The following article is the literature review for one of my latest research undertakings involving the distribution of educational eBooks with interoperable assessment content.
Abstract
EBooks are here to stay, the last decade has seen an exponential growth in the usage of eBooks for recreation and a growing trend in delivering educational interactive content via an eBook context.
The direction of eBooks and their employment for more complex scenarios of academic engagement leads to queries relating to the status of eBooks and their comparison to applications and platforms. The emerging standards have purpose to combat requirements for delivering complex interoperable tools and assessments to students undertaking studies and learning courses across a variety of a curriculum stages.
Identifying these standards and the potential growth of eBooks for more varied learning scenarios is the focus of this review. Evaluating the previous trends and current perceptions for pedagogical fulfilment when delivering content via eBooks and the unrelenting dissemination of printed media in favour of the more versatile and portable e-formats embodies the core drive for this study.
Introduction
The purpose of this literature review is to provide a brief overview of the use of eBooks in education and a comparison of statistical data relating to the use of eBooks by teachers, researchers and students. The goal is to understand the direction and utilization of more complex interactive eBooks for the delivery of educational tools and assessment material and the future direction for the inclusion of such technologies when delivering pedagogical requirements.
Many academic librarians today have very ambitious goals to provide their users with effective access to eBooks. EBooks, it is recognized, can give researchers and students the information they need whenever they need it and wherever they are. [5]
The rise in popularity of eBooks walks hand in hand with the emergence of the mobile and portable device market, supplying light weight tablets and smart phones that can hold many Gigabits of information. However the love of printed media still plays a significant role in the scope for delivering eLearning content. The emergence of specifications such as EDUPUB drive the usage of books for assessment, complex interactions and tool delivery. This is not, however, without limitations and boundaries raising concerns for the cognitive results of delivering content via these means.
W. Kraan (2014) When does a book become a platform. Elaborates on the complexities and divergence between eBooks and standardized Digital Learning Objects which may be deployed to Learning Management Systems. The demands of forthcoming eBook standards offers additional sufferings for publishers of eLearning content with extensive technical requirements for distributable formats of their interactive digital publications.
Studies have shown that the rise of eBooks is predominantly based on the usage by the younger generation of readers, where the majority of older readers prefer printed media. EBooks live in the online space where students spend very large amounts of time. [5]
This emphasises the acceptance of the younger generation to engage with more modern technologies and their usage proliferation of these technologies when undertaking Learning courses for academic purposes. Within commercial industries the employment of such advancements in technology may be slower in adoption given the diverse age range of individuals within the given arenas.
The cognitive and pedagogical concerns for learning contribute to current debates as to the effectiveness of eLearning media when correlated against the printed book. It's different when you read a book. When you read a physical book, or you read an e-book, the physical experience of reading that book is different. It looks different. It feels different. It even smells different. [27]
Ebooks
Over recent years there have been various evaluations into the adoption of eBooks for academic purposes. The key drive for this research is to determine the preferences of users, their interactions with eBooks and why they might prefer printed media over the equivalent digital technology.
Research data for such topics however is limited to the availability of the technologies at the time and little data has been recorded or surveys undertaken relating to specific interactions with eBooks. These may include the utilization of Tools, the undertaking of assessments to fulfil course requirements or the ability to annotate and have portability of learning and assessment material.
Ebooks vs Print
Studies at the University of Liverpool in 2010 [13] have highlighted that whereby students and teachers are heavily invested in digital technology, only a marginal amount of time is used for academic purposes.
It was clear from the results of the survey that student utilization of eBooks was inconsistent, and the demand for embracing such media for course material not as prevalent as was initially anticipated. (See Fig. 1)
Ebooks and Education
In 2010 the concept of using an eBook for assessment material and the capacity to provide course exams in a distributable eBook format that would allow persistence to a cloud server was not familiar to most. General evaluations were undertaken based on the utilization of such books more as textbooks for Research, Study or Training. It is visible from the results that students predominantly use eBooks for study whereby Teachers would invest more time undertaking research and information analysis. (See Fig. 2)
In addition to the above, the query as to the types of eBooks used indicates a heavy percentage in both groups using course books and reference material. (See Fig. 3)
The advancing scope of the questions being posed in a research survey conducted in present times may suggest additional options surrounding the inclusion of material such as “Interactive Exams” and “Assessments”. It would also be prudent to categorize the types of books being read with a focus determination on the interactive state of the publication. Does it support tool features? Is it simple Text? Are there interactions and Annotations? Are there animations? Can you save data to a cloud Learning Management System?
An alternate study performed at the University of Kansas conducted in 2012 [9] suggests that print still maintains a strong foot hold, the popularity and physical nature of printed material has not lost its effect on readers.
Although research concerning eBook adoption and use is still in its infancy, a number of studies have examined predictors of eBook adoption and use. An experimental study found that reading an eBook caused greater eye fatigue and lower reading efficiency in comparison with reading a conventional book. [1]
A study performed by Christine Fyfe (2014) [28] investigates eBooks within Higher education and highlights three fundamentals to engaging eBooks for strategic learning purposes. These include but are not limited to, enhancing the student experience and academic outcomes, to drive the innovation in learning, teaching and research; and to help to use space and human resources more effectively and efficiently.
It has been proposed that there are ultimately pedagogical benefits when delivering learning content via printed media which offers an increased capacity for focus and attention, with comparative interactive eLearning content posing more of a distraction to younger learners.
Realistically it cannot be argued that eBooks do not pose significant advantages over printed media however the evolution and abandonment of printed books over digitized formats will be a sluggish process.
Ebooks and Interoperability
When considering interoperable options for eBooks one delves into the current eLearning standards in place which provide common and similar features for the array of Learning Management Systems currently available. Through evolving technologies there have been several key pioneering standards such as SCORM and IMS Global Specifications for digitizing courses and packaging lessons. The drive is for Learning Media compliance across Learning Management systems supplying solid foundations for learning media interoperability. There were initially many limitations in standards such as SCORM 1.2 for the management and tracking of user assessed material and no standard means for delivering tooling capabilities.
Consortiums such as IMS Global helped to revolutionize the delivery of Educational Tools with the release of LTI Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) in 2008 which was driven by the goal of linking content and resources to learning platforms whilst providing accessibility to many students using differing platforms at institutions worldwide. [4]
The primary purpose of LTI is to connect learning systems such as a Learning Management System (LMS) with external service tools. This standardized means is prevalent in defining what are known as an LTI Tool Consumer (The application loading the Tool) and the LTI Tool Provider (The Platform hosting the tool for delivery).
As early as 1999 however the IMS Global Consortium pioneered the specifications for Question & Test Interoperability® which defines a standard format for the representation of assessment content and results. It supports the exchange of this material between authoring and delivery systems, repositories and other learning management systems. It allows assessment materials to be authored and delivered on multiple systems interchangeably and it was purposefully designed to facilitate interoperability between systems. [3]
Crucially, these standards along with the latest version of the EPUB standard provided by the International Digital Publishing Forum, currently at version 3, have been the foundations for the specifications surrounding the EDUPUB standard.
Modern EBook Usage
The EDUPUB was announced in October 2013 and was the birth of samples provided by the International Digital Publishing Forum for the implementation and inclusion of HTML mark-up and metadata specific to reusable learning content.
Since its announcement it has grown somewhat with the name being adopted as a definitive standard for the implementation of a more advanced level of eBook publishing.
The primary concepts which differentiate and EDUPUB from the standard EPUB format are Structure and Navigation, Structural Semantics, Images, Audio, Video, Distributable Objects, Scripted Components, Annotations, Assessments, Outcomes and Analytics.
The later three items are identified as being fundamental in the EDUPUB definition schema and it is incisive to state that eBook publications are evolving perpetually beyond the scope of interactive textbooks.
Conclusions
Visually it is apparent from the current information evaluated that whereby eBook usage specifically over the last several years has grown significantly, there is still a preference for users to engage with traditional printed material. This intern impacts the inclination for utilizing digital books when researching material or undertaking academic courses.
Regardless of emerging technologies printed media still plays an important role in delivering pedagogical requirements, and it has been argued that eLearning material can disturb cognitive response growth and increase fatigue impacting the learning experience.
Needless to say there is vast scope for study in the area of complex interactive eBook delivery, the impact on student learning and the perceived benefits.
Research within the boundaries of eLearning has been ongoing for decades and the growing demands for improving student learning experience versus the learning challenges faced by students’ increases the need for further evaluation of the relationship between the user and EDU-publications assessing their impact and effectiveness towards student learning and performance.
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