Electronic Readers and
Software:
Hope College Summer 2001
Computer Science REU
Advisor: Dr. Ryan McFall
Written by:
Sarah Allen and Carrie
Halvorsen
During the summer of 2001, we - Carrie Halvorsen and Sarah Allen - participated in the REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) held at Hope College. While there, we worked under the guidance of Dr. Ryan McFall, who received a B.S. from Hope College in 1993 and a Ph.D. from Michigan State in 2000. His current research interests lie in developing an electronic textbook reader - a portable, electronic device for reading books - which is specifically designed for use within the classroom. Our research is one part in a four-phase plan to develop an interactive textbook reader. We focused our searching on handheld readers and software. We spent our summer researching the software and readers currently available on the market, or soon to be released. Once we found the products, we created a database comparing the products and wrote descriptions of each one. This paper contains the information we collected and the conclusions we drew based on our findings.
Many instructors have much difficulty finding a textbook for their classes. Textbooks are usually quite expensive and thus instructors may only require one book for each of their classes, even if that book doesn’t adequately meet the instructor’s needs. Unfortunately, one textbook often fails to meet the demands of the instructor and the students being taught. A particular textbook may contain parts that are irrelevant to the course or which briefly gloss over a topic the instructor deems important. Current paper textbooks are unable to meet the demands of today's instructors.
Our advisor wants to change this phenomenon by creating a portable reader. The instructor could create his or her own textbook by combining different sections of e-books. Due to the digital nature of e-books, which allow easy manipulation of the text, that the student would download onto the reader. This would assume an agreement between the instructor and publishers. In addition, the reader would contain hardware and software that allows students and their instructor to communicate with one another.
The ultimate goal of our research is to design an instructor- and student- centered reader. This entails creating a device that serves the dual purpose of: (a) accessing a large variety of educational resources, and (b) enhancing the lines of communication between teacher and pupil.
What are Electronic Textbooks?
Electronic books, in their simplest form, are basically books in a digital medium. In this paper, we will concentrate on two different models: reader devices and software.
The main goal of electronic textbooks is to combine traditional textbooks and computers, taking the best features from each. If the books are digital, though, the need exists for some device to read the book on. One solution is to simply use whatever hardware currently exists, and design specialized software to interact with the book files. Another solution is a dedicated reading device, typically called a reader. For a reader, handheld devices are preferred. The handheld devices used thus far all tend to have similar traits: they are roughly the size of a paperback book, allow a user to store and read multiple books, have a touch screen and stylus so that the user can interact with the book without a large keyboard, and connect to the internet, either directly or via a computer.
With the dedicated reader and software solution, the digital copy of the book is treated essentially like the paper copy. The user is able to highlight the book, create bookmarks, and write notes in the margins. Rather than use an index, e-book software and readers include a search tool that allows the user to search the text for words or phrases.
The criteria we chose to use for evaluation include the ability to maintain useful features of paper books, taking advantage of the digital nature of the e-book to enhance traditional textbooks, and usability features related to portable computing devices.
Academic textbooks serve a multitude of purposes in high school and college classrooms. They are one of the primary means by which students gain knowledge about general academic fields such as Biology or History. They act as reference materials and point students in directions where more materials on a given subject can be found. Students highlight and underline important passages in textbooks to help them remember the key points when studying for a test. They paraphrase and add relevant notes on the margins of their books. And, textbooks, perhaps to educators' chagrin, often act as storage units for class handouts and assignment calendars. We are interested in creating an electronic textbook reader that is useful and helpful to students. This means that our reader should include the positive uses of current paper textbooks, enhance the current features and add new ones. Highlighting, underlining, bookmarking and annotating are key features of paper textbooks and, consequently, are important criteria by which we compared our software products and readers.
In addition to maintaining the positive features of paper textbooks, we are interested in adding and modifying some features. The ability to print out sections of the text is important so as to avoid having to use a reader at all times, such as when camping near a lake where water can easily damage electronics. Copying a passage from a text and pasting it into a word processor is convenient when writing a paper. Unfortunately, these two features involve issues of copyright management. If a book can be printed or copied and pasted in its entirety, it can easily be distributed without compensating the publisher. The e-book software and readers currently available approach these issues differently. We would like to examine which ways appear to be more efficient and their feasibility. In addition to new features of printing and copying, we would like to enhance current searching capabilities. The ability to look up the dictionary definition of a word is critical to helping students understand the text. Paper textbooks often contain inadequate glossaries, due to limited book size and publishing date. Computers, on the other hand, can store a complete dictionary, which can easily be upgraded to include new terminology. Paper textbooks contain an index, which is quite helpful, although it is cumbersome to look up a word in the back of the book. Furthermore, the word may not be included in the index. The ability to search one's notes, bookmarks, text, or a chapter of the text for a word by a simple touch can greatly help students study for tests and learn the material.
Ideally, we would like to create a handheld reader that completely replaces the need for any other course materials. This means the reader would store digital handouts and maintain a place for course notebooks. The student could work out problems on the reader and perhaps even write papers.
Along with paper textbook features, we want to incorporate features of handheld computers into our reader. With this in mind, we need to examine the positive and negative features of portable, handheld devices. As students, we believe a portable, handheld device is key to ensuring the success of readers. Students do not want to be bound to a computer terminal in order to read their textbooks. They want to be free to choose when to study along with where to do so. However, several issues arise when examining the usefulness of handheld computers. One such problem is that portable computers tend to have small screens and thus issues of visibility and lighting must be addressed. Another problem is that of battery life. Students, especially as they progress through their educational experiences, tend to study longer and depend on their textbooks more. A handheld computer whose battery life is only 4-6 hours would be economically as well as educationally inefficient. A student would have to buy as well as carry an extra set of batteries in addition to changing battery sets frequently. A third problem is that of memory size. Typical undergraduate students take 3-6 courses a semester and often classes require multiple textbooks. If a portable computer does not have the memory to store all of these e-books, then it loses some of its functionality as a replacement for all paper textbooks. Thus, a reader must have enough memory to store the current textbooks of a student and perhaps allow him or her to store past textbooks elsewhere.
Sharing annotations is also important. Instructors could create a set of annotations, showing students exactly which parts of the text are important, and then share those annotations with students, so that they know exactly what to study. Students could also share annotations, giving each other insight on difficult material. In theory, there are two ways the user-added annotations behave. One method involves saving the added drawings, notes and bookmarks as part of the book. The user added material would then become a permanent, inseparable component of the book. The second method requires the modifications to be saved into a separate file. The book itself remains unchanged, and can be viewed with or without the user added material. Whereas the first method is not conducive to multi-user sharing, the second is. Using the first method, the only way that two users could share annotations would be to share the entire textbook. While that could eventually lead to widespread free distribution of textbooks, there are other problems, as well. If students can only import entire textbooks, they would be forced to overwrite their own copy of the textbook, or have multiple copies of the same book. The second method, however, would allow only the notes to be transferred. That way, the annotations can be integrated to form one larger set of annotations, or perhaps left as separate sets to be viewed individually.
Students download e-books from a variety of sources, such as the World Wide Web, onto either the e-book software or their reader. Currently a built-in modem or ethernet port of some kind is the most economically efficient way to obtain information. Yet, wireless connectivity between e-book readers and the internet would greatly enhance the readers' capabilities. This would allow students to connect to the World Wide Web to search for information or download course-related materials; to send email to their professors containing their questions; or turn in their homework. A wireless device would make it very easy for teachers and students to communicate with one another and aid the teacher in understanding where his/her students are in regards to the course material. Students could email questions to their instructor while reading, when the question is still fresh in their mind. On the flip side, the instructor can examine his/her students’ notes so as to better understand the material they are struggling with and the points they deem important in the text. This includes examining student annotations, which may include context specific questions or misunderstandings about the material. The instructor would have the ability to search all students’ annotations for questions.
We are interested in creating a reader that is versatile. The device should have a variety of different features to accommodate a wide range of users. As mentioned above, the criteria we are looking for encompass 1) the different functions of paper textbooks, and 2) a combination of useful tools found in most computers. When examining the products, we made every effort to evaluate them according to these criteria.
Gemstar's eBook Reader REB 1100 is a portable device for reading books and magazines. It weighs approximately 18 oz. and is the size of a paperback book with a 4.75" x 3" touch screen. The Gemstar Reader 1100 allows the user to change the text orientation, enlarge the font size, and vary the back lighting in order to ensure comfortable reading conditions for all readers. The reader can either flip pages, as when reading a normal book, or move to any page in the book.
The user must download text onto their Gemstar eBook Reader from online. They can do so by either connecting to a PC computer with an online connection or directly via a modem. The Gemstar Reader comes equipped with an internal 33.6K modem and a USB port for PC connection. The Reader has 8MB of memory on which to store the books. More memory can be added by adding a SmartMedia card. The Reader runs on rechargeable Lithium-Ion internal batteries for 15-35 hours depending on the strength of the backlighting.
The Gemstar eBook Reader REB 1100 currently costs $300 and comes pre-loaded with a dictionary, one fiction book and an eBook user's guide. The Reader has a unique word-searching feature. It allows the user to specify the area in which s/he wants to search. For example, the user can search only underlined passages for a given word. Or, a search can be performed solely on the user's annotations or bookmarks or text. The user can add annotations using a stylus. A small arrow is placed on the text in the place where the annotation was originally written. In order to read the annotation, a simple touch of the arrow by the stylus will open it. Bookmarks can also be added to the text. The Gemstar Reader does not display color and hence does not highlight. The user must emphasize text by underlining. Copying and printing are not allowed with the Reader.
When the Gemstar eBook's memory is full, the user can upload texts no longer being read to his or her own personal Online eBook Shelf. This Shelf acts like a library checkout, which allows the user to store only those books s/he is currently reading. This also allows the user to own more books than can be stored on the Reader. The texts the user has purchased can be stored on the Online eBook Shelf or downloaded to the Reader whenever convenient and free of charge.
The 1200 model has a larger screen than the 1100 model-8.2" in diagonal-with full color, high-resolution display. This makes the Reader REB 1200 especially useful for viewing magazines, newspapers and periodicals, which contain many photographs and graphic images. The Reader weighs 33 oz. and comes with a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery that lasts for 6-12 hours depending on the level of the backlighting. The reader costs $700.
The Gemstar eBook Reader REB 1200 is an extension and large improvement over the Reader REB 1100. Unlike the 1100 model, highlighting occurs as it would if a person were highlighting a paper textbook. The user can highlight passages of the book in different colors. The Reader REB 1200 comes with a built-in modem and ethernet connection ports. The 56K modem is used to connect online via a standard phone line. The 10 Base T ethernet port allows for a broadband connection, which drastically decreases the time required to download an e-book from the world wide web. The Reader has 8MB of memory, which equates to about 5,000 pages of storage space. In addition, the initial memory size can be expanded up to 128MB (~130,000 pages).
The Reader is pre-loaded with a Webster's Pocket American Dictionary and an eBook User's Guide. Both of these can be uploaded to and stored in the user's personal online eBook Shelf. This free online eBook Shelf service appears to be provided by Gemstar. The shelf allows the user to buy more e-books than can fit on the reader and store them free of charge. The user can download these books from their Shelf at any time.
goReader
goReader is a portable, digital reading device designed for educational purposes. Since it has not yet been released commercially, and is therefore unavailable to us as of yet, this summary is based on information obtained through the goReader web site, www.goreader.com.
This device will be available with two different screen sizes-10.4" or 12.1"-both touch screens. Like other digital reading devices, the user is able to choose the orientation of the text, either landscape or portrait. Depending on user specifications, the goReader will weigh between 2 and 3 pounds. A built-in microphone and speaker suggest that the user may have the ability to record messages, or possibly entire lectures, and play them back later.
Textbooks are obtained by connecting the goReader to a PC via a USB cable, purchasing the books from goReader.com, and then downloading them to the goReader. The device is expected to be able to hold roughly 150 books. Once the books are on the goReader, the user can modify them much like physical textbooks-they can be highlighted in multiple colors, bookmarked, and annotated. The user will also be able to search the text for key words, chapters and bookmarks. One advanced feature is the ability to take notes directly on goReader's screen, save them, and print them. Although notes and annotations will be able to be shared digitally among various users, the text itself is encrypted and will not be able to be shared.
The goReader will support wireless 802.11B & Bluetooth, LAN and Dial-in for Web browsing and connectivity. Since the goReader is intended to be more than a mere textbook, it will also have a built-in calendar, calculator and notepad. Proposed add-ons include graphing calculators, day-planners and e-mail.
Microsoft Reader for Pocket PC is software for handheld computers, specifically those manufactured by Hewlett-Packard, Casio and Compaq. Unlike other devices designed solely for reading books, Microsoft Reader is software designed to run on general-purpose handheld computers.
The most unique feature of Microsoft Reader is ClearType, a display technology designed to make reading on handheld devices easier. Essentially, it increases the letter clarity. The reader can also increase/decrease the text size. Readers can highlight, bookmark, annotate or add drawings, all of which are managed by the Annotations Index. The Annotations Index allows the user to sort annotations by type, page number, date created, or date last modified. Annotations can also be edited or deleted from the index. Highlights and bookmarks can easily be edited or deleted directly from the page they are on, as well as in the Annotations Index. Using a stylus, the user can circle text, underline text, or otherwise mark the page, all of which are filed as drawings in the annotation index. A search tool is also included, allowing the user to search the text for specific words.
Microsoft Reader is available for free at the Microsoft web site, www.microsoft.com/reader. Books are obtained by purchasing them online, and storing them in the Microsoft Reader Library, which appears to be located on the device itself. The library allows the user to organize their books by title, author, date acquired, last read, or size.
netLibrary eBook Reader
The netLibrary eBook Reader is software that allows users to read books off-line as they would with any textbook. The software is downloaded onto a Windows machine. The user can download any text of their choosing via the internet using the software. Once downloaded, the user is no longer required to be connected to the internet. This is especially convenient for laptop users who can download an e-book onto their machine and read it anywhere. The user can zoom in and out of the page in order to ensure easy reading and display for all users.
The software allows the user to highlight in red, blue or yellow, and annotate the text, as they would do in a normal textbook. The user can search for terms and phrases within one e-book or throughout all the e-books installed on the Reader. He or she can browse through the annotations within the e-book. The user can copy selected passages of the e-book that contain no more than 5,000 characters. The netLibrary eBook Reader automatically pastes each passage in quotes and appends a citation from the e-book. The citation includes the author, publisher and page number of the e-book. The user can print up to 5,000 characters (about 1 pg.) at a time. This is most likely to ensure that users will not print out multiple copies of the e-book.
Currently, netLibrary's collection of e-books does not contain academic textbooks. The software can only be downloaded onto computers with Windows 95 or higher.
WizeUp.com is an online bookseller that specializes in electronic textbooks. Unlike portable readers, where books are downloaded onto them, books purchased from WizeUp.com are downloaded to a computer. It would appear that each book purchased can only be installed on one computer, though we have not yet tested this. We are not sure as to whether the book can be installed on another computer if it is uninstalled from one computer. Books from WizeUp.com are dynamic; they can be highlighted, bookmarked, annotated and searched. The highlighting is only in yellow, as per tradition. Bookmarks appear as a list of icons in a window to the left of the book. By clicking the icons, users can travel directly to a page in the book, a web site or other digital resources-research papers, for instance. Additionally, the user can travel directly to chapters, although the distinction between bookmarking a chapter and bookmarking the first page in that chapter is not clear. Folders can be utilized to organize bookmarks, as well.
Annotations appear, within the text of the book, as small note cards with a paperclip. By holding the cursor over the icon, a pop-up window containing the note, its author, and date of creation appear. Users can share annotations by saving them as text files, and exchanging the files. The text file is then imported to the Annotation manager. Within the Annotation manger, users can see the annotation, along with its date of creation, location in the text, author, and type. All imported notes are public, whereas notes created by that user are private, until exported. As yet, we don’t understand the how the two types are different, and are awaiting a response from WizeUp.
Based on some first-hand testing, we find WizeUp's digital textbook to be fairly user friendly. The format of the book is like an Adobe Acrobat .pdf format - we find this format to be easy to use and read. The pages of the digital textbook look like snapshots of the original text, preserving the diagrams, headings and margins notes.
Text readability is critical when examining e-book software or readers. The main purpose of e-book software and readers is two-fold: one, to encourage students' use of their e-book software or reader; and, two, to increase the efficiency with which students perform tasks such as bookmarking, highlighting and annotating. Font size, color availability and text visibility are three important issues that drastically affect the extent to which a student will utilize their e-book software or reader. Issues of visibility concerning NetLibrary and WizeUp software depend on the computer where the software is located. This means that the NetLibrary and WizeUp e-books can only be read in one text orientation (i.e. portrait), and, the color availability, screen size and font visibility depend on the computer monitor. The Gemstar Readers, goReader and Microsoft Reader for Portable PC have each devised their own way to help the user easily read the text. The Gemstar Readers and goReader give the user the option to vary the amount of backlighting on their screen while the Microsoft Reader has implemented Clear Type. While both ways help the user read the text on the screen with greater clarity and ease, the back-lit screen is especially helpful in aiding the user adjust to different light settings. In addition, Gemstar 1200 and goReader are roughly the size of a small textbook, thus simulating the experience of reading a small book. They also have color screens, which are useful when reading magazines, or books with colorful pictures or diagrams.
All the e-book software and readers we examined allow bookmarking. The user is able to look up bookmarks and select the one of their choosing. Unlike bookmarking, underlining was not a universal feature of our products. The three readers we examined allowed the user to underline parts of the text. Yet the Microsoft Reader, netLibrary and WizeUp did not provide the user with the option of underlining. This is unfortunate because it limits the ways in which the user can emphasize a passage in the notes. Some students, for example, may prefer underlining passages rather than highlighting or bookmarking them. All the products except for the Gemstar Reader 1100 have an option for highlighting. The WizeUp software only highlights in yellow color while netLibrary highlights in red, blue or yellow. GoReader and Microsoft Reader highlight in multiple colors. The Gemstar Reader 1100 does not allow highlighting because of its black/white screen which makes highlighted text difficult to read.
Creating annotations is a key feature of both paper and digital textbooks. Due to the digital nature of e-textbooks, it is also expected that users would be able to share those annotations. Both Gemstar eBook Readers and the Microsoft Reader allow the user to create, but not share, annotations. With the goReader, the user can create and share annotations. However, since the goReader is not yet available to us, we cannot expand on how those annotations are shared. The NetLibrary eBook Reader allows the user to create sets of annotations, so that there could be multiple sets of annotations for each book. Each set of annotations can easily be deleted, renamed, exported or imported. The annotations are saved with the .nln (NetLibrary notes) extension, and can be transferred and then opened on another computer with the NetLibrary eBook Reader. Textbooks downloaded from WizeUp.com can also be annotated. Those annotations can be managed using the Annotations Manger, which also allows the user to import and export the annotations. Exporting an annotation saves it as a text file. That text file can then be transferred to another computer with a WizeUp textbook, where it is then imported by opening it in the Annotation Manager.
The six products we sampled all implemented their "search" tool differently. They all allowed the user to search the text for a word. However, only Microsoft Reader, netLibrary and WizeUp provide their users with the capability of limiting the search domain to a selected passage as opposed to the entire text. The Gemstar Readers have the most searching capabilities. They allow the user to search for a word within the notes or the underlined text or within the bookmarks. The goReader has the option of searching the e-book for words, chapters or bookmarks. The Gemstar Readers' and goReader's different searching methods are similar in that they ensure quick access to all the information stored on the reader. The netLibrary software is unique in that it allows the reader to search all the e-books stored on the computer as opposed to only one book per search. In addition, netLibrary offers the option of searching within the highlighted text. From the six products we sampled, none of them include an adequate amount of searching capabilities. An ideal e-book product would include all the above-mentioned features so as to provide the most advanced searching capabilities along with accommodating the wide variety of users.
Copying or printing pages from textbooks are an important features which often help students in their academic studies-as when giving a presentation or studying for a test. Yet, both are difficult issues for publishers who want to maintain the copyrights of their authors. Electronic textbooks pose potentially large threats because they can be easily printed and sold, or copied and represented as another person's work. Consequently, the producers of the Gemstar Readers chose to not allow users to copy or print materials from the e-books. No part of an e-book found on one of those readers can be copied, whether into the user's notes or onto another document. GoReader does not allow the user to copy or paste materials from the reader onto another document located outside the device. The user can, however, copy text located on the reader to another document within the reader. For example, the user can copy a part of an e-book to his/her notes. The e-books located on the goReader are encrypted so as to prevent copying of materials from the device to another computer. The goReader, unlike the Gemstar Readers, does allow the user to print their notes. The amount of text the user is allowed to print depends on goReader’s digital rights agreement with the publisher of the text. In contrast to the readers, the three software products do allow copying of e-books to another document. WizeUp allows the user total freedom. The user can copy a sentence, a page or an entire text. Likewise, the user can print a passage, the entire text or the text multiple times. Microsoft Reader and netLibrary, however, have added some restrictions. Microsoft Reader users can copy a limited amount of space, though that amount has not yet been determined. And, Microsoft Reader does not provide printing as an option to the user. NetLibrary has clear guidelines as to the amount of text that can be copied. Users may only copy passages that contain no more than 5,000 characters. In addition, each copied passage is pasted along with a special citation appended, which includes the author, publisher and page number of the e-book from which the text was taken. Thus far, netLibrary seems to be the product that allows the user the most flexibility when copying while attempting to avoid copyright infringement. In addition to copying, netLibrary is also the most advanced with regards to its printing policies. Users are only allowed to print up to 5,000 characters at one time in an attempt to dissuade users from printing multiple copies of an e-book.
In order to compensate for low amounts of memory, some ebook products offer other storage options. Both Gemstar eBook Readers offer a free, online storage shelf. Copies of digital books are stored online, indefinitely, and can be accessed at no cost to the user. WizeUp, NetLibrary and Microsoft Reader do not offer any such online storage, however - all books purchased must be stored directly on the hardware for which they were downloaded. GoReader does have an online storage shelf, but not to store books. Apparently, notes and annotations are stored on the online storage shelf.
With portable reading devices, memory size and battery life are important concerns. If there is not enough memory to accommodate multiple books, large textbooks for example, then the user is inconvenienced. As well, if the user must constantly replace the battery, that is both uneconomical and counter-productive, as study time would then be interrupted. With Microsoft Reader, NetLibrary eBook Reader and WizeUp.com, memory is only limited by the hardware that the software is installed on. Likewise, battery life would vary depending on the hardware. The type of internet connection would also vary, depending on the hardware. The Gemstar eBook Reader REB 1100 has 8MB of memory, enough for roughly 20 books based on the company's estimation. That memory can be upgraded using SmartMedia cards (8MB - 128MB) so that the reader can hold hundreds of books. The battery life for the REB 1100 varies between 15 hours, with the backlight on, and 35 hours, with the backlight off. It also contains a 33.6K modem and USB port, so the user can connect to the internet directly or via an internet enabled computer in order to purchase and transfer books. The Gemstar eBook Reader REB 1200 also comes with 8MB of memory, which is roughly 5,000 pages according to the official website. It is also expandable to 128MB. Battery life is greatly diminished with the REB 1200, down to 6 hours with backlight or 12 hours without backlight, most likely due to the fact that the REB 1200 has a color screen and the REB 1100 does not. Users are expected to purchase books using the device, as it features a 56K modem and a T1 ethernet connection, but no USB port. The goReader device has between 64MB and 128MB of DRAM, and can hold roughly 150 e-textbooks. Battery life for the goReader is estimated to be 6 hours. Dial-in and LAN will be available for internet connection, although the website does not state precisely what.
Based on our criteria of portability, annotation sharing, and the ability to copy/print material, goReader just edges out WizeUp as the best product. The Gemstar eBook Readers and Microsoft Reader do not support note sharing, which is essential to our project. We couldn’t test goReader’s annotation function, but of the two remaining products, WizeUp's annotation features surpass NetLibrary's. WizeUp allows the user to see the author, date of creation and location of the annotation. Out of the three products that allow annotation sharing - goReader, NetLibrary and WizeUp - goReader is the only portable device, although the other products could plausibly be installed on a laptop or tablet computer. NetLibrary and WizeUp do support printing, which is a feature that would be convenient on our project. The goReader has a USB port, though, so a printer could feasibly be connected directly to the goReader to allow printing.
In this digital age, paper textbooks are becoming outdated. They cannot be customized, or readily updated, and sharing annotations cannot be done easily. Transforming current textbooks from paper into a digital medium would help eliminate these problems. Due to their easily transferable nature, e-books can be are great resource to students and instructors. E-books along with readers hold the possibility of opening up the lines of communication between student and teacher along with creating a better connection between the course material present to students and the material they understand. Electronic readers and software provide a) students with easy access to a large number of resources, and b) instructors with a place where they can combine materials from a variety of areas and have them serve as a course textbook. The technology is moving forward so as to allow the capabilities mentioned before. And, publishers of paper textbooks are beginning to take the plunge into the world of e-books. Products like goReader and WizeUp are examples of the new world of electronic textbooks. There are progress and improvements to be made in this domain. But, the future of textbooks remains in the area of electronic readers and software.
What students and instructors need are those same textbooks, only in a digital medium. With the use of a computer, annotations could be shared and textbooks could be customized, by taking materials from different books and combining them to best suit the students. The most recent versions of textbooks could be purchased through the internet, and at a lower price; without the expense of the paper that textbooks are printed on, prices would drop. One of the main problems with e-textbooks, though, is that there is no standard digital format being used. Without a standard format, readers and software are only as valuable as the textbooks formatted to work with them. However, once the format problems are worked out, e-textbooks will most likely become commonplace.
References
http://www.ebook-gemstar.com/eb_dev/1100_intro.htm
http://www.ebook-gemstar.com/eb_dev/1200_intro.htm
http://www.goReader.com/highered/aboutgr/how.htm
http://www.microsoft.com/reader/pc_reader.asp
http://www.netlibrary.com/nl_ebook_reader.asp
http://www.wizeup.com
http://www.rrlc.org/ebook/newsletter4/classroom.htm
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/conf26.html
http://www.futureprint.kent.edu/articles/simon01.htm
http://www.infosync.no/en/news/articles/n/14.asp
http://www.infosync.no/en/news/articles/n/15.asp
http://www.cs.hope.edu/~allen