University-wide e-text adoption and students’ Use of, preferences for, and learning with e-textbooks

The consistent growth of electronic textbooks (e-texts) within higher education contexts has led cheaper, more accessible resources for students. Despite this continued growth, the introduction of technology such as e-texts does not necessarily lend itself to more effective teaching and learning practices. Student perceptions on their use of e-texts and the impact of these tools on their engagement and learning present one source of evidence for determining the efficacy of inclusive digital content delivery systems. This chapter describes a survey study conducted with undergraduate students at Indiana University, who has been running a successful university-wide e-text program since 2012. The study used a subset of the National Survey of Student Engagement, specifically designed to examine students’ use of, preferences for, and perceived learning with e-texts. Data from 284 students indicated that they generally used e-texts in relation to their class-assigned reading activities. Interactive features within the e-text were moderately to infrequently used in relation to their learning practices. Students also indicated that their use of e-texts had generally positive benefits on their learning. From these results, we discuss the implications of further integrating e-texts within higher education through extended support and scaffolding of these tools for both teaching and learning.