Use of Digital Textbooks and Course Materials March 2013
Use of Digital Textbooks and Course Materials The research for this report was conducted for the FLVC Member Counsel on Distance Learning & Student Services. Florida Virtual Campus provides access to online student and library support services, and serves as a statewide resource and clearinghouse for technology-‐based public postsecondary education distance learning courses and degree programs. The Members Council on Distance Learning and Student Services provides advice on the distance learning and academic advising services provided by FLVC. It is composed of one presidentially-‐appointed representative from each institution.
Principle Investigators Dr. Robin Donaldson Dr. John Opper Russ Adkins This report is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A survey was administered in November 2012 to obtain a “snapshot” of digital textbook use in Florida public higher education as of the fall 2012 term. The goal of the survey was to gain information from the higher education community to form a factual basis for subsequent Florida legislative and policy change in the area of digital textbooks. The survey was sent to 220 academic, business, library, technology, distance education, and faculty leaders in order to obtain multiple perspectives from each college or university. The survey was sent to 220 academic, business, library, technology, distance education, and faculty leaders in order to obtain multiple perspectives from each college or university. There were 98 responses, of which 69 came from the colleges and 28 from the state universities (see Figure 1). To gain clarity on participant demographics, respondents were grouped into four categories: Senior Administrators, Academic Administrators, Bookstore Managers and Directors, and Faculty. Vice Presidents, Campus Presidents, Provosts, and CIOs were grouped as Senior Administrators. Deans, Distance Learning Directors, Library Deans, and Associate Vice Presidents were grouped as Academic Administrators. A majority of the responses (60) were from college and university Senior Administrators. The findings suggest digital textbook adoption has not been institutionalized at Florida public higher education institutions. Rather, digital textbook adoption is currently limited to pilots in certain disciplines, or in most instances, is an uncoordinated activity (see Figure 2). Universities were most likely to respond that digital textbook adoption is limited to decisions by individual faculty, while the colleges indicated that although most adoption is uncoordinated, there is some pilot activity occurring in specific discipline areas. Survey respondents identified faculty as the single most supporting and enabling element (67%), as did each major survey group. Most institutions with coordinated institution-‐wide digital textbook adoption projects (see Figure 4) worked with individual publishers – with Pearson and McGraw Hill being the most frequently selected publisher and CourseSmart the only selected aggregator. The number of such coordinated projects is very low.
In contrast, the literature suggests digital books and digital textbooks are gaining acceptance and use, and it is expected their role will continue to increase (Reynolds, 2011). As digital textbook reader technology renders today’s digital textbook into a twenty-‐first century learning tool, the cost of a college education becomes more important to policy makers, and as students find digital learning environments convenient, interactive and social, it is only a matter of time before digital textbook use becomes widespread. The findings from this study and the 2012 Florida Student Textbook Survey (Florida Virtual Campus, 2012) suggests digital textbook adoption are currently a distant second, behind the expensive, traditional textbook. System level changes that could support the further adoption of digital and open textbooks include state legislation, system or institutional priorities or policies, and publishers’ addressing student issues with digital textbooks. As we look to the future, there are still many questions to be answered. What interactive capabilities need to be built into the textbook content and what textbook features will have value-‐ added costs? What faculty and students opportunities and textbook features must be provided for them to more fully embrace a move to digital textbooks? How can the state and institutions support the use of open textbooks?
INTRODUCTION
The Florida Distance Learning Consortium, now the Florida Virtual Campus, hosted a digital and open textbook symposium in February 2012 in Lake Mary, Florida. The symposium was exceptionally well attended and provided those in attendance with background and context to use in framing discussions on their campuses. A survey was administered in November 2012 to obtain a “snapshot” of digital textbook use in Florida public higher education as of the fall 2012 term. The goal of the survey was to gain information from the higher education community to form a factual basis for subsequent Florida legislative and policy change in the area of digital textbooks. Digital textbooks can offer faculty, students and institutions a number of compelling advantages. However, not all publishers, platforms, and digital textbook formats provide the same features. For example, a textbook in PDF does not offer all the features available to an interactive digital textbook, or one provided on a publisher platform in an aggregator. Depending on the publisher and platform, digital textbooks: • Are generally 50% less expensive than traditional textbooks. • Can be made available to students via a variety of different delivery modalities, including the institution’s learning management system and mobile devices. • Can be customized by faculty. • Allow content to be deep-‐linked down to the module level in a course utilizing a Learning Management System. • Provide students with the ability to highlight, post notes and electronically annotate their text materials. • Provide students and faculty opportunities to share notes in a collaborative environment. • May include multimedia content, interactive content, assessments for which immediate feedback is available, and social media integration and tools. • May be bulk licensed at a discount to the institution, available through a collaborating bookstore, or available for direct payment by students. Demographics The survey was sent to 220 academic, business, library, technology, distance education, and faculty leaders in order to obtain multiple perspectives from each college or university. There were 98 responses, of which 69 came from the colleges and 28 from the state universities (see Figure 1). To gain clarity on participant demographics, respondents were grouped into four categories: Senior Administrators, Academic Administrators, Bookstore Managers and Directors, and Faculty. Vice Presidents, Campus Presidents, Provosts, and CIOs were grouped as Senior Administrators. Deans, Distance Learning Directors, Library Deans, and Associate Vice Presidents were grouped as Academic Administrators. A majority of the responses (60) were from college and university Senior Administrators (see Figure 1).
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
4
To which of the following groups do you belong?
2
College Bookstore Manager College Faculty Senate Leader
9
College Administrator
35
College FLVC Distance Learning & Student Service
23
University Bookstore Manager
2
University Faculty Senate Leader
2 14
University Administrator University FLVC Distance Learning & Student Service
10 0
10
20
30
40
Figure 1. College and University Participant Major Job Group. Job titles and duties, which dictated participant selection, varied widely among institutions and therefore affected the number of requests for participation sent to each institution. The number of individual requests varied from 5 to 9 with an average of 6 requests to participate per institution. Institutional responses ranged from 11 (i.e., State College of Florida, Manatee-‐Sarasota) to no response from five institutions. CURRENT UTILIZATION OF DIGITAL TEXTBOOKS
Current Use The findings suggest digital textbook adoption has not been institutionalized at Florida public higher education institutions. Rather, digital textbook adoption is limited to pilots in certain disciplines, or in most instances, is an uncoordinated activity (see Figure 2). Universities were most likely to respond that digital textbook adoption is limited to decisions by individual faculty, while the colleges indicated that although most adoption is uncoordinated, there is some pilot activity occurring in specific discipline areas. The responses for “Other” (see Figure 3) included comments in which respondents shared that their campus had uncoordinated adoption (4), one of which included adoption of digital textbook options for all courses in an online MBA program. Pilots included the participation in the EDUCAUSE Internet2 Pilot Project, pilot projects limited to several courses, a pilot involving approximately 15 faculty, and one response indicated that an upcoming pilot project was scheduled. One respondent stated that digital textbooks were available for almost every course using a textbook.
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
5
Please indicate the degree to which your insPtuPon is currently using digital textbooks (select one). 7
Other No use, as far as I know.
9
Coordinated inshtuhon-‐wide adophon of digital textbooks. Pilot projects that extend digital textbook adophon to every course in a Pilot projects limited to one or several courses in specific disciplines. Uncoordinated adophon by individual faculty.
3 3 22 52 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Figure 2. Current Use of Digital Textbooks. Digital Textbook Pilot Projects More than half of the respondents (25) indicated that their institution has implemented digital textbook pilot projects to examine usage, benefits, limitations, and features. Pilot descriptions referenced projects that included several courses in the Social Sciences, Health-‐Science, Humanities, Speech, Language and Literature, the sciences, preparatory mathematics, and core courses. One pilot resulted in an offer of digital textbooks options for approximately 20 courses across disciplines. At one institution, 15 faculty and 6 librarians from all campuses and several departments are reportedly taking part in a pilot program. To encourage institutions to examine the benefits and features of digital textbooks, pilot projects are supported by a number of publishers, and to a much lesser extent, by publisher-‐owned or affiliated companies (e.g., CourseSmart, CourseLoad, and most recently, VitalSource) that aggregate digital textbooks. Pearson (7), Cengage (5), McGraw Hill (3), and Apple (3) were the most frequently used vendors in the pilot programs (see Figure 3). Vendors reported as “Other” included Apple, Elsevier, F.A. Davis, Focal Press, Jones and Bartlett, and Bedford St. Martins.
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
6
Which of the following vendors are involved in your insPtuPon’s pilot projects? 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
9 7 5
4
2
3
1
1
0
1
0
2
1
0
Figure 3. Vendors Involved in Pilot Programs. Digital Coordinated Adoptions Most institutions with coordinated institution-‐wide digital textbook adoption projects (see Figure 4) worked with individual publishers – with Pearson and McGraw Hill being the most frequently selected publisher and CourseSmart the only selected aggregator. The number of such coordinated projects is very low (3), and some of the open-‐ended responses to this item indicated confusion about what “coordinated, institution-‐wide adoption” means.
4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0
Which of the following vendors are involved in your coordinated insPtuPon-‐wide adopPon of digital textbooks? 3
2
2
2
1
2
2 1
0
3
1 0
Figure 4. Vendors Involved in Coordinated Adoptions.
1 0
ENABLERS AND OBSTACLES FOR DIGITAL TEXT ADOPTION Survey respondents identified faculty as the single most supporting and enabling element (67%), as did each major survey group (see Figure 6). Conversely, Faculty were identified as the primary obstacle Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
7
(34%) to digital text adoption by each major survey group (see Figure 5). Senior Administrators, Academic Administrators, Directors, and Faculty identified students as a significant obstacle. College bookstores were viewed as both supporting elements and obstacles to digital text adoption.
Enablers (striped) and Obstacles (red) related to digital textbook adopPon at insPtuPons. 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
67
30 19 2
3
34 21 6
4 4
34 23 12
5
1
16 8
19 2
4
32
25 11
2 1
10 13
19 16
12
Figure 5. Digital Textbook Enablers and Obstacles. Job Positions Influencing Adoption Related to advocacy, Academic Chairs, Deans and Chief Academic Officers were identified as those most influential in the adoption of digital textbooks (see Figure 6). Faculty identified department heads and librarians as influential to the adoption of digital textbooks. In addition, distance education respondents identified department heads and themselves as most influential. “Other” responses included: Chief Financial Officer, Bookstore Provider, VP of Administration & Finance, Faculty (3), Library/Library Staff (5), Dean of Student Life, and teams or committees for eLearning.
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
8
60
50
50 40
47
44 31
30
30 20
For your insPtuPon, select the three (3) posiPons that have been, or most likely will be, the most influenPal in the adopPon of digital textbooks.
15
16
13 6
10 0
Figure 6. Job Positions Influencing Adoption of Digital Textbooks.
EXPECTED FUTURE USE Survey responses indicated an expectation that adoption of digital textbooks will be limited among Florida public higher education institutions (see Figure 7). In spite of predictions by some experts in the field that digital texts will replace traditional textbooks, as is already occurring in some K-‐12 systems, an overwhelming majority of respondents believe that the scale of digital text adoption will remain limited (44%) and that the format will remain secondary to traditional textbooks (30%). Distance Educators were the most optimistic group, with 30% responding that they believe that digital textbook adoption will overtake standard text adoption. No responses from Bookstore Managers indicated that digital textbooks would overtake traditional texts.
For my insPtuPon, I expect that (select one):
30.2%
25.6% 44.2%
Digital textbook adophon will overtake adophon of standard texts in 5 years. Significant digital textbook adophon will be limited to specific academic programs. Digital textbooks will remain a secondary format for text delivery/ use.
Figure 7. Expectations for Adoption of Digital Textbooks. Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
9
INTERACTIVE PUBLISHER PRODUCTS AND OPEN ACCESS TEXTBOOKS Interactive Publisher Products Unlike digital textbook adoption, institutions report considerable use of publisher products that are integrated into learning (see Figure 8). In the textbook market, some products are adopted as part of traditional textbook selection, while other products are used independent of the textbook selected. Pearson’s MyLabs (61) and McGraw Hill’s Connect (35) were reported as being the most frequently utilized. Based on survey responses, use of these products is more widespread at Florida colleges than at universities. It is important to note that students may pay an additional fee for accessing these products.
Which publisher's interacPve products is your insPtuPon currently using (select all that apply)? 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
61
35 13
5
14
13
16
24
14
Figure 8. Use of Interactive Publisher Content. Open Access Textbooks As with commercial digital textbooks, open textbooks were mainly being utilized in an uncoordinated manner (41) and limited pilots (9) were reported in higher frequency than extended pilots or coordinated adoption (see Figure 9). Open access textbooks, also referred to as open textbooks, are textbooks that are accessible online or download at no cost to the user. Survey comments suggest that institutions are encouraging open textbook use and that there is an interest in repositories such as The Orange Grove, Connexions, and Merlot. One responded stated: “One of the etext initiative's main goals [at this institution] is to reduce the cost of college to the students by using free online resources.” Another stated: “There is a space on the textbook adoption form that asks if open source texts were considered…”.
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
10
Please indicate the degree to which your insPtuPon is currently using open textbooks (select one). 45
41
40 35
33
30 25 20 15 10 5
9 2
2
1
0
Figure 9. Use of Open Textbooks. SUMMARY An Experiment The findings from this survey of administrators and faculty suggest digital textbook adoption at Florida public higher education institutions remains at best an experiment, centered primarily around pilot projects or handled one course at a time by individual faculty members. However, the second iteration of the statewide 2012 Florida Student Textbook Survey (Florida Virtual Campus, 2012), showed a small increase in the number of students purchasing digital textbooks. Advocacy for digital textbook adoption resides among academic administrators and faculty, as reported by survey respondents. The publisher community, including their aggregators, is offering colleges and universities low-‐risk pilot projects to give faculty and students an opportunity to explore the use of digital textbooks. A number of such projects are described in Appendix A. The findings suggest the adoption and use of open textbooks, which are of no or very low cost, remains limited and isolated at Florida institutions. There were reported pockets of innovation in this area with documented savings to students. Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
11
Resistance While faculty are identified as a positive factor in digital textbook adoption, survey respondents also consider faculty an obstacle to significant adoption of digital textbooks. Traditionally, as part of their academic freedom rights, higher education faculty have the authority to select textbooks for their courses and Studies have shown students resist digital textbooks, and in fact, the bookstore managers in this survey cite student resistance as the primary obstacle to digital textbook adoption. It is important to understand student resistance if these resources are to have a future in education. The literature (Miller, Nutting, and Baker-‐Eveleth, 2012), and research from the 2012 Florida Student Textbook Survey (Florida Virtual Campus, 2012), points to diverse reasons for student resistance. These reasons include being negatively influenced by faculty attitudes toward digital books, feature limitations, the length of time for which the book is licensed for use, lack of access to necessary technology, difficulty in use, and inconvenience in reading and navigating a digital text. “Books” vs. Digital Resources Due to rapid changes in technology, there appears to be some confusion among faculty and students over just what constitutes a “book.” As textbooks become more dynamic with embedded videos and interactive question sets, the line is blurring as to what constitutes a digital textbook with no-‐cost features (e.g., highlighting commenting), and what features have associated added value-‐costs (e.g., videos, audio, and interactive problem sets). Ironically, while digital textbook adoption is slow to gain traction, survey respondents reported that the use of interactive publisher digital resources, such as Pearson’s MyLab products, is widespread, especially among the Florida colleges. Unfortunately, students may pay an additional fee, or find that their print textbook is an additional fee, when faculty members prescribe these resources. Adaptive and personalized learning capabilities of some of these interactive resources enables the presentation of educational material according to each students' learning needs, as indicated by their responses to integrated questions and activities. The student usage and performance data of interactive content is immediately available to students, faculty and administration. Proprietary Institutions Lead the Way While the findings from this survey suggests institution-‐wide adoption of digital textbooks is still low in public higher education in Florida, this does not appear to be the case in for-‐profit institutions, where faculty may play a different role in the selection of textbook format. The publishing community reports that digital textbook adoption is high in for-‐profit institutions and that for years they have been the most active in encouraging digital textbook adoption (Kolowich, 2010). Unlike Florida’s public higher education institutions, private institutions such as Phoenix University, Kaplan, and Capella University can mandate that instructors use digital textbooks whenever possible, resulting in high levels of digital textbook adoptions for online courses. This aggressive approach in proprietary institutions is undertaken to save both the student and institution financial costs. The most successful model generally includes the institution negotiating a competitive price for the digital textbook, based on guaranteed adoption/use for a period of several years. Typically, the institution pays to license digital texts up front, and it folds the incremental cost into the student’s tuition and fees. Textbook adoption decisions may rest with the faculty; however, Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
12
format can be dictated through the institutional textbook license agreements at for-‐profit institutions. Legislation Supporting Open Digital Course Material As reported in previous research, the high cost of textbooks is causing some students to forgo that purchase, which can have a debilitating effect on student success. Using formal legislation to address the critical need for students to have access to course materials for high-‐enrollment, gatekeeper courses and pre-‐college courses is a strategy that appears to be gaining in frequency. A number of states are considering, or have already enacted, legislation that addresses digital open textbooks. While the specifics of each state’s legislation vary, they all seek to encourage the use and examination of digital open textbooks as a means to reduce the high textbook costs incurred by students. North Dakota (HCR 3013 and HCR 3009) and Minnesota (SF 824) are two states with current or proposed legislation specifically intended to address high textbook costs using digital open textbooks. Other states, such as California (SB 1052 and SB 1053), Oregon (HB 4058A), and Washington have adopted broader, more vigorous legislation that supports the use and development of open materials, courses, and textbooks for high-‐enrollment, general education courses, and developmental courses in higher education. Washington (HB2337) extends that to K-‐12 education. Based on examination of bills under consideration for 2013 in Virginia (HB 1777) and Illinois (HB 3239), it appears that those states are also considering a more vigorous approach by supporting the creation, update, or adaptation of open textbooks. Similar to California, Virginia is targeting 50 undergraduate courses. At this time, there are no proposed bills in the 2013-‐2014 Florida legislative session that address digital or open educational materials. In 2012, Florida tasked the Florida Virtual Campus with promoting and providing recommendations concerning the use and distribution of open-‐access textbooks and education materials. In addition, the Florida Virtual Campus was asked to work with Florida’s higher education institutions to develop a standardized process for the review and approval of open-‐access textbooks. The Florida Virtual Campus is currently finalizing that proposed process. The enacted and proposed bills and resolutions mentioned above could serve as a guide for Florida if it seeks to use legislation as a strategy to address the rising cost of high quality instructional materials for its college and university students. STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING DIGITAL TEXTBOOK ADOPTION One of the ways in which textbook costs can be addressed is through the use of digital textbooks. The following are strategies to support the use of digital textbooks. •
Create a focused approach to raising awareness and support usage of digital textbooks – Students and faculty need to be informed early of the benefits and cost savings in using digital textbooks, and opportunities to explore their use without financial costs. Cost saving options available for reducing textbook costs include the use of digital textbooks, the possibility for the purchase of individual digital chapters, utilizing open textbooks, and availability of library textbook checkout. The majority of student respondents (62%) in the 2012 Florida Student Textbook Survey (Florida Virtual Campus, 2012) indicated an interest in using digital textbooks.
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
13
•
Increase access to digital textbooks with ancillaries – Textbooks alone may not fully support students in their studies. The reported high use of interactive publisher content in this research and previous textbook research suggests that students benefit from study aids such as practice questions, PowerPoint slide shows, interactive “now try-‐it” activities, and video.
•
Involve libraries in digital book and textbook initiatives – Libraries can play an important role in the successful implementation of digital textbooks to foster a cost effective means for addressing student education. As research demonstrates, libraries are playing a role in both digital book and textbook pilots and initiatives.
•
Support creation, sustainability, and availability of interactive, digital open access textbooks – Policy makers at national, state, and institution levels have supported the funding of open access textbooks to reduce student educational costs, and previous textbook research (Florida Virtual Campus, 2012) found Florida students were willing to pay a fee to support the creation and continued maintenance of open textbooks. More direct financial support and legislative language, as is occurring in states such California, may be needed to increase the development and maintenance of open textbooks in Florida. In addition, access to a repository with high-‐quality open textbooks and related open educational resources is an important component in the increased use of open textbooks and resources. The Orange Grove Repository serves Florida as a means for locating and managing open educational resources and open access textbooks so they can remain an affordable option.
CONCLUSION In contrast, the literature suggests digital books and digital textbooks are gaining acceptance and use, and it is expected their role will continue to increase (Reynolds, 2011). As digital textbook reader technology renders today’s digital textbook into a twenty-‐first century learning tool, the cost of a college education becomes more important to policy makers, and as students find digital learning environments convenient, interactive and social, it is only a matter of time before digital textbook use becomes widespread. The findings from this study and the 2012 Florida Student Textbook Survey (Florida Virtual Campus, 2012) suggests digital textbook adoption are currently a distant second, behind the expensive, traditional textbook. System level changes that could support the further adoption of digital and open textbooks include state legislation, system or institutional priorities or policies, and publishers’ addressing of student issues with digital textbooks. As we look to the future, there are still many questions to be answered. What interactive capabilities need to be built into the textbook content and what textbook features will have value-‐ added costs? What faculty and students opportunities and textbook features must be provided for them to more fully embrace a move to digital textbooks? How can the state and institutions support the use of open textbooks?
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
14
REFERENCES Florida Distance Learning Consortium. (2011). Florida Student Textbook Survey. Tallahassee, FL:. Retrieved from http://www.openaccesstextbooks.org/%5Cpdf%5C2010_FSTS_Report_01SEP2011.pdf Florida Virtual Campus. (2012). 2012 Florida Student Textbook Survey. Tallahassee, FL:. Retrieved from http://www.openaccesstextbooks.org/pdf/2012_Florida_Student_Textbook_Survey.pdf Miller, J., Nutting, A., and Baker-‐Eveleth, L. (2012). The determinants of electronic textbook use among college students. CHERI Working Paper. Retrieved from http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/cheri/upload/cheri_wp147.pdf Reynolds, R. (2011). Digital textbooks reaching the tipping point in U.S. higher education. Columbia, MO: MBS Service Company. Retrieved from http://info.xplana.com/report/ Kolowich, S. (2010). For-‐profit colleges lead the way in adopting e-‐textbooks. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-‐06-‐08-‐IHE-‐for-‐profit-‐colleges-‐ etextbooks09_ST_N.htm
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
15
Appendix A Descriptions and Scope of Reported Digital Textbook Initiatives Note: Any contact information provided was at the permission of the participant. College pilot projects limited to one Description or several courses in specific disciplines. Associated vendor was unknown Health Sciences curriculum Chipola State College Associated vendor: unsure. Some professors have utilized this tool to effectively coordinate lesson planning and content reinforcement and will share the data with other colleagues as outcomes are evaluated. Associated vendor listed was Kno. We have a pilot project with the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. 40 students started the program. They must take 3 courses and have Florida State College at Jacksonville; all textbooks within those courses on an ipad. The ipad is returned to the college when the student finishes the course. Associated vendors listed were The pilot project started in 7 courses, mostly in Health-‐science. Cengage and Pearson. Associated vendors listed were The college recently completed an digital textbook Cengage, McGraw Hill, and Pearson. implementation study and will launch a pilot program in Spring 2013 which will offer digital textbooks as an option in approximately 20 courses across disciplines. Associated vendor listed was We have established a work group that is addressing a redesign of Pearson. the manner in which PHCC is delivering college preparatory mathematics courses. College pilot projects limited to one Description or several courses in specific disciplines Associated vendors listed were We did a pilot project last year for three courses via the Cengage and Pearson. Courseload platform. Associated vendor: unsure. SCF Libraries digital textbook Initiative is a pilot program that includes 15 faculty and a half dozen librarians from all campuses State College of Florida, Manatee-‐ and several departments. The goal is to pilot several courses in Sarasota; each represented department (Language & Literature and Natural Sciences are the most represented departments with about 9-‐10 Robin Taylor Rogers, Instructor of the respondents from these two areas). We hope to go digital textbook with about 4 courses in the L&L department by Spring 2013 and expand that by Fall 2013. Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
16
I'm not certain if any of these venders are involved. Each participant in our pilot program received an iPad and training from Apple. Associated vendor listed was Apple. The "digital textbook initiative" is coordinated by the college librarians. Faculty members interested in replacing one textbook State College of Florida, Manatee-‐ with primary sources or free (to students) online sources could Sarasota sign up to be a part of the initiative. Faculty were chosen based on discipline/subject area and the number of students in the course that would be involved. Training and assessment are key components of the initiative. One of the initiative's goals is to reduce the cost of the student's education. Associated vendor [comment]: We The library is facilitating an E-‐text initiative, through which faculty will be using library databases as from varied disciplines will facilitate courses with digital texts. well as individually varied or [Additional comment for associated vendor] I would very much discipline specific e-‐texts. like us to see us eventually draw exclusively from library resources. Associated vendor listed was Apple. The SCF library is coordinating an eText pilot with several core courses on campus where digital context will be started and eText State College of Florida, Manatee-‐ created for universal adoption. Sarasota; Anastasia Bojanowski, Professor Associated vendor was Flat World While this started with a few faculty adopting books on their own, Knowledge. now the Social Sciences department decided to adopt online textbooks in a couple of classes, offering the option for print copies for a nominal fee. College pilot projects that extend Description digital textbook adoption to every course in a specific discipline, campus or modality (i.e. online courses). Associated vendors listed were FSU's pilot project is online at Apple Digital Texts. http://distance.fsu.edu/instructors/fsu-‐policies-‐textbook-‐adoption Florida State University; Dr. Susann Rudasill, Director, Office of Distance Learning
[email protected] Associated vendors listed was Humanities, speech and physics CourseLoad Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
17
Coordinated institution-‐wide adoption of digital textbooks. Associated vendors listed were Follett Café Scribe and Pearson.
Description
Associated vendors listed were Cengage, CourseSmart, Flat World Knowledge, McGraw Hill, McMillan, Pearson, and Wiley. Associated vendor listed was Apple Digital Textbooks Florida State University; Dr. Susann Rudasill, Director of Distance Learning
[email protected] Associated vendors listed were Barnes & Noble, McGraw Hill and CourseSmart
The digital textbook adoptions are coordinated at the department level. There are several areas within the college that have adopted digital and open textbooks. There are also several others that are developing their own. The Office of Distance Learning is coordinating Apple Digital Textbook training for Distance Learning Faculty.
Pilot project limited to several courses in specific disciplines University of South Florida
We have developed digital texts for 30+ courses. All online sections of these courses use these digital texts.
The library systematically acquires digital texts and works through three different channels to increase their adoption. Description ENC1101 - all sections (60) currently use an open access textbook on Courseload.
Monica Metz-Wiseman, Coordinator of Electronic Collections
[email protected] tI is important that the higher education community provides information to form a factual basis for subsequent Florida legislative and policy change in the area of digital textbooks. Various faculty have undertaken pilots for the use of open source textbooks in their courses. At this point it is a voluntary but coordinated effort One of the etext initiative's main goals is to reduce the cost of college to the students by using free onlin resources. We have begun a pilot project exploring the use of open textbooks and other resources to replace all textbooks.
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
18
Joint ventures among institutions and disciplines are being actively encouraged. The Library and Bookstore will be key players here as will individual faculty, most likely authors. we are still in the pilot phase. This is a goal for our high enrollment and general education courses that are offered online through master courses. Limited use thus far. However, an increasing number of faculty are interested and motivated to develop textbook free, OER, or no charge texts they have developed. The college is launching a virtual campus, and course development/redesign will begin adopting open texts. Pilot project that extend Open Access textbooks adoption to every course in a specific discipline, campus or modality (i.e. Online courses).
Description
Dr. Susann Rudasill, Director, Office of Distance Learning
[email protected]
http://distance.fsu.edu/instructors/fsu-policies-textbook-adoption
The adoption of open textbooks resides mostly with select faculty. The BSET program is using almost all open and in-house developed materials. Uncoordinated Open Access textbooks adoption by individual faculty
Description
We have had some interest in Orange Grove and Merlot in some academic courses. Currently, there are only a few faculty members utilizing these resources. No college-wide effort. Limited individual faculty have used open source textbooks To my knowledge, individual faculty members choose this as an option in their courses. Dave Price, Professor State of Florida College
Open textbooks are encouraged. There is a space on the textbook adoption form that asks if open source texts were considered, holding faculty accountable for having considered them. Individual faculty who teach online and hybrid courses use open source texts. A few faculty are using open sources like free journal articles, but there is no coordinated effort around the use of open textbooks. Some individual faculty are using OER materials. A few faculty have discovered and adopted open texts on their own.
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
19
I'm not well versed enough to share a description Faculty who believe that students will benefit from the content of these open source textbooks at levels greater than the content of published books choose to use these sources of instructional materials. Currently working on a pilot project through the library David Yonutas, Associate VP Academic Affairs
[email protected]
As mentioned earlier, currently the adoption is on a faculty-byfaculty basis. Connexions, Flatworld Knowledge and the Orange Grove are known by many faculty but large-scale adoption has yet to occur. Thus far, the library has been leading such efforts for us. Under their excellent leadership, we are just beginning to explore such options. However, the current level of enthusiasm suggests that real changes are on the horizon for us, as well they should be. All we need is progressive leadership, and for publishers to compile collections of purchase and print at will primary sources, including the means of doing so with financial aid. Such resources need to work across all platforms and browsers (html 5)!
Carole Cole, Professor State College of Florida Anastasia Bojanowski, Professor
No real knowledge; exploratory pilot program just beginning. I have been using open textbooks personally for two years. Other faculty members are also exploring this option. However, most still use paper textbooks, yet some have digital alternatives. Currently an uncoordinated adoption by individual faculty at the institution. This is an evolving process and also considering larger scale adoption. I am unaware of the use of open textbooks in other disciplines. For the Biological Sciences, open textbooks are vastly inferior to texts offered by the major publishers and to use them would be a great disservice to students. I understand some faculty in the math department are using the open calculus textbook in Orange Grove. We have just started creating inroads to educate Deans and faculty on open textbook availability and potentials. I don't know It is up to the faculty. Only used by a few faculty We are piloting an open textbook in one class. I know of a handful of instructors attempting to use open textbooks. It is a discipline by discipline decision in this use. Used in Computer Science classes There are some faculty who use them, though I am unaware of the extent of such usage.
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
20
A few faculty use them and one authors them I am aware of one faculty member who created his own course materials and uses this from year to year. In most cases, it is the decision of individual faculty members University of West Florida
sporatic Limited to faculty who create their own materials or are not using a particular text that has been adopted. We have 2 faculty who have "created" their own book through various digital sources We are currently running an eTextbook pilot to explore the possibilities and opportunities to adopt eTextbook standard, which will include online open textbooks resources. I'm not aware of any at this time. Individual faculty may be using open textbooks.
Coordinated institution-wide adoption of Open Access textbooks textbook(s). Florida State College of Jacksonville
Description SIRIUS project. iTunesU, iBooks.
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
21
1753 West Paul Dirac Drive Tallahassee, Florida 32310 850-‐922-‐6044 www.flvc.org
Florida Virtual Campus 03/12/13
22
