Are eTextbooks More Than Books?

Abstract

Electronic textbooks vary along a continuum of interactivity. The best eTextbooks incorporate interactivity and multisensory components that cannot be found in traditional print textbooks. The value of low-tech digitized texts is related to cost and availability, not to interactivity. Enhanced digital textbooks move beyond merely reading for information by including moving images, sounds, spoken words, and music and by allowing students to use touch to manipulate onscreen elements, add notes, connect to the Internet, and share ideas and content. An eTextbook need not look like a traditional book at all. Learning designers at all levels can become digital curators by gathering sources of information into customized collections, eTextbooks that more closely resemble digital libraries than individual books.