Mercedes Ross 04/29/2019

Isabel Graciano
Jessica Lopez
Digital Textbooks

An e-book is an electronic format of a book. They can be downloaded to a computer, PC,

Mac, laptop, tablet, smartphone, or any other reading device that has the capability to connect to

the internet. E-books are easy to purchase and access. After purchasing your e-book, you have

the option to download it to the device you are using. After downloading, you do not have to be

connected to the internet to access it. E-books are the way of the future in a “paperless” world.

Angela Ruiz Robles was a school teacher who watched her students carry heavy

textbooks to and from school every day. She wanted to consolidate all the books her students

were expected to carry into one “reader”. She created her first prototype in 1949. Technology

during that period, as we all know, was not advanced enough to support an electronic reader.

Angela Robles prototype consisted of spools with smaller amounts of text on them, which did

consolidate her students’ books making it easier for them to carry to class. The idea of being able

to access multiple books in one place, has been a thought for many years, we finally have the

means of making this idea a reality.

During a semester in college, a student typically takes four classes. Each class has their

own book that the University expects their professors to teach from. In some cases, professors

assign additional readings from other books. The full-time student usually is not working or isn’t

working enough to support themselves making their budget very low. Textbooks can be

expensive to purchase or rent. Educators have started to acknowledge this. Colleges have started

picking their textbooks carefully thinking about the “broke college student”. They have started

selecting books that have the option to purchase as an e-book and have even started creating their

own for their students. With its easy access and affordability, e-books promote learning much
more than traditional books do. They are more economical, easy to access, and are more

environment friendly than traditional textbooks. Readers have the option to print chapters from

their books and can still highlight and take notes on their reader. E-books make it easier for

individuals to search for information versus turning page after page for answers. Users can

enlarge the text on the screen making it easier to read as well. Waiting for a textbook to be

delivered to a student’s house or dorm can take a long time, not to mention the extra shipping

fees. You can access books now online with the touch of a finger, downloading the book within

seconds. E- book is accessible on any format, whether it is on a desktop, tablet or a personal

mobile device.

Another form of an e-book is an access code offered by a college and sometimes by

businesses. An access code is viewed as a package deal. It contains readings for the individual,

activities, tutorials, quizzes, tests, videos, games etc. You are still able to highlight important

information and to print pages just like the traditional e-book. Access codes make readings more

interactive.

A way that e-books can promote teaching is the ability to accommodate the different

learning styles of different students. It is said that, “From the educational point of view, the

technological equipment allows the personalization of learning paths and educational inclusion

of a flexible organization” (Marzano 5309). Some students thrive more in their learning when

they see infographics meanwhile others can get by with reading text only. Either way, e-books

can help even those who are auditory learners with the text to speech feature that is offered in

some e-books as well. Teachers using e-books will be able to get through to more of their

students and positively affect their learning if they conform to the learning styles of most or all

of them using e-books and its different features.

 Some e-books for example also allow students to use Wifi on the device allowing them to

open web links for a more interactive learning experience. This interactive learning can make

learning much more effective because it can grab the attention of students much longer than

traditional reading. This interactive learning from e-books can also include videos embedded into

the e-books and interactive activities that students can complete on their own. These kinds of

features that are included into eBooks promote the learning of students and encourage them to

keep wanting to learn unlike a traditional book might. E-books also encourage students to learn,

it is said that they have a positive influence on the design of teaching activities which are mainly

geared to encourage interactivity between not only students themselves but also between the

students and the material that is being taught through the e-books. With the help of how certain

e-books are designed, teachers will have less of an issue trying to encourage their students to try

and learn more than they must.

Another major advantage of e-books promoting effective teaching is the ability for e-

books to help those students who may be visually impaired. With the help of an e-book those

who have that kind of impairment have the availability to make the text size on an e-book much

bigger to make it easier to read or, depending on the features available, also have the option to

have the e-book read aloud to them. Features to help the teachers could also include progress

tracking so that they can see how far along their students have progressed in their reading and

help those who may be struggling with material or need to be encouraged to finish. These

advantages of e-books help make teaching lessons much easier for teachers and allow them to

move on faster with their lesson plans.

With these various ways in which e-books are beneficial and can help promote learning

and teaching, it would make sense to expand eBooks much more throughout middle, high
schools, and universities alike. It appears the features offered by e-books can help enhance the

way students learn and help teaching be more effective. Not only are e-books more helpful in the

classroom but they can also be helpful outside of it as well. They are delivered much more

quickly and can be accessed instantly as well as the fact that they are more affordable than the

traditional textbooks which can help alleviate financial stress students may have.

Works Cited

Hoppe, A. “10 Reasons Teachers Are Using E-Books.” Britannica Digital Learning,

https://britannicalearn.com/blog/top-10-reasons-teachers-are-using-e-books/ Accessed 28 April,

2019.

“How Students Benefit from Learning with Ebooks.” South University, 7 Oct. 2013,
https://www.southuniversity.edu/whoweare/newsroom/blog/how-students-benefit-from-learning-

with-ebooks

Marzano, A. “The Use of Ebooks in Education to Improve Learning.” Academia, 1 July 2013,

https://www.academia.edu/11784025/THE_USE_OF_EBOOKS_IN_EDUCATION_TO_IMPR

OVE_LEARNING

“Using EBooks in Schools.” Professional Learning Board,

https://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/using-ebooks-in-schools/ Accessed 28 April 2019.

Remez, S. “The Benefits and Advantages of eBooks.”

https://www.successconsciousness.com/ebooks_benefits.htm Accessed 27 April 2019

History, C. “A History of EBooks.”

https://historycooperative.org/a-history-of-e-books/ Accessed 27 April 2019