E-BOOKS AND READING TO LEARN

Many universities in the US and other countries are embracing the use of digital textbooks. The research in the field focuses, among other things, on student and faculty attitudes, the way in which digital textbooks are used, the level of adoption, e-textbook usability, as well as library-related issues (e.g. How should libraries deal with the acquisition, lending, platforms and copyright issues regarding e-books?).

Many questions have been dealt with in the literature. The following is just a partial list:
• How do students feel about e-textbooks? Do they prefer to print the texts?
• Does the use of e-textbooks influence learning? How?
• Is it possible to concentrate and read e-books in depth?
• Are dedicated e-book readers more suitable for learning than tablets or computers?

What features and format should e-textbooks have? What are desirable characteristics/capabilities? What tools should the software include?
• Does the platform or the interface make a difference in attitudes, usability and effectiveness?
• Is recall affected when reading digital text?
• What are the advantages of e-textbooks? What are the disadvantages?
• Does screen size affect learning with digital text?
• Does student age or gender affect willingness to adopt e-textbooks?
• Does field of study affect willingness to use digital texts?

Other questions have not been dealt with:
• How do students read with e-textbooks?
• What strategies do they use? Are these different from the strategies used when reading printed books?
• Is special strategy training needed to use e-textbooks? If so, what kind?

These are the questions I am planning to deal with in the near future in a survey to be conducted in higher learning institutions that have already adopted e-textbooks.

In my presentation I will review the literature on e-books and discuss some of the more interesting issues.