Digital Textbooks Round II - Not what they're cracked up to be?

You know that I'm impressed by schools using iPads in the classroom, and hopeful about the potential of e-textbooks to radically change the delivery of educational content.  But lately, I've been reading a string of articles that are pointing out some of the real challenges to actual adoption of e-textbooks in our classrooms.  And it's worth considering some of these issues - better now than later.



One issue seems to be one of sheer technical challenge.  We can all envision a college history textbook on the equivalent of a Kindle - there are just words (and lots of them!).  But what about a calculus textbooks - or physics - or biology - or any subject requiring extensive figures, drawings, and/or diagrams.  These visual elements are extremely difficult and timeconsuming to render into an electronic format (not to mention turning them into Braille formats - that apparently takes months).

A second issue is more on the legal side.  An electronic book is arguably a derivative work of a previously printed paper text (assuming it was originally distributed as a regular textbook).  Not all book publishers anticipated the advent of e-textbooks, so not all book publishers have the necessary rights to create e-textbooks of their entire inventory.  The authors could license those rights, but that sets up a battle over fees.

A third issue is cost.  While e-textbooks might be cheaper than a new textbook, the used textbook market is booming and can provide some great values.  When I was in college, you could sometimes find used texts at the bookstore, but (a) not for every book, (b) only if you got there early, and (c) the used books were sometimes in terrible shape.  By the time I got to law school, Amazon had entered the used textbook market and thus one could more easily find, and sell, used textbooks.  Now, there are even more entrants to the used textbook market, which is only a good thing in introducing pricing pressure and more variety.  (See, for example, CampusBooks.com )

Right now at least, there's no used e-textbook market.  Some libraries have acquired copies that are available for loan, just like a paper book - but that's not really a good option for someone taking a 3 month course.  So even though e-textbooks tend to be cheaper than new books, used textbooks still have them beat.

Now, I don't think any of these issues are insurmountable.  Engineers will meet technical challenges, the lawyers will draft new contracts, and the market will pressure prices to drop.  But still, the open question is one of adoption.  How soon will educational delivery systems change?  Will the best technology win, or, will we get tied up in knots on one of the kinds of issues above (technical, legal, or business)?  What do you think?