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E-textbooksOpportunities, innovations, distractions

and dilemmas

Tom Davy

Thomson Learning

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What is a textbook?Teaching aid and

learning resource

Matches course requirements

Follows a logical

sequence

A synthesis of current

knowledge

Includes supplements

Pedagogical features

Learning objectives

Case studies

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4

5

Textbook Supplements

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1976

38.2%

33.8%

10.1%

8.4%

2.7%

6.8%Royalties

Printing

Typesetting

Permissions

Design

MS preparation

Textbook cost elements

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Textbook cost elements

2006

38.1%

33.5%

3.3%

2.8%

2.8%

2.8%

4.6%

4.6%

3.7%3.7%

Royalties

Printing

Typesetting

Permissions

Art

Web site

Design

Research

Testbank

MS preparation

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HE Textbook Revenue (£000's)

£0

£10,000

£20,000

£30,000

£40,000

£50,000

£60,000

£70,000

£80,000

£90,000

Bus Law Soc St. Med Eng Econ Comp Sc Biol Engl Other Total

Discipline

2003 2004 2005

CAGR (03-05) 2005 RevBus -5.0% £16,119Law 11.9% £12,648Soc St. 0.0% £8,866Med 6.0% £6,219Eng -2.0% £3,474Econ -5.3% £3,098Comp Sc -13.8% £3,094Biol 9.2% £2,884Engl -7.7% £2,774Other 0.9% £19,188Total -0.1% £78,364

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Teaching Philosophies

A bi-product of research

Learning shouldn’t be fun

Students shouldn’t be spoon-fed

Discovery not prescription

Learner-centred Vs teacher-led

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Student expectations

Get me through the course

Grab my attention

Highly visual

Better than Google

The bits I need when I need them

Built-in links for further research

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Publisher Objectives

Win market share Build a superior product

Better syllabus match Authoritative author Latest thinking New material Makes course delivery easier Value-adding supplements

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It’s an arms race…

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Diminishing returns

More returns, less ROI

Reducing sell-through

New edition cycles

Second-hand sales

“Web resources are free”

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US Vs ROW price differentials

Kotler, Armstrong Principles of Marketing

UK Edition £42.99

US Edition $160 = £80.00

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US Edition UK Edition

$141.98 = £70 £39.89

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Economics of textbook publishing High initial investment

Supplements High Price

In the US If discretionary purchase for students Used books, leakage, buying around, piracy

Inefficient supply chain Multiple intermediaries

High wastage “Unsuccessful” first editions Too much content Returns

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Corporate exodus from education

“Education slow to adopt digital solutions”

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Textbook Vs Digital

Textbook Portable

Tactile

No equipment required

Text better on paper

Organising framework

Linear

Single medium

Too much or too little

Single learning style

Digital I-pods, mobile phones

I-pods, mobile phones

Ubiquitous items

E-paper, print on demand

Learner journeys

Interactive

Multiple media

As much as you need

Individual learning styles

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Context

Faculty Tutor contact hours are reducing(www.williseemytutor.com)

From sage on the stage to guide on the sideStudents Access to huge amount of content Students will accept “good enough” Students have become Googleized

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Is there a better way?

What would we invent today if the textbook did not exist?

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Wisdom

Understanding

Knowledge

Information

Data

The Learning Pyramid

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Book Centric

Learning Assessments

Case Studies

Companion Website

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LearningObjective

Learning Assessments

Objective Centric

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Dilemmas

Print pays our salaries

The bleeding edge is a painful place

Selling direct to students

Digital rights management

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Distractions

E-books

Bookshops

Digitalist zealots

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Innovations

The demise of content silos

Customised content

User created and sharing

                                                                    

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Opportunities

University management: offer your customers a more compelling learning experience Go digital

Librarians: market your services more effectively Move into the campus bookshop space

Publishers Look beyond the textbook Start thinking objectives and digital learning

objects