Usage of E-Books in Higher Education

Transcription

1 Usage of E-Books in Higher Education January 2013 In the following report, Hanover Research provides a brief overview of the use of e-books in postsecondary education. To begin, we discuss the increasing demand for e-books and the status of e-books in the higher education marketplace. Next, we briefly outline some of the advantages and disadvantages of e-books in higher education. We then profile some of the ways e-books are being used at several institutions, including a well-known e-book initiative at the University of Indiana, which has served as the model for e-book pilot programs at other institutions.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary and Key Findings... 3 Introduction... 3 Key Findings... 3 Section I: The Use of E-Books in Education: A Review of the Literature... 6 The Use and Demand for E-Books... 6 The Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Books... 8 Section II: The Use of E-Books in Education Dartmouth College and Middlebury College: An E-Book Pilot Program The Pilot Program Expands Indiana University s e-texts Initiative E-Reader Rentals: Carnegie Mellon University and Georgetown University E-Reader Pilot Program at Princeton University Digital Textbook Sales Through Barnes and Noble Appendix: Examined Institutions Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 2

3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND KEY FINDINGS INTRODUCTION The rise of e-books (also known as e-texts or e-textbooks in an educational setting) in the United States and across the globe is taking place in the context of a broader shift towards digital material. With the proliferation of desktop and laptop computers, tablets, e- readers and smartphones, individuals the world over can interact with digital media in a variety of ways either at home or on the go. Recent years have seen a rise in the proportion of Americans who use e-books. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project, in December 2011, 17 percent of Americans reported reading an e-book in the previous year; by February 2012, the proportion of Americans reading an e-book in the past year had increased to over one in five (21 percent). 1 Americans also consume other printed content on their electronic devices. In a survey ending in December 2011, some 43% of Americans age 16 and older say they have either read an e-book in the past year or have read other long-form content such as magazines, journals, and news articles in digital format on an e-book reader, tablet computer, regular computer, or cell phone. 2 E-books vary widely in usability, accessibility, and format. While some are as simple as a PDF of a printed title, they can also incorporate other features, such as annotations, audio and video files, and hyperlinks. 3 Additionally, e-books can provide users with commenting and chat tools that allow interaction among readers, and some let users add links to external resources. 4 In the following report, Hanover discusses the use of e-books in postsecondary education. In addition, we profile some of the ways e-books are being used at several institutions. KEY FINDINGS While some projections forecast rapid growth for e-books in the educational marketplace, several recent surveys indicate relatively modest student interest in e- books. For example, a March 2011 survey of 655 college students by OnCampus Research found that only 18 percent of students surveyed reported purchasing an e-book for any purpose in the past three months. A more recent survey of 1,200 students at four-year colleges and universities conducted by the market research firm Student Monitor found that 20 percent of respondents had bought or rented an 1 Rainie, L., et al. The Rise of E-Reading. Pew Internet & American Life Project. April 4, Ibid. 3 7 Things You Should Know About E-Books. EDUCAUSE. November p Ibid Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 3

4 e-textbook in the spring of 2012; electronic versions of textbooks accounted for 9 percent of all textbook purchases. E-textbooks offer a variety of potential advantages to postsecondary students. They can include features that can help students learn, such as embedded audio/video files or communication tools that facilitate interaction between faculty and students. In addition, e-textbooks are also frequently touted as a source of potential cost savings for students. Moreover, e-textbooks are portable and easier to revise/update than traditional print texts. E-texts also suffer from some limitations. Many students find the writing and annotation features of e-texts clumsy, and reading an e-text on some screens can lead to eye strain or other problems. In addition, the business and licensing models for e-texts are somewhat immature, and these models may change in the near future. Dartmouth College and Middlebury College, participated in a pilot program in the fall of 2012 designed to test the use of e-textbooks in selected courses. Through this pilot program, colleges/universities purchased e-textbooks in bulk for use in selected courses. Students in these courses were then provided with e-texts instead of printed textbooks, which are read through e-reader software from Courseload. The above e-text pilot program was modeled on Indiana University s etext initiative, which has piloted e-textbooks in a variety of IU courses. When faculty adopt the etext model for a given course, students in the course are charged a mandatory fee for e-books. Revenue from this fee is used to purchase access to e- textbooks for all students in the course. Students can access e-texts provided through the etext initiative as long as they are enrolled at IU, and can read their e- texts on multiple devices using e-reader software from Courseload. Both Carnegie Mellon University and Georgetown University offer e-reader rentals through university libraries. At Carnegie Mellon University, students, faculty and staff can borrow Kindle e-readers from several different libraries on-campus. These devices are available to be borrowed for a two-week period and come pre-loaded with a range of popular fiction and non-fiction titles. Similarly, at Georgetown University, students can borrow a Kindle Fire, Kindle DX, or ipad through the University library and upload their own content to the device. Other institutions have conducted pilot programs aimed at evaluating whether e- readers can be used as a substitute for or compliment to printed textbooks and other course materials. For example, in 2009, Princeton University undertook a pilot trial program to assess the use of Kindle DX e-readers in the classroom. Students in three courses were provided with a free Kindle DX e-reader for use in the course, and course texts used in these courses consisted of resources in e-book format as well as PDF documents, both of which could be read on the Kindle. E-textbooks are often obtainable through the official bookstores of these institutions. Ten of the 21 institutions identified for the purposes of this report, for example, allow students to purchase and/or rent digital textbooks through Barnes 2013 Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 4

5 and Noble, which operates as the official bookstore for these institutions. Barnes & Noble e-textbooks are meant to be read using the Barnes & Noble NOOK Study application. This application is a free e-reader program which can be used on both PC and Macintosh computers Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 5

6 SECTION I: THE USE OF E-BOOKS IN EDUCATION: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE THE USE AND DEMAND FOR E-BOOKS It is clear that e-books have quickly grown in popularity outside the realm of higher education. In 2011 Amazon announced that its customers were buying more e-books than print books, and in May 2011 the company announced that since April 1 st it had sold 105 e- books for its Kindle e-readers for every 100 paperback and hardcover books sold. 5 In addition, a July 2012 survey of 2,000 publishers conducted by Bookstats found that digital book sales grew astronomically in 2011: Publishers net revenue from sales of e-books more than doubled last year, reaching $2.07 billion, up from $869 million in E-books accounted for 15.5 percent of publishers revenues. 6 This growth is especially notable considering that overall trade revenues (revenues from fiction and non-fiction titles for children and adults) were basically flat from 2010 to In contrast, data on the growth of e-books in the educational marketplace are more ambiguous. In 2011 e-textbooks comprised just 3.4 percent of the global textbook marketplace, according to Outsell, Inc. Nonetheless, the company forecasts rapid growth for e-textbooks, projecting that by 2013 e-textbooks will account for 18.3 percent of the textbook market. 7 Other projections also forecast rapid growth for e-books in the educational marketplace. For example, according to Rob Reynolds of MBS Direct LLC, [d]igital textbooks topped 3% of the education market in 2011 and are continuing to increase market share at a rapid pace. According to Reynolds, [t]his growth has seen the market move from 0.5% in 2009, to 1.5% in 2010, to 3%+ this past year. 8 However, not all estimates of the market share of e-books in higher education have pointed to rapid growth. Indeed, in early 2012 the Book Industry Study Group found that while 3 percent of the textbooks students bought for college courses were digital in 2011, this represented a decrease from 2010, when roughly six percent of the textbooks students bought for higher education courses were e-books. 9 Other data confirm the fact that e-textbooks account for only a small fraction of the overall textbook market, though the growth in e-book sales has been swift. According to John Squires, the CEO of Akademos, a company that provides an online bookstore for institutions of higher 5 Cain Miller, C., and Bosman, J. E-Books Outsell Print Books at Amazon. New York Times, May 19, Bosman, J. Survey Shows Growing Strength of E-Books. New York Times, July 18, Reynolds, R. E-Textbook Market Remains on Course to Pass 25% by Direct Digital. 8 Ibid. 9 Greenfield, J. E-Textbook Use Down Among College Students. Digital Book World. February 8, Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 6

7 education, while digital textbook purchases have increased approximately 300 percent over the last three years, they still account for less than five percent of overall textbook sales. 10 A slightly higher figure appears in the results from a survey of 1,200 students and four-year colleges and universities conducted by the market research firm Student Monitor in spring Their results showed that electronic versions of textbooks accounted for nine percent of all textbook purchases, as shown in Figure 1.1. Furthermore, the survey found that one in five students reported buying or renting an e-textbook in the spring of Surveys of college students also indicate that many students prefer print editions of books over digital copies. For example, a March 2011 survey of 655 college students by OnCampus Research, a division of the National Association of College Stores, found that roughly 18 percent of students surveyed reported purchasing an electronic book of any kind in the past three months, while nearly 82 percent of students indicated they had not done so. 12 Interestingly, student respondents showed a marked preference for a printed textbook over an e-book over three in four students (75.19 percent) indicated that they preferred a print textbook, while less than 25 percent of students preferred a digital version. 13 Figure 1.1: Estimated Share of All Textbook Purchases, Student Monitor Survey 50% 45% 40% 30% 31% 20% 10% 15% 9% 0% New Print Used Print Rented Print E-Texts Source: Student Monitor 14 However, the 2012 Student Monitor survey also found that students preferences for print textbooks may be waning. As Steve Kolowich of Inside Higher Ed notes, among those who did not purchase a digital text, only 39 percent said they prefer traditional print textbooks down from 50 percent two years ago and 59 percent three years ago Schaffhauser, D. Rental and E-Book Sales Erode New Textbook Sales. Campus Technology, December 3, Kolowich, S. Hype vs. Adoption. Inside Higher Ed, July 5, Update: Electronic Book and ereader Device Report. OnCampus Research, March 2011, p Ibid, p Kolowich, S. Op cit. 15 Ibid Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 7

8 THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF E-BOOKS E-textbooks offer a variety of potential benefits (and drawbacks) to postsecondary students. E-texts can include a variety of features that can serve to facilitate a student s understanding of a topic, such as hyperlinks, audio or video files, and tools such as chat services that allow students to interact with other students and with faculty. 16 For example, various e-books and e-readers allow students to annotate texts and share these annotations with others. These and other resources that can be included in e-texts have the potential to help students learn. As administrators from Northwest Missouri State University stated in a 2009 article in EDUCAUSE Review Online, Any textbook can be a more powerful learning resource if augmented with review quizzes, recommended and targeted review readings, interactive learning activities, or video segments to reinforce important instructional concepts. These enhanced learning resources, which are much easier to integrate and deliver in the e-textbook format, have the potential to accelerate student learning. 17 Several recent developments have amplified the interest in e-textbooks among many educators, postsecondary institutions, and policymakers. The price of print textbooks is frequently cited as a driver for e-textbook adoption, as print textbook costs have risen sharply in recent years. In fact, a 2005 Government Accountability Office Report found that the cost of textbooks far outstripped the rate of inflation from 1986 to This report found that the price of textbooks increased 186 percent since 1986, approximately six percent per year. Conversely, consumer prices rose 72 percent over the same time period. 18 More recently, in a 2011 survey of approximately 10,500 students at 18 separate institutions of higher education, students reported spending $655 on textbooks and required course materials over the last 12 months. 19 Various authors, educators, and publishing industry representatives have touted the potential cost-savings of e-textbooks, noting, for example, that electronic books avoid the printing, storage, and mailing costs of traditional publishing and may considerably reduce the time required to produce and distribute a text. 20 E-textbooks also offer other advantages. For example, portability has been cited as an important factor in the future purchase of e-texts. 21 For students accustomed to carrying multiple course textbooks, the convenience of e-texts can be a welcome change. E Things You Should Know About E-Books. Op. cit. 17 Rickman, J., et al. A Campus-Wide E-Textbook Initiative. EDUCAUSE Review Online, July 30, Nicholls, N. The Investigation Into the Rising Cost of Textbooks: A Background Study of the Context of Michigan Initiatives with an Eye Toward Launching a Library-Based College Textbook Purchasing Program. University of Michigan Library, Scholarly Publishing Office. April 2009 (Rev. January 2010). p Student Watch 2012: Student Attitudes & Perceptions. OnCampus Research Things You Should Know About E-Books. Op. Cit. 21 Internet2 etextbook Spring 2012 Pilot Final Project Report. August 1, p Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 8

9 textbooks are also easier to update or revise than traditional print texts, allowing publishers to update or correct errors in a work. 22 However, institutions considering furnishing students with e-textbooks should be aware of some of the potential downsides to this technology as well. E-books can raise copyright issues for both consumers and publishers. Piracy is also a concern, and publishers/copyright owners face growing hurdles in protecting their content from unauthorized reproduction. 23 The inclusion of rich media (such as audio and video) and/or other features present in some textbooks can at times serve to annoy users. 24 Furthermore, etextbook business models, software readers, and licensing models are fairly immature, and it is likely publishers will alter the e-textbook sale and distribution model in the near future. 25 Reading e-textbooks on some screens, such as computer screens, can lead to eye strain and other problems. 26 Finally, some individuals simply prefer to read on paper. Institutions should also consider potential effects e-books can have on learning. Some research indicates that the use of e-texts with annotations can improve student learning. 27 However, other research indicates that while students can score the same on measures of reading comprehension with an e-text versus a paper book, students interact differently with text on a computer screen. Some evidence suggests that individuals reading text from a monitor will skim the text; this method is ineffective for studying because too much information gets lost, causing the reader to have to reread sections as they check for understanding. 28 In any case, institutions should avoid forcing digital or print textbooks upon students. Kurt Gerdenich of Cengage Learning (a publisher of courseware, textbooks, and other print and digital content) noted at the May 2012 SIAA Ed Tech Industry Summit that students will want the ability to buy print if they like print, and to buy digital if they like digital. 29 It has also been suggested that institutions should avoid top-down mandates forcing faculty to use e-texts. 30 Indeed, the authors of a 2011 study of textbook distribution models at Daytona State College note that [a]n effective approach will encourage, but not require, e- text adoption. Should reluctant faculty members observe demonstrable benefits in the classrooms of colleagues who have switched, they will soon decide to go e-text as well Miller, J., et al. The Determinants of Electronic Textbook Use Among College Students. April p Things You Should Know About E-Books. Op. cit., p Miller, J., et al. Op. cit. 25 Internet2 etextbook Spring 2012 Pilot Final Project Report. Op. cit., p Miller, J., et al. Op. cit. 27 Dennis, A., et al. Improving Learning With etextbooks. p E-Textbook Effectiveness Studied. James Madison University Ash, K. Mapping the E-Books Marketplace. Education Week, May 7, Graydon, B., et al. A Study of Four Textbook Distribution Models. EDUCAUSE Review Online, December 15, Ibid Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 9

10 While faculty bear a large responsibility for ensuring the successful adoption of e-texts in the classroom, educational institutions frequently feature distributed governance models that can affect the move to digital texts. In the words of John Bourne, the executive director of the Sloan Consortium, an organization that studies online learning, faculty control of course texts (including how these texts are delivered) is frequently sacred at these institutions. 32 Consequently, institutions seeking to facilitate e-text adoption should provide support and training to help ensure faculty use e-texts effectively in their courses Kolowich, S. The E-Book Sector. Inside Higher Ed, June 8, Graydon, B., et al. Op. cit Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 10

11 SECTION II: THE USE OF E-BOOKS IN EDUCATION In this section Hanover Research profiles initiatives related to the use of digital textbooks at several institutions. These profiles identify some of the ways that e-books and e-textbooks are currently being utilized and selected programs/initiatives these institutions have implemented to facilitate access to e-books. However, it is important to note that the profiles below are not designed to be comprehensive descriptions of the use of e-books at these selected institutions. The institutions and programs profiled in this section are as follows: An e-textbook pilot program that has taken place at many over 20 U.S. postsecondary institutions The etext initiative at Indiana University (IU) E-reader rental programs at Carnegie Mellon University and Georgetown University An e-reader pilot program at Princeton University The sale of digital textbooks through Barnes & Noble, which acts as the official campus bookstore for ten profiled institutions DARTMOUTH COLLEGE AND MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE: AN E-BOOK PILOT PROGRAM Both Dartmouth College and Middlebury College recently agreed to participate in a pilot program designed to test the use of e-textbooks in selected courses. This pilot program, first announced at five universities in January 2012, allows institutions to purchase e-textbooks in bulk for use in certain class sections. The pilot program is the work of Internet2, a consortium of over 220 colleges. 34 This program is based on Indiana University s etext initiative, which has piloted e-textbooks in a variety of IU courses. 35 The Indiana University etext initiative is designed to change the way students purchase and interact with textbooks and other learning materials by offering e-texts and other digital learning materials to students at substantially reduced costs. 36 The Indiana University program receives further attention in the next profile. Initially, the e-text pilot program was implemented at five institutions in the spring 2012 semester: Indiana University, the University of Wisconsin, the University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and the University of Virginia. The University of California Berkeley also participated in the pilot, though it did not engage in a joint evaluation of the pilot program 34 Internet2 and EDUCAUSE Partner To Deliver etext Pilot At Colleges and Universities Nationwide, Fall Internet IU Expands etexts Initiative with Pearson. Indiana University Internet2 etextbook Spring 2012 Pilot Final Project Report. Op. cit., p Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 11

12 with other institutions due to the limited number of students involved in the program at Berkeley. 37 This pilot program, as initially implemented at these institutions, allowed institutions to purchase e-textbooks in bulk directly from publishers, who offered deep discounts on these texts. In this pilot program, certain courses at these institutions used only e-texts, though students were provided with the option to purchase a printed copy in addition to the e-text. 38 E-texts were available on Courseload, an e-book broker which provides software that works on any device compatible with HTML5, 39 including most devices that run on Windows, Android, MacOS, or ios. 40 Additionally, Courseload allows content from a variety of publishers and supports other features. For example, the Courseload software allows students to print from their e-textbook, create annotations, and share these notes with other users. 41 In the pilot program, the Courseload e-reader software was integrated with the learning management system (LMS) used by each institution. Thus, students could use a single sign-on to access all their e-texts through their LMS. 42 Students using Courseload could read e-texts both online and offline, so that an internet connection was not required to access course materials. By virtue of a contract negotiated by IU and Internet2 with McGraw-Hill and Courseload, participating institutions received McGraw-Hill textbook content through the Courseload platform in exchange for a flat fee of $20,000. This single contract, which other institutions adopted via a lightweight Memorandum of Understanding with Internet 2, authorized participants to use e-textbooks in up to ten sections or with up to 1,000 students, whichever came first. 43 The cost of the materials was subsidized by the institutions participating in the pilot program. 44 Each of the institutions involved in the pilot followed a similar path to implementation but implemented the pilot program slightly differently. There was variation with regard to the team responsible for implementing this pilot, the role of their bookstore, faculty selection process, courses selected, communication strategy, and technology platform. 45 Some of the institutions in the pilot, for instance, had used e-textbooks in other pilot programs and/or for other courses not involved in this pilot. For example, according to an August 2012 report on the pilot program, Cornell University had offered electronic textbooks to 37 Ibid., p Internet2 etextbook Spring 2012 Pilot Final Project Report. Op. cit., p Slotnik, D. Pilot E-Book Program at Five Universities Focuses on Bulk Savings, Not ibooks. New York Times, January 20, Electronic Texts Pilot for Fall Internet p Namahoe, K. 5 Institutions Pilot E-Textbooks. Campus Technology, January 20, Internet2 etextbook Pilot. University of Minnesota Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. November p Ibid. 44 Kolowich, S. Pulling for Better E-Textbook Prices. Inside Higher Ed, 45 Internet2 etextbook Spring 2012 Pilot Final Project Report. Op. cit., p Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 12

13 instructors through the Cornell Store (the college s campus bookstore) for roughly two years using the CafeScribe system. 46 Similarly, at the University of Virginia, [e]lectronic textbooks have long been offered as an alternative to print textbooks (when available) by the University s Bookstore, and individual students can choose which version of a text to purchase and use. 47 While it is beyond the scope of this report to consider the outcomes from this pilot in depth, several points do bear mention. Overall, reviews of the pilot from students at participating institutions were mixed. 48 One the one hand, many students in the pilot program appreciated the affordability of the e-textbooks, and students also praised the portability of e-books compared to their print counterparts. 49 The vast majority of students in the pilot (88 percent) did not purchase a paper copy of the e-textbook. However, many students reported their e-textbooks were clumsy and some did not like using the e-book platform, noting that e-texts were difficult to navigate. 50 Students complained of usability issues with e-texts and reported a variety of barriers to e-text use, including readability, eyestrain, zooming difficulties, lack of readability on some mobile devices, and a dislike of reading on a computer or other device. 51 In fact, many students surveyed as part of the pilot expressed a preference for conventional books over e-textbooks. It should be noted, however, that many students and faculty in the pilot did not take advantage of the collaborative features of the e-texts, such as annotation and note sharing. Some evidence suggests that the use of these features may have an impact on student s feelings concerning e-textbooks. Indeed, students that rated the instructor s encouragement higher were more likely to indicate that the e-textbook annotation features were valuable (and less likely to indicate these annotation features were distracting) than other students. 52 THE PILOT PROGRAM EXPANDS In the fall 2012 semester the pilot program was modified and expanded to over 20 other universities, including Dartmouth College and Middlebury College. As with the earlier pilot, students in specific courses were furnished with digital materials from McGraw-Hill Education instead of printed textbooks. 53 Students participating in the pilot at these institutions used the Courseload e-reader software to view e-books through a variety of 46 Ibid. 47 Ibid., p Azevedo, A. Bulk-Purchasing E-Textbook Experiment Expands to More Colleges. Chronicle of Higher Education, September 5, Internet2 etextbook Spring 2012 Pilot Final Project Report. Op. cit., pp Chen, A. Students Find E-Textbooks Clumsy and Don t Use Their Interactive Features. Chronicle of Higher Education, August 22, Internet2 etextbook Spring 2012 Pilot Final Project Report. Op. cit., p Ibid. 53 Schaffhauser, D. E-Textbook Pilot Grows to 25 Schools Even as U Minn Opts Out. Campus Technology, September 5, 2012 p.1. U-Minn-Opts-Out.aspx?Page= Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 13

14 devices, though the Courseload system had been updated to make the software smoother and more sophisticated in response to student feedback gleaned from the earlier pilot program run at the five institutions discussed above. 54 According to a prospectus of the fall 2012 pilot program by Internet2, institutions participating in the pilot were to be provided with access to the texts within the specific undergraduate and/or graduate classes or sections involved in the pilot. 55 Students would enjoy access to the texts until the end of the fall 2012 term, so long as they remained enrolled in the course/section using these texts. Students could choose to print all or part of the e-texts directly from the e-reader platform, or they could receive full printed copies of the e-texts via a third-party print-on-demand-service for a small fee. As in the earlier pilot, the Courseload e-reader software was integrated into each institution s LMS. 56 For the fall 2012 pilot program, participating institutions could choose between two different levels of participation. Institutions could pay $20,000 for e-texts for 20 sections and/or 800 students, whichever limit was reached first. Institutions interested in distributing more e-texts through this pilot program could pay $35,000 to obtain materials for up to 40 sections and/or 1,600 students, whichever limit came first. 57 As was the case with the January 2012 pilot program, the cost of these e-texts and materials was subsidized by the institutions participating in the study, so students did not have to pay for their e-texts. 58 As of September 5, 2012, the 26 institutions listed in Figure 2.1 on the following page had signed on to participate in this expanded pilot program. Figure 2.1: Participants in Fall 2012 Internet2/EDUCAUSE E-Books Pilot Program Baylor University (Tex.) California State Polytechnic University at Pomona Castleton State College (Vt.) Colorado State University at Fort Collins Community College of Vermont Cornell University (N.Y.) Dartmouth College (N.H.) Iowa State University of Science and Technology Madison Area Technical College (Wis.) Miami University (Ohio) Michigan State University Middlebury College (Vt.) Northern Kentucky University Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education 59 Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville State University of New York at Buffalo State University of New York at Stony Brook University of Alaska at Anchorage University of California at Berkeley University of Hawaii-Manoa University of Iowa University of Kentucky University of South Florida University of Virginia University of Wisconsin at Madison Virginia Tech Wichita State University (Kan.) 54 Azevedo, A. Op. Cit. 55 Electronic Texts Pilot for Fall Internet Op. cit., p Ibid. 57 Ibid., p Schaffhauser, Dian. E-Textbook Pilot Grows to 25 Schools Even as U Minn Opts Out. Op. Cit. 59 Azevedo, A. Op. cit Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 14

15 Of the institutions involved in the January 2012 pilot program, all but the University of Minnesota continued on to participate in the expanded fall 2012 pilot. 60 The University of Minnesota dropped out of the pilot program, citing concerns about the accessibility of e- texts on the Courseload platform for students with impairments. 61 However, the University has continued to experiment with e-book programs, and has announced a separate agreement with McGraw-Hill Education to provide e-books and other digital content to students affordably and efficiently through the university bookstore. 62 Negotiations are underway regarding a similar pilot program, to be implemented in the spring of 2013, which officials hope will include different institutions. 63 INDIANA UNIVERSITY S E-TEXTS INITIATIVE As mentioned above, Indiana University s etext initiative began pilot trials in 2009 and has furnished e-textbooks in a variety of IU courses. In pilot trials spanning several years, Indiana University has partnered with Courseload to provide students with e-texts from a variety of publishers. 64 At the start of this pilot program, students in participating courses were provided with e-texts free of charge, as the university and Courseload paid for the e- textbooks. 65 More recently, the Indiana etext initiative has charged students in participating courses a mandatory fee for e-books, which is billed through their bursar accounts. To ensure that only the students who are enrolled in participating courses are charged for these e-books, students who drop a course which charges students an etext fee before the add/drop deadline receive a refund. 66 In September 2011, the Indiana University etext initiative launched in its mature form on all Indiana University campuses after five semesters of pilot programs. 67 Now individual faculty members determine whether to adopt the university s etext model or to use other sources of print or digital media. When instructors decide to adopt the model, faculty and students are provided with access to course textbooks through the Courseload e-reader software. 68 Therefore, only students who choose to enroll in a course which participates in the University s etext initiative are assessed an etext fee in their bursar bill. According to an 60 Indiana University is also not participating in the fall 2012 pilot, though as will be discussed below Indiana University has launched an initiative similar to these pilot programs to provide students in selected courses with e-texts after undertaking several semesters of similar pilot programs. 61 Schaffhauser, D. E-Textbook Pilot Grows to 25 Schools Even as U Minn Opts Out. p McGraw-Hill Education Partners with EDUCAUSE to Expand Exclusive E-Book Pilot Program with Internet2 and Courseload to 25 Universities. McGraw-Hill Education. September 5, Azevedo, A. Op. cit. 64 Young, J. Op. cit. 65 Ibid. 66 etexts Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Indiana University Ibid. 68 Ibid Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 15

16 October 2012 article in EdTech Magazine, approximately 8,000 of 110,000 IU students use etexts. 69 The IU etext initiative currently allows faculty who participate in the program to select from texts from a number of different publishers, including McGraw-Hill, Pearson, John Wiley & Sons, Macmillan, W.W. Norton, Harvard Business Publishing and Flat World Knowledge. 70 Students can then read their e-texts on multiple devices using an e-reader software platform (Courseload). 71 The Courseload e-reader software integrates with the University s learning management system, and students can log in to both through a single sign-on. Students in courses participating in the etext initiative can make use of the features of Courseload to assist them in the learning process. Indiana University notes the Courseload software allows students to highlight and annotate the text with comments, and students can use different highlighter colors to denote different categories of information. 72 Students can also choose to share their annotations with other students or with faculty. Additionally, [f]aculty can annotate the text and have his/her annotations propagate to all students' etexts. 73 Students can access e-texts provided through the etext initiative as long as they are enrolled at IU, and can print or pay a small fee for a professionally printed and bound version if they wish to keep a book longer. 74 To further support students who are interested in obtaining a print material of their books, the IU etext initiative allows students to print e-textbook content from their own printers for free. Since students in courses which participate in the etext initiative are automatically assessed an etext fee (which is used to pay for the e-text content as well as the Courseload ereader platform), IU can provide e-texts to students at substantially reduced costs. As the IU etext initiative FAQ points out, Publishers will dramatically drop the price of etexts if each student in a course section is charged a fee, as this ensures publishers are paid by each user of their content. In the textbook market, authors and publishers only get paid when a new book is sold, so they price new books high to cover the 2-3 year period of lower sales that exist between the creation of new editions. The IU etext Fee Model allows IU to negotiate with the publishers/vendors in a business-to-business relationship for favorable prices and terms, just as IU has done for Microsoft and Adobe software on IUWare, which allows IU to use its negotiating power to provide students with etexts at a lower cost Osborne, N. The Best of Both Worlds: Indiana University Pioneers E-Textbook Model. EdTech Magazine, October 8, Ibid. 71 Ibid. 72 etexts Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). Op. cit. 73 Ibid. 74 Ibid. 75 Ibid Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 16

17 According to Nik Osbourne, the information technology chief of staff at Indiana University, an e-textbook through IU s initiative costs about half as much as it would through another school or vendor. 76 E-READER RENTALS: CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY AND GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY Other institutions feature initiatives which help to increase student access to e-books. While it is common for institutions to feature e-book collections in their library or libraries, some institutions, such as Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) and Georgetown University, have taken additional steps to furnish students at their institutions with access to e-texts. Both universities currently allow students to borrow e-readers from the university library. At CMU students, faculty and staff can borrow Kindles for up to two weeks from several different libraries, including the University s Hunt Library, the Engineering & Science Library, and the Mellon Institute Library. The library Kindles appear to be intended to allow students to engage in non-academic reading, as they come pre-loaded with a range of popular fiction and non-fiction titles. 77 Similarly, at Georgetown University, students, faculty and staff can borrow a Kindle Fire or Kindle DX for up to four weeks from the University s Lauinger Library. 78 The university s lending system for the device enables students to upload their own books and other content to the Kindle. Before using a library Kindle, students must register the device with their own personal Kindle account to access free titles or purchased content. Students then can make use of services such Amazon s Kindle textbook rental program to rent a variety of e-textbooks, which can be read using a Kindle or a similar e-reader. When returning the Kindle, students are asked to deregister their Kindle account, and the library staff then reset the device to its factory settings. In this way, students at Georgetown University can use borrowed Kindle e-readers to read books and other media of their choice. 79 E-READER PILOT PROGRAM AT PRINCETON UNIVERSITY Several institutions have conducted pilot programs aimed at evaluating whether e-readers can be used as a substitute for or compliment to printed textbooks and other course materials. Princeton University, for example, has undertaken pilot program to study the use of e-readers in the classroom. This pilot program will be briefly examined below. 76 Abutaleb, Y. Some Universities Require Students to Use E-Textbooks. USA Today, August 13, CMU. Carnegie Mellon University Kindles at Lauinger Library: Welcome. Georgetown University Kindles at Lauinger Library: Using a Kindle DX. Georgetown University Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 17

18 At Princeton University, students participated in the Kindle DX pilot trial program, designed to study the use of the Kindle DX in selected courses instead of print textbooks. This program debuted at seven institutions: University of Virginia Arizona State University Case Western Reserve University Princeton University Pace University Reed College University of Washington. 80 Students in three courses at Princeton University (a total of 50 students) participated in the pilot program during the fall of The goal of this pilot program was threefold: to reduce the amount of printing and photocopying done in the three pilot courses, to determine if using this technology in the classroom could equal (or better) the typical classroom experience where more traditional readings were used, and to explore the strengths and weaknesses of current e-reader technology to provide suggestions for future devices. 82 The exact courses slated to participate in the pilot were kept secret until enrollment in these courses was complete, to ensure that students who enrolled in the courses participating in the pilot were primarily interested in the course subject rather than in using the Kindle. 83 The three courses chosen to participate in the pilot program were as follows: The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs/American studies undergraduate course WWS325, "Civil Society and Public Policy The Wilson School graduate-level course WWS555a "U.S. Policy and Diplomacy in the Middle East" The classics graduate-level course CLA546 "Religion and Magic in Ancient Rome. 84 Students in these courses had the option of participating in the Kindle pilot program. Students were provided with free Kindle DX e-readers for use in the course, and the University explained to students that [a]ny student who made a serious effort to refrain 80 Marmarelli, T., and Ringle, M. The Reed College Kindle Study. p The E-Reader Pilot at Princeton. Princeton University p Ibid. 83 Ibid., p Points taken verbatim from: Ibid., p Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 18

19 from printing in the pilot course and to do as many of the readings as possible on the Kindle would be able to keep the Kindle at the end of the pilot. 85 Course texts used in these courses consisted of resources in e-book format as well as PDF documents, both of which could be read on the Kindle. 86 Students were able to highlight and annotate readings using the Kindle s keyboard and annotation features. The results of this Kindle pilot program were mixed. Students in the pilot did print less than control groups of students who did not use e-readers, but overall, the University s final report on the e-reader pilot program concluded that [t]he classroom experience was somewhat worsened by using e-readers, as study and reference habits of a lifetime were challenged by device limitations. 87 Many students found that it was difficult to annotate and highlight PDF files on the Kindle e-reader, and students also lamented the fact that they were not able to navigate quickly between, skim, and compare documents. 88 Navigation of individual documents and e-books was also identified as a challenge, and students complained that documents lacked page numbers, which made the navigation or citation of these documents more difficult. Students also bemoaned the lack of folders to organize readings. 89 The University s final report on the e-reader pilot sums up student issues with the Kindle DX as follows: Future e-book manufacturers may wish to pay more attention to annotation tools, pagination, content organization, and in achieving a more natural paper-like user experience. In summary, although most users of the Kindle DX were very pleased with their reading experiences with the Kindle, they felt that the writing tools fell short of expectations, and prevented them from doing things easily accomplished with paper. 90 DIGITAL TEXTBOOK SALES THROUGH BARNES AND NOBLE E-textbooks are often available through the official bookstores of the institution. Many institutions, for example, allow students to purchase digital textbooks through Barnes and Noble, which serves as the official campus bookstore for approximately half of the examined institutions as identified by Hanover Research: Bucknell University Columbia University Dartmouth College Emory University Harvard University 85 Ibid., p Ibid., pp Ibid., p Ibid., p Ibid., p Ibid., p Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 19

20 John Hopkins University Rice University Tufts University Vassar College Yale University. 91 Students at all of these institutions can purchase and/or rent e-textbooks through Barnes & Noble, often for considerably less than their print counterparts. The e-textbooks are meant to be read using the Barnes & Noble NOOK Study application. 92 This application is a free e-reader program which can be used on both Macintosh and PC computers. However, NOOK Study e-textbooks are not meant to be used on Barnes & Noble NOOK e-readers or other mobile devices, as the smaller screens of many e-readers and other devices do not allow the textbooks to display properly. Barnes & Noble e-textbooks are downloaded to an individual s computer using the NOOK Study application, so that students do not need to access these textbooks via the internet. These e-textbooks look exactly like the print version, so students can see all the same graphs, charts, and drawings. 93 The layout and page numbers of Barnes & Noble e- textbooks are also identical to those of the print text. An individual s e-textbooks via Barnes & Noble are accessible from up to two different computers, and Barnes & Noble currently offers an e-book library of over 2.5 million texts. 94 The Barnes & Noble NOOK Study application supports a variety of features that enable users to interact with the text. Users can utilize NOOK Study to search their notes, a book, or their entire library, and can highlight and mark up content. Users can also take notes directly in their e-text, tag their notes so they can be easily found later, and export their notes into a Word/text file so that they can be easily printed or ed. 95 Additionally, the NOOK Study software supports a number of other features, such as allowing students to open multiple textbooks simultaneously to compare content across e-books, print and copy pages from e-texts, and bookmark relevant pages in a text. Students can also import local documents to NOOK Study, such as syllabi, lecture notes, and handouts, and arrange this material by course, so that course materials and textbooks are available in one place. 96 To protect e-textbooks from unlicensed copying, e-textbooks available from Barnes & Noble feature copy and print restrictions set by textbook publishers that are designed to prevent 91 College Partners. Barnes & Noble E-Textbooks Save Up to 60%. Barnes & Noble Ibid. 94 Student s Choice. Barnes & Noble Browse Features. Barnes & Noble Ibid Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 20

21 unauthorized reproduction of their textbooks. 97 Consequently, students are only allowed to copy/print a limited number of pages from an e-textbook. Each book s copy and print restrictions are listed on the Barnes & Noble web site and in the NOOK Study application. 98 Barnes & Noble also allows individuals who have bought regular NOOKbooks (Barnes & Noble e-books) to read these books using NOOK Study. The NOOK Study application can also be integrated into a variety of learning management systems, such as Blackboard Learn, Moodle, Sakai, Desire2Learn, WebCT, and Canvas learning management systems. 99 To help improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities, the NOOK Study application also features a text-to-speech capability which reads text out loud including imported content and navigation of NOOK Study. 100 However, it should be noted that e-book publishers set text-to-speak rights. As such, while Barnes & Noble specifies that currently the text-to-speech feature works with all e- textbooks, in the future not all e-texts may be accessible using this feature General Questions About NOOK Study etextbooks. Barnes & Noble Ibid. 99 NOOK Study. Barnes & Noble FAQ & Support. Barnes & Noble General Questions About NOOK Study etextbooks. Op. cit Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 21

22 APPENDIX: EXAMINED INSTITUTIONS United States Air Force Academy (Colorado Springs, Colorado) Barnard College (New York, New York) Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island) Bucknell University (Lewisburg, Pennsylvania) Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) Colgate University (Hamilton, New York) Columbia University (New York, New York) Dartmouth College (Hanover, New Hampshire) Emory University (Atlanta, Georgia) Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) The Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, Maryland) Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vermont) United States Naval Academy (Annapolis, Maryland) University of Notre Dame (Notre Dame, Indiana) Princeton University (Princeton, New Jersey) Rice University (Houston, Texas) Tufts University (Medford, Massachusetts) Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, New York) Wesleyan College (Macon, Georgia) Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) 2013 Hanover Research Academy Administration Practice 22

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