Tall Tales & Falsehoods

What a novel idea: Professors actually customizing there own textbook to match the course materials that they teach. I wish I would have thought of that.

Well it looks as if I wasn’t the only one. There is a great article over at The Chronicle of Higher Education that talks just about that. It seems as if McGraw-Hill Higher Education has plans to release their Create system, (customized pick and choose article type of textbook) sometime soon. With Macmillan Publishers doing something close to that as well, it looks like the face of text book publishing is changing.

The problem with the change is that is still is not addressing the way in which students learn today. In order for teachers to engage students they will have to identity with technology driven students. From my research students have not (and most likely will not) embrace eReeders for textbooks.  Digitization of textbooks doesn’t make textbooks anymore exciting. What is sexy is when we start to embed video and multimedia into the learning environment. Having real time questions and polls that students and teachers can interact with in the classroom coupled with traditional text makes the student more receptive to participate in class. By looking at how students currently interact with technology devices and making the learning environment and mediums engaging in those manors we will see a steady increase in comprehension and participation. I do realize that this isn’t a textbook problem, but rather a teaching methodology one. However, if we can start to address some of these issues on the ground level, it will make it easier for teachers to adopt new practices in the classroom.

Technology is changing the game and it is changing rapidly. There is a learning curve, not by the students – but by the teachers. Teachers not only have to teach, but continue to learn as well.

Last week marked the first week of the new semester at Horry-Georgetown Technical College. While students were buzzing form one class to the next I took the opportunity to go to a seminar about eTextbooks at the student book store. It just so happens that the HGTC bookstore is actually a Barnes & Noble College Booksellers store! At the impromptu gathering book sellers were on hand to answer a few questions about the eTextbook format.

Right away I could tell that the eTextbook format would not go along the same road that I would like to take the idea. The eTextbook format in my opinion is the same (if not worse) than that of traditional textbooks. Here goes a few key points from the overview.

1. eTextbooks require a free reader which can be downloaded onto a PC or Mac
2. Though eReaders are free, they require a credit card on file in case you want to use other services or download additional products.
3. eReaders promoted by B&N booksellers are NOOKstudy , Xplana and Vital Source. Depending on which eTextbook you have is to which eReader that you will need (based on publisher).
4. eTextbooks are not meant for use on non textbook devices such as Kindle or NOOK.
5. eTextbook tags show various Digital Right Management (DRM) items such as subscription length, # of pages you may copy, # of pages you may print and # of devices you can download to.
6. You cannot return an eTextbook.
7. There is no buy back of eTextbooks at the end of the semester.

While there was a price difference in the eTextbook and the printed edition it was nominal at best. If you factor in all of the DRM restrictions and non-buyback, the purchase of an eTextbook did not make since. You did not get anything extra by buying the eTextbook version such as live content, videos or sound. The only benefit I could see was the fact you did not have to lug around the heavy printed version.

What about some of the unforeseen problems that you may run across with eTextbook format? What if you teacher decides to give you an open book test or exam, but does not allow laptops? Or what about if your textbook spans two semesters of classes? With the DRM restrictions there is a good chance that you would have to purchase the book again. In essence you are not buying anything, you are renting. And at the rates they charges that is a steep rent rate.

After the overview of the eTextbook format I was giving a little FAQ sheet to help answer any questions that I still had. Here goes a few notable questions and answers. (Some answers have been paraphrased to highlight some interesting answers)

1: Q: What device can I read an eTextbook from?

A: eTextbooks are meant to be read on your computer via NOOKstudy application. You can not you NOOK or mobile device to read textbooks as the screens are too small to properly view the contents.

2: Q: Can I read my eTextbook on more than one computer?

A: Yes, you can read it on up to 2 computers.

3: Q: Can I access my eTextbook from the web?

A: No, you can only access them with the NOOKStudy eReader application.

4: Q: If my title comes with supplemental materials, will I get them with the purchase of the eTextbook format?

A: Due to the delivery format, eTextbooks do not include CD content or other companion materials that may be available with the new physical book.

This is just a handful of the FAQ’s that they provided. Granted I cherry picked the ones that I showed the ridiculousness of the eTextbook in it’s current format, but regardless I think it showcases my point.

Recently I was turned onto a post by Seth Godin in which he spoke to Independent Book Publishers. During his talk he laid out, from top to bottom, just how the publishing industry needs to change to make sure they stay relevant. Since Textbooks fall into that category, I think those publishers should take notice! We are at a turning point in the publishing industry. Publishers can either choose to be proactive and inventive with the technology at hand or end up like the major publishers of the music industry. Stating stupid, irrelevant points such as “screens are too small to properly view the contents” will lead students and professors alike to adopt a new form of teaching and learning. (I teach paperless and do not require my students to use a textbook. I crowd source materials that I find relevant to the days topic to showcase current text and video.)

While I was surprised to see HGTC promoting a new learning tool within it’s bookstore, I was not that surprised to learn of how it is being implemented. I find myself one again disappointed with traditional industries trying to retrofit old products instead of being innovative and pushing the boundaries of new ones. The music industry failed, the newspaper industry is failing and book publishing is starting off on the wrong foot.

You can find a bunch of discussion of eBooks out there on the internet. Most of which also applies to the eTextbook industry. While I may not have a perfect plan, I think that publishers should really look at ways of connecting students with new media technologies. In doing so may we bridge the gap of education divide and push innovation within the publishing industry.

A few weeks ago I posted an idea I had about setting up an digital textbook community business. I have since sent off various emails to help me get a better feel for technology, cost and origination. During that time I have continued to look at existing business models that may be in line with what I had envisioned.

Low and behold the New York Times ran the article $200 Textbook vs. Free. You Do the Math. by Ashlee Vance. In the article they feature Curriki, an open sourced digital textbook company. Curriki focus is for K-12 education and encompasses many of the same points that my idea addressed.

One of the key point that the New York Times article addressed is one of the points that I received back from my initial reaction emails. I reached out to Dan Conover due to his work in pay wall business models in the newspaper industry. In his correspondence Dan suggested that a pricing structure to look at is FREE, focusing more on an open-source community structure. He also recommended checking out Free! Why $0.00 Is the Future Of Business by Chris Anderson.

It has truly been interesting exploring these different processes. While I am not sure my digital textbook idea will ever make it off the ground I have gained much insight into a world that I knew very little about.

For more info about Curriki please check out there link below:

A while back (Sept. 2, 2009) Dan Conover wrote a post on “The Key To Darbas” soft launch . Within that post he mentioned some ideas that I found to be very interesting concerning Community Licensing. At the time that I initially read the post, I was also teaching at Horry Georgetown Technical College. I was only about two weeks into my first course when he made the post, but I saw a direct correlation to the way he was thing about an open community and to a problem that I found my students were having.

As you may know the cost of textbooks for higher education are expensive. Not only are they expensive, but they are also time consuming to produce and in some cases inaccurate by the time they come to print and find there ways into classrooms. One of my goals as an educator was to use the same tools that I work with as a marketing professional. I found the idea of “Teaching Paperless” to be a great goal and I set-out to do just that. I used my personal blog as a tool to communicate with my students about daily assignments and used online media resources as means to show “real life” and “real time” examples of the subjects in which we were talking about. I would pull the main key points from the book and post them as topics of discussions as well.

I found myself leaning more and more away from the book and more into “real life, real time” examples. Upon talking with other higher education professionals I found this to be the case for them as well. It wasn’t so much as pulling away from the textbook as it was providing supplemental materials for their students that contained “real life, real time” information. Is there a way to use new technology, not only as a new media teaching tool, but also as a concise delivery method of up-to-date digital customizable textbooks?

I think digital media, real time data, accuracy of information, disbursement of information and payment/profit models all exist in loose connections. These individual parts could be pulled together to form a new business model for Higher Education Textbooks. Having real time data and examples that are customizable by individual professors or department chairs to coincide directly with there programs content is a great resource. With a pay-per-click model for article and video downloads, I believe you would have an affordable textbook solution that stays current from semester to semester.

A rough breakdown of the model:
• A higher education portal in which articles, papers, documentation, examples, videos, tutorials and references exist in a database.
• This information is produced by scholars, teachers, writers and professionals all within there field of study.
• Each of these professionals are a part of the program and sign up for an account to be vetted by the staff.
• All information is broken down by categories and tags and cross referenced for similar articles and media.
• All articles are considered “live.” In other words they can link to extra information, outside resources etc.
• There is a 2 pronged rating system for each article. The first being rated on by the professor that has choose the text in the past and the other rated on by the students who had to use the article.
• The professor/department chair chooses which articles, videos, pictures examples to include within there digital textbook. (This could be done on daily bases, weekly bases, semester bases.)
• The digital textbook is available for download with multiple options.
**Not sure if this is where the payment module fits in or at the end user. More market research is needed.
• The professor then uses the information contained within as a teaching tool.
***The second option for payment is if the end user actually clicks to read the article, watch the video etc. then payment would be posted.

How this business model is different
• Customizable textbooks
• Up-to-date information
• Interactivity
• Pay module
• Multiple format options (PDF, post-to-blog, direct complier editions – Kindle, iPad ) {Need more research – time, money, effort to compile multiple formats}

Keys To Success
• Making it easy to have higher education professional submit articles and get paid for articles used. This would open up textbooks to a whole new world of writers. Short stories, articles and essays could now be revenue source for professors who haven’t gone down the road to traditional textbook publishing. If you can get a few big name professors, schools and department chairs behind this with submitting articles I think it will open the door to all kinds of relevant submissions. Professors are continually doing work within their field. They have up-to-date numbers, theories and proposals that may or may not get picked up in journals. This gives them other opportunities to get there findings out there.
• Showcasing that textbooks are not just text, but rich video, photography and sound lectures can accompany them.
• Real life, real time” articles and data
• Multiple formats of textbook delivery.
• A good rating system and recommendation system for professors trying to compose a textbook.

Competition
All seem to have a rental service
http://www.chegg.com/
http://www.alibris.com
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/textbooks/index.asp

A few Links

http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/media/textbooks-in-the-ipad-age-will-cool-tech-beat-renting/19362200/
Good background and research. Talk about a slightly different model.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/06/09/not-everyone-ready-for-the-digital-textbook-revolution/
I think the commentator of the story has it correctly. I see the business model changing from traditional publishing to hyper-activity media publishing.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/188427/interactive_textbooks_headed_to_ipad_report_says.html
This article points out some very valid points. I like to think that the proposed business module would make textbooks more affordable and would send more profits direct to the writes and contributors.

http://seankheraj.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/textbooks-in-a-digital-age-the-history-of-canada-online/
He gets the point but still never address the cost option of the books.

http://www.good.is/post/the-demise-of-the-200-textbook

Conclusion
While this idea does not tread on any new ground, the payment module and higher education community involvement gives the project potential.  More research is needed to see if it is idea that will be accepted within higher education. Professors and universities tend to run in closed circles, so it will be key to find out if they would be on board with a business model such as this.  If initial reports are positive the first step would be to compile a formal proposal outlining all key elements. In doing so this would help in looking for venture capital funding and educational grants.

Initial Contacts
• Dan Conover, this is the brain child of his initial idea. Has great resources and insight into the newspaper industries “pay wall” model.
• Nakia Pope, professor at Winthrop University. He is highly involved in the education side of teaching and would provided valuable insight.
• Richard Miller, an IT Specialist at University of Virginia. He used to work as assistant editor at HarperCollins Publishers.
• Paul Reynolds, local entrepreneur, computer programmer and has published applications on proposed delivery devices.
• Dave Slusher, highly involved in all things digital and wife is a former Coastal Carolina University Professor
• J. Wynia, possess great insight into theoretical technology and business idea generation.
• Joel Watson, computer programmer. He used to work for the Charleston library system.