11045

11045

General Session - Conference Presentation Only (no formal paper)

Can eTextbooks Truly Replace Printed Textbooks?
Erik Evans, Ashford University, San Diego, California, USA, eevans@bridgepointeducation.com Mireille Yanow, Ashford University, San Diego, California, USA, mireille.yanow@bridgepointeducation.com

This session will look closely at cross-platform digital textbooks and the technology associated with it. More specifically we will discuss Constellation, a full integration of eTextbooks and electronic learning sources, which was specifically designed for Ashford University. The goal of Constellation is two-fold: to create an unfettered, engaging digital experience as well as to source our own content by creating a publishing platform that is far more responsive to Ashford's students' needs. Custom-crafted materials are delivered digitally and may be displayed on Constellation's browser-based reader or on a number of devices, such as the iPhone, Kindle, and iPad. In this session we will go into detail the history behind Constellation, its development, its features and, most importantly, the solutions it has provided for both Ashford University and its students.

The delivery of the presentation will be very engaging to the audience. We plan to start the presentation using reflective questions which involve the audience. During the presentation we also plan to have a short group activity which involves the audience discussing how they would design an eTextbook (i.e. what steps they would take as a committee)- this will help the audience realize and understand how Constellation was developed. Of course, throughout the presentation we plan to use various bridging techniques and audience participation. Near the end, we plan on a live demo.

All Audiences eTextbooks; publishing, digital content, ereader, web 2.0