Comments on: Electronic textbooks expanding their abilities http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/electronic-textbooks-expanding-their-abilities/ News & views on e-books, libraries, publishing and related topics Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:35:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Michael Pastore http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/electronic-textbooks-expanding-their-abilities/comment-page-1/#comment-1144673 Michael Pastore Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:26:38 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=28284#comment-1144673 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. 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.

]]> By: Bruce Wilson http://www.teleread.com/paul-biba/electronic-textbooks-expanding-their-abilities/comment-page-1/#comment-1144670 Bruce Wilson Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:08:15 +0000 http://www.teleread.org/?p=28284#comment-1144670 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. 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.

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