Last week I presented the eBooks Project to some of the professors in SBS. At this meeting professors expressed interest in booking space in The eBooks Project for Spring 2010. One professor who already happens to use a Wiley text mentioned his desire to teach two sections of a class using the same Wiley text: one with the paper version and one with the electronic WileyPlus version. This kind of innovative teaching is sort of a bonus prize for using eBooks that I hadn't anticipated, but am very encouraged to see taking place.

I guess I'll have to start posting a status report of seats filled in the Spring 2010 cohort!

The response to yesterday's mail announcing The eBooks Project has been overwhelming. Lots of great questions are coming in. The most commonly-asked question is

How can I participate in the study?

This is a scientific study of learning outcomes amongst students using electronic textbooks. As such, we have to eliminate as much variability as possible between the participants. For this reason we are limiting the study to one eBook product: WileyPLUS.

A list of books that are currently in use at UTPA for which there exist WileyPLUS versions can be found here. More information, including an exhaustive list of what titles exist in WileyPLUS format can be found at their website.

Another question is Do I have to commit for two semesters in order to participate?

 No. You may choose to participate for either Fall 2009, Spring 2010, or both.

Finally, How many spaces are still available?

As I write this, 210 spaces are still available. The response to the program has exceeded expectations.

This letter went out last night to all faculty. I have been amazed at the number of responses I've received so far. Interest is high!

Dear UTPA Faculty members, 

The Division of Information Technology has acquired funding for a significant number of e-books, to support an academic study of learning outcomes in students using electronic textbooks. If your class qualifies to be in the study, you and your students will receive free electronic versions of the textbook you've adopted for your class.

 

This is a great opportunity to help determine whether electronic textbooks contribute towards improved learning outcomes, and it benefits your students directly by providing them with free textbooks.

 

The study is not yet fully subscribed and if you act quickly there is still an opportunity for you and your students to be a part of this study in the Fall 2009 cohort.

 

More information can be found online at http://www.utpa.edu/blogs/ebooks/ <http://www.utpa.edu/blogs/ebooks/> or by mailing Anne Toal (atoal@utpa.edu) for more details.

 

Thank you,

Anne Toal

The UTPA eBooks Project

The following information was provided to us by Wiley. The books shown are currently under adoption at UTPA and they also exist in "Wiley Plus" e-textbook versions. This is not an exhaustive list of all Wiley Plus texts. If you are interested in learning if there are electronic versions of books you want to use, please email The eBooks Project.

It's obvious that eBooks (short for electronic books) can play a role in reducing the cost of education for college students: eBooks commonly cost 50-60% of what their printed counterparts sell for. But do students who use eBooks perform any differently? Do they learn better? Are their grades any different from students who use printed textbooks?

These are the questions that The UTPA eBooks Project seeks to answer. The University has provided the Division of Information Technology with Incentive Funding to supply a group of students with electronic textbooks and study their learning outcomes during Fall 2009 and Spring 2010.

We've partnered with Wiley & Sons Publishers and will be studying the learning outcomes of students who use Wiley Plus e-Texts in classes participating in the Project. Wiley has given us a list of textbooks currently in use at UTPA for which there are Wiley Plus versions.

So if you're a student and you're wondering whether you'll receive a free eBook next Fall, that will depend on whether your professor has chosen to ba a part of the Program.

If you're a faculty member and you're interested in learning whether you might qualify to participate either in Fall 2009 or Spring 2010, please contact Anne Toal or leave a comment below. There is still space available in the Fall 2009 cohort.