“Education is our civil religion; if we fail at that, we fail at everything.” Powerful words on the second day of the WCET Leadership Summit, spoken by Kaye Howe of the National Science Digital Library, who happens to be sitting next to me right now, unaware of my plans to immortalize her words in the blogosphere.

With the threat of “failing at everything” looming over our heads, the time has come to reconsider how we think about education. Some argue that strict standards and pre-set curricula are key, but I take a different standpoint: throw them all out. Standards limit innovation. Today’s rapidly changing technological landscape gives students and educators tools that make traditional textbooks seem woefully inadequate. I would urge legislators to trust in the abilities of our teachers, not to rein them in with a laundry list of outcomes that take up the vast majority of the year.

The institutions represented at the WCET Leadership Summit have embraced a remarkable variety of educational models. They understand that the educational world as we know it is on the cusp of a revolution, and are determined not to be left behind, and in many cases are leading the charge toward this new learning ecosystem.

CourseSmart is sponsoring this summit, a gathering of 90 remarkably high-caliber members of the higher education community. I have been furiously taking notes in each of the sessions, drinking in all of the conversations about digital learning content creation, publication, maintenance and adoption. WCET has a wonderful job of hosting an incredibly smart, opinionated, even feisty group of people, and I look forward to seeing what real solutions come out of it.

- Nani Jansen, CourseSmart Events Coordinator

Last week London was abuzz as the publishing world descended on Earl’s Court for the annual London Book Fair. Over the course of the three day event, publishers worked to tout their books, secure the next big deal and debate “hot topics” like digital, which has generated a lot of interest and highlighted the need for publishers to really think about the web, apps, devices and social media.

Amongst the chatter of the book fair, I read a piece by a journalist who said that whilst publishers have embraced simple text-based eBooks, few are ready to back anything more complex as it requires significant investment. In my opinion, that view isn’t entirely correct. We’re in a perfect storm of innovation, and I believe the publishing industry has responded magnificently. Just look at the partnership between Cengage Learning, Macmillan, McGraw-Hill, Pearson, and Wiley who set up CourseSmart; the world’s largest provider of eTextbooks and digital course materials. On Monday, at the book fair, these publishers were on hand when CourseSmart’s expansion into the UK and Europe was announced with its online eCommerce platform. Not really a sign of publishers not wanting to back anything more complex, is it?

eTexbooks and the rise of the digital backpack

Not long ago pencils, notebooks and print textbooks reigned supreme as classroom necessities, and are still a recent memory for most of us with Gen X and Y still suffering from the memories of lugging around heavy, textbook filled backpacks. Today, the higher education landscape and student experience is dramatically different as eTextbooks gain momentum and students acquire themselves a digital backpack. Thanks to significant innovation in technology, digital course materials, and the proliferation of mobile devices, today’s digital natives are in a position to benefit from an enhanced, streamlined and superior approach to learning.

Students are not only embracing digital devices - including eReaders, smartphones and laptop computers - they are completely dependent on them and eTextbooks open up a whole new world for those students. Student respondents indicated that they used an average of three different digital devices on a daily basis, and 38% of the students surveyed said that they could not go more than 10 minutes without checking one (or more) of their digital devices. The proliferation of smartphones has led students to expect instant access to everything and anything, including their course materials.

Due to their flexibility and anytime, anywhere access, eTextbooks have become an attractive option for many students that frequently have to fit studying in between their other responsibilities such as work and internships. Three-quarters (73%) of students indicated they bring their textbooks with them “on the go” and nearly half (48%) of all students who own a tech device frequently read eTextbooks. With university fees set to rise, and the hassle of reselling your second hand books for next to nothing, the cost of eTextbooks is another factor attracting students, allowing them to save up to 40% on textbook costs by renting them online.

Thanks to the rise of eTextbooks, higher education students can now truly have a digital backpack. Additionally, by utilising eResource materials that provide interactive, assessment-based course materials, students can take quizzes and self-assessments in the palm of their hands. These new technologies and advanced learning resources allow students to study more efficiently and effectively, resulting in an enhanced learning experience that was not possible a decade ago.

Looking forward, this is an incredibly exciting time for both the higher education and publishing sectors. So, come September as students prepare for their new academic year don’t be surprised if you see students walking a little taller with their digital backpack in tow.

Fionnuala Duggan, Managing Director for International at CourseSmart

Attention Instructors: Did you know that CourseSmart has a new Table of Contents side-by-side comparison feature? Long over are the days when you had to set two or more print textbooks side-by-side and compare TOC’s. CourseSmart makes comparison easy, by allowing you to pull up one etextbook from “Publisher A” alongside another etextbook from “Publisher B.” You can see in one view which order of information you prefer for your teaching methods, thus allowing you to make an informed etextbook decision for your class.
CourseSmart has over 20,000 digital etextbooks in our arsenal, and over 90% of the core textbooks used in Higher Education today. That means the liklihood that we have the eTextbook you’re looking for is quite high.
To use this feature, search for a textbook you’re interested in viewing. Then, click the “compare” button. Next, use the search button to locate a title to compare. The description for both books and the Table of Contents for both books are now side-by-side for you to see.
Making eTextbook adoption decisions has never been easier. To see this new feature in action, here’s a short YouTube video:

Video on Side-By-Side TOC Comparison

Enjoy!

The National Association of College Stores is hosting its annual Campus Market Expo (CAMEX) in Salt Lake City this week, and CourseSmart is exhibiting alongside nearly 700 vendors seeking to get their wares into college bookstores across the country. Our booth (#6553 – come see us!) makes us the proud owners of 0.071% of the sprawling trade show floor, and we intend to make the most of our modest square footage.

Both on the floor and in the conference sessions, there have been fascinating conversations about the future of the campus bookstore. Bookstore-related jargon is circulating, and no buzz-word intrigues me more than “click-and-mortar,” which I heard today. Is there anything more satisfying than a mash-up word that is witty AND relevant? I can’t think of a better way to describe the next generation of bookstores, who exist in a market that now encompasses a confusing jumble of print and digital options. It’s no secret that the days of simple print texts are a thing of the past, and consumers are demanding choice.

This year, stores seem genuinely interested in getting more involved in the world of digital content, and we are so excited to partner with them in offering students options!

Should I frame my diploma? When did the whole cap and gown tradition start? Is this graduation speaker going to wrap it up already?

A lot of things go through your mind as you wait to cross the stage at college graduation. One that can stir up fear, however, is “Am I going to get a job with this major?”
In an Read the rest of this entry …

In response to Apple’s announcement yesterday regarding their entry into the eTextbook market, we at CourseSmart, as industry leaders, would like to welcome them to the party! With the explosion in popularity of eTexts over the past year, it’s certainly no surprise that Apple would want to make a late entry into the market.

Here are our initial thoughts:

We’re pleased about the impact Apple’s statement has made on the way people view the act of accessing educational course materials today. Any announcement which brings more awareness to digital course materials is good for students, and will help move the industry forward. However, yesterday’s Apple offerings left us with more questions than answers.

Here are our initial questions:

Are the apps only available for the iPad or will Apple become “device agnostic?” According to Student Monitor data that was released yesterday, only 9% of Higher Education students own an iPad. Although we do not know, we assume the number may be even lower for the K-12 market due to the price of an iPad. What about the millions of cash-strapped students who already own an Android device, a Kindle Fire or a Nook? Unless Apple intends to offer on other devices, the market will be underserved. CourseSmart was the first to develop an iPhone app, Android app, and Web app that allows even Kindle Fire & Nook owners to access CourseSmart eTexts through their very own device.

Who is developing the content? The new iBooks Author app allows users to create and publish books for the iPad by dragging and resizing images and text, adding definitions, movies, and 3D objects. Apple stated that anyone with JavaScript or HTML5 skills can make their eText interactive. We doubt that faculty will be easily convinced to create their own content when they have hundreds of papers to grade and have to learn JavaScript or HTML5 in order to incorporate interactivity. In fact, the best and most trusted content is created by publishers in partnership with authors.

Will using iBooks 2 offer improved learning outcomes? While it’s great to see Apple providing many parity features that CourseSmart and other providers already offer, iBooks 2 isn’t really reinventing textbooks. Our publishers already have, with “eResources” which are much more advanced technologically. CourseSmart has the largest catalog of eResources from all the major publishers, who have partnered with the most credible authors. Interactivity is cool and interesting, but only if connected to improving student learning outcomes.

The development and consumption of digital content is well underway. Though Apple’s late entry to the market was not entirely unexpected, its impact on learning remains yet to be proven. CourseSmart, founded in 2007, is the world’s largest provider of digital content. Our catalog includes over 90% of the textbooks in use today. CourseSmart customers enjoy anytime, anywhere access. We look forward to the future of the digital publishing industry, and we’re eager to continue to be the market leader for our millions of student, faculty and institutional users.

Our first conference of 2012 may well be the largest one we attend all year.  With upwards of 150,000 attendees, 42,000 registered media, and 2,700 corporate participants, the annual Consumer Electronics Show is flooding Las Vegas with techies.  For those who managed to snag a hotel room in time, the next four days will be crammed with a smorgasbord of concerts, parties, and most importantly, tech announcements.

Every industry, including those remotely connected to electronics, will be chomping at the bit to present their wares and to hear about what’s hot and new for 2012.  My personal pick for most unusual debut?  A robot produced by TOSY Robotics that will be unveiled by none other than tween heartthrob, Justin Bieber.

Never one to miss out on the fun, CourseSmart will participate in one of CES’s TechZones, HigherEdTECH.  CEO Sean Devine will speak on the panel entitled, “From Dewey to Digital: Are e-Books, Tablets and Digital Content Coming of Age?”  Moderated by Casey Green, founder of The Campus Computing Project, and running from 12:45 - 2 p.m. on Wednesday, January 11, this panel promises to bring up some of the most pressing digital content issues facing the higher education market.

We can’t wait to see what’s unveiled over the next few days!

Nani Jansen, Event Coordinator at CourseSmart

I love college football.  Fortunately, I work with a few devoted college football fans here at CourseSmart.  Based in the Bay Area, we have enjoyed up close the rise of Stanford football over the last few years, wondered if Cal will ever sustain a level of play better than above average, and snickered gleefully at USC’s vacated 2004 BCS National Championship and 2005 Heisman Trophy.

Speaking of the Heisman, one of my CourseSmart colleagues predicted (a little too haughtily) when Andrew Luck decided to return to Stanford last January that he would win it.  Even though Luck came up short again, anyone who watched the award presentation, or its subsequent coverage, surely applauded his grace in losing as well as Robert Griffin III’s humility in winning.

While my colleague’s Heisman prediction was not prescient, I offer two bowl predictions that are.  First, Notre Dame will defeat Florida State in the Champs Sports Bowl.  You may ask, why predict the Champs Sports Bowl?  The answer is that I’m a proud member of the Notre Dame Nation.  Every college football discussion is simply more interesting with Notre Dame as a part of it.  To illustrate, the Champs Sports Bowl sold out this year for the first time in its 22-year history.  Alabama, FSU, Miami, Penn State, and Clemson have all played in this bowl, but it hasn’t sold out before.  Why this year?  You know why—because Notre Dame is playing in it.

Neither ND nor FSU met preseason expectations.  However, they are evenly matched, and should play an entertaining game.  FSU has a swift, skilled defense, but ND has dynamic playmakers with Michael Floyd and Tyler Eifert.  Moreover, ND’s defensive front seven is very talented, and it will contain FSU’s “banged-up” offense.  Thus, in a rematch of the epic battle between 1993’s #1 & #2 teams, the Fighting Irish will again prevail.

Regarding the rematch between this year’s #1 and #2 teams, I offer my second prediction.  Anyone who watched the first game LSU-Alabama game knows that each team’s defense is exceptional, truly striking to watch.  LSU is clearly the best team this season—LSU beat 8 top-25 ranked teams, including the #2 team twice and the #3 team once. Nick Saban, however, is college football’s best head coach.  His staff has a month to prepare for this game.  He is less prone than Les Miles to make a decision that would cost the game.  If this were a best two out of three series, then I would pick LSU.  However, it isn’t.  Bama will defeat LSU to win the BCS (and unfortunately surpass ND for the most national championships in history awarded by the national polls).

Enjoy the holidays, and Go Irish!

-Andrew, CourseSmart Product Manager

CourseSmart®, the world’s largest provider of eTextbooks and other digital resources, has recently partnered with several educational software platforms with the aim of seamlessly integrating CourseSmart software with services already being used by many institutions in higher education. CourseSmart is a leader in the eTextbook industry and this is further made evident with the company’s new single sign-on feature made available with this new service.

• CourseSmart® Makes It Easy To Access Digital Course Materials through Custom Integrations Demonstrating its commitment to providing low cost digital course materials to students, CourseSmart recently announced it is expanding access to low-cost course materials through customized learning management system (LMS) integrations. With the ability to integrate into LMS platforms already used in schools via CourseSmart’s new Learning Tool Interoperability technology, more students and faculty are able to gain access to CourseSmart’s low-cost eTextbooks and eResources options. Additionally, by integrating with these systems, student and faculty workflows are streamlined with single sign-on access to the world’s largest catalog of digital course materials.
• CourseSmart® Launches Integration for the Blackboard Learn Platform CourseSmart recently announced the new Blackboard Building Block™ for the Blackboard Learn™ platform. This new platform has been designed to integrate into the technology ecosystems already in place on university campuses. The Blackboard Building Block, which is free to higher education institutions, provides educators the opportunity to seamlessly create and share homework and assignments with students. And with the new single sign-on feature, students can log into Blackboard and get access to their CourseSmart materials without needing to remember a second set of credentials for CourseSmart.com access.
• CourseSmart^® Integrates With Desire2Learn^® Learning Management System CourseSmart most recently announced it is partnering with Desire2Learn, a provider of teaching and learning platforms, to offer end-to-end integration programs which provide students and faculty one-stop access to their digital course materials. For instructors, utilizing the CourseSmart/Desire2Learn integration means accessing CourseSmart materials quickly and easily through the Desire2Learn platform using one set of credentials. Additionally, the integration allows for the use of CourseSmart’s eTextbook services, such as copying and pasting, annotating, sharing, and printing, all within the Desire2Learn platform.

CourseSmart®, the world’s largest provider of eTextbooks and digital course materials, and Campus Technology, a leading higher education technology publication, today announced details around their upcoming webinar, Making the Move to a Digital Campus: Best Practices and Pitfalls from the Front Lines, which will be held on November 10, 2011.

During the free, one-hour webinar, representatives from three institutions will share their unique experiences of adopting digital course materials on their campus, challenges encountered while integrating the technology and advice to colleges and universities considering a similar digital solution. Presenters include:

• Judy Lowe, assistant vice president-center for distributed education and multimedia at Chattanooga State Community College

• Chris Manriquez, associate vice president for information technology/academic technology officer at Cal State University Fullerton

• Dennis A. Trinkle, Ph.D., provost and chief academic officer at Harrison College

Moderated by Linda Briggs, contributing editor at Campus Technology, the panel will tackle key issues including faculty and student resistance to eTextbook programs as well as highlight the benefits each institution has experienced since adopting their digital course materials solution. Additional discussion includes how to:

• Reduce costs up to 60% over traditional textbook and content delivery methods

• Provide anytime, anywhere access to materials through any web-enabled mobile device

• Meet adoption timeliness and transparency standards in course materials selection as stipulated in the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA)

• Achieve greater ROI on existing campus platform investments

• Provide faculty and students with instant and seamless access to course materials

• Ensure the latest accessibility standard for students and faculty with disabilities

The webinar will be held Thursday, November 10, 2011, at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET. To register for this free webinar, please visit http://ow.ly/7lhmM. And, don’t forget you can join the conversation on Twitter by following @CourseSmart_ and #edtechchat.