etextbooks: What’s the reading angle?
Lucy MacDonald, M.A., M.A.
lucy@lucyonline.com
The purpose of this interactive, think tank institute is to create guiding principles for
etextbooks in college content areas, based upon the collective expertise of reading and
learning professionals. To keep the focus on this specific study, variables, such as cost,
developmental student texts, limitations of current technology will be posted in the parking
lot for future review. The goal here is concentrate on college textbooks in the discipline areas
and to think outside of the box (be it computer and/or tablet) to craft the future of digital
texts based on reading and learning theory. This is informed by Francis and Simpson (2000)
“College reading professionals must not accept without question what publishers
disseminate. They need to examine materials in light of their own specific needs, keeping in
mind what research has said …” Recent research from the University of Leicester, England
by lecturer Kate Garland showed that while remembering reading material from print or
from media did not show a measurable difference, there may be some long term memory
issues on the lack of spatial cues in ebooks. (Szalavitz,, 2012)
The results and conclusions of this institute will be published on the CRLA
Technology/Distance Education wiki to share and to continue the conversation throughout
the year.
http://onlineteaching&learning.wikispaces.com
The educational importance of this institute is crucial, since the reading profession must be
proactive in this issue or be left behind to deal with inept materials, which may inhibit
instead of enhance learning in a digital age.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this institute, participants will
 be able to articulate etextbook elements
 be able to construct criteria for selecting etextbooks
 be able to define guiding principles for developing etextbooks, based on reading and
learning theory
Reference list:
Francis, M. & Simpson, M. (2000) Vocabulary Development. In Flippo,R, &Caverly, D.
(Eds.), Handbook of College Reading and Study Strategy Research (p. 116). New York: Routledge.
Kumar, D. (February 14, 2012). Product Design by Focus Groups = Bad Idea. Retrieved from
http://kumardeepak.wordpress.com/tag/henry-ford/
Mardis, M. Everhart, N., Smith, D. & Baker, S. (July 2010). From Paper to Pixel: Digital
Textbooks and Florida’s Schools. Retrieved from http:// www.palmcenter.fsu.edu/
Ramsay, C. (March 2011). Exploring main idea generation via electronic note-taking. Journal
of Literacy and Technology. 12 (1), 26.
Schugar, J. T., Schugar, H., & Penny, C. (2011). A nook or a book: Comparing college
students’ reading comprehension level, critical reading, and study skills. International Journal of
Technology in Teaching and Learning, 7(2), 174-192.
Stahl, N.A., Brozo, W.G., & Simpson, M.I. (1987) A content analysis of college vocabulary
textbooks. Reading Research and Instruction, 26(4), 203-221.
Sun, J., Flores, J. & Tanguma, J. (2012) E-Textbooks and students’ learning experiences.
Decision Sciences Institute Journal compilation. Retrieved from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1540-4609.2011.00329.x/full
Learning Objectives:
Szalavitz, M. (March 14, 2012). Do E-Books make it harder to remember what you just read ?
Retrieved from http://healthland.time.com/2012/03/14/do-e-books-impairmemory/#ixzz1qhpL5wfA
Texas, Florida lead transformation to digital textbooks. (January 13, 2012) Retrieved from
http://www.teleread.com/library/texas-florida-lead-transformation-to-digital-textbooks/
Lucy MacDonald, M.A.M.A.
lucy@lucyonline.com