Electronic textbooks expanding their abilities
By Paul Biba
According to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the new generation of electronic textbooks are moving into new areas. Here are some of the new features mentioned in the article:
lecture capture software to record professors lectures for students;
more ways for student to jump around in the text or jump to part of the professor’s lecture embedded in the text;
some books can grade student homework automatically with results sent to the student and professor;
letting professors customize the textbook by allowing them to add their own chapters or changing the text.
Thanks to Michael von Glahn for the link.
September 8th, 2009 at 11:08 am
That article in CHE looks like an ad for McGraw-Hill, but it’s pretty accurate. They’re giving away access to the Connect online website for now, because it’s brand new and they are still working out bugs and adding content. But the homework system is pretty good (though the equation-entering mechanism is pretty clunky) and gives the professor great feedback on the students progress and work.
One aspect of the on-line text available in Connect is the professor annotation feature, where the professor can annotate the text, and students will see it. So far our students view the text as an add-on bonus to the paper volume, and very few seem to prefer the on-line version to the paper one (our students get on-line access for free when they buy the book, and the opton to buy the online-only text, without buying the paper copy, is not widely known). We have no eReader texts available in chemistry, or at least our publisher reps don’t know of any.
Tegrity, the plug-in module for recording lectures (the computer screen, mouse movments, and optionally, all the professor says) with integration into the online course. We’re toldl that Tegrity will, in the future, be an additional-cost option for the students. Our professors use the xTag wireless USB mics to great advantage. Tegrity does not take a camera input, so the students never see the board.
September 8th, 2009 at 11:26 am
From the article:
“The earliest electronic textbooks simply offered the text of the printed book on a computer. Today’s newest models, though, come with an array of features, including software tools that automatically grade homework for professors … ”
Why should professors be bothered with the minutiae of looking a student’s homework, to chart her/his progress? … This is a great time-saver for the over-worked professors, and a great money-saver for the University.
The only catch is: If this system works efficiently, in the next generation of textbooks after this one, the professors may not be needed at all.