was a strong fit, x2(8, N = 77) = 6.84, p = 0.55. Perceived resources, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and attitude were found to be significant determinants of users\u27 acceptance of mobile application technology. The findings of this research have implications for educational leaders, mobile application designers, course instructors, and instructional technologists who want to understand why students adopt mobile learning, how to devise practical methods for integrating mobile applications into curriculum, and ways to evaluate of the acceptance and usability of the mobile learning systems

EDUCAUSE Horizon Report: 2019 Higher Education Edition

For 17 years, the New Media Consortium convened panels of experts from higher education and posed three key questions for them to discuss: What is on the five-year horizon for higher education institutions? Which trends and technology developments will drive educational change? What are the critical challenges and how can we strategize solutions? The resulting Horizon Report series charts the five-year impact of innovative practices and technologies for higher education across the globe. This year, for the first time, EDUCAUSE led this conversation and guided the 98-person global panel to review recent literature and discuss their experiences and forecasts regarding technology adoption and educational change. With more than 17 years of research and publications, the Horizon Project can be regarded as education’s longest-running exploration of emerging technology trends that support teaching, learning, and creative inquiry.This report profiles six key trends, six significant challenges, and six developments in educational technology for higher education. These three sections of this report constitute a reference and technology planning guide for educators, higher education leaders, administrators, policymakers, and technologists