The Bucky Vol.

5
Helen C. White Library
photo by Abigail Fisher

Pilot programs indicate difficulties with eTexts

being able to hear from the faculty member, but that was really it, Nelson said. The third pilot used an alternate reader, Course Smart, which focused on individual students buying eTexts for all of their classes, rather than buying for specific classes as a whole. Course Smart, in addition to being a delivery system, is also a store, which Course Load is not. We were wondering how they [students] would feel if they could get all their

he University of Wisconsin-Madison completed a series of pilot programs, researching the effectiveness of eTexts in response to the rising cost of textbooks, according to Course Content Librarian Carrie Nelson. Nelson, a specialist in copyright law and eTexts at College Library, aided in the coordination of the pilots along with a multitude of groups on campus including the Office of the Registrar, the McBurney Disability Resource Center and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. The thing we did different from other schools is that we got a pretty big group of people to talk about it, Nelson said. The pilot programs began two years ago in December when the academic research community Internet2 contacted universities to see if there was interest in organizing an eText pilot for the upcoming semester, according to Nelson. We had to have it in place for the classes in January. It was crazy fast, and only four or five schools decided to try, Nelson said. The first and second pilot programs explored the eText reader Courseload. Courseload supports shared

Course Content Librarian Carrie Nelson

photo by Abigail Fisher

note taking and allows faculty to place footnotes directly into the text. All content provided was from publisher McGraw-Hill. Campus basically bought access to four or five books for different classes, and everyone in the class had to be a part of the pilot, Nelson said. Indication of low student satisfaction was the most influential piece of data taken from the first pilot. Students were lukewarm. More students preferred print over the ebook, but said that it wasnt so bad that they wouldnt use it [an eTextbook] if it were cheap, Nelson said. The second pilot focused on Courseloads note sharing application. Nelson instructed faculty members to use and promote the various interactive capabilities within their classes. The students were not really interested in what the other students in the class were saying. They did like 1.

Students were lukewarm.

books in the same place, Nelson said. Course Smart ended up falling far short of expectations. When you look at the cost per book of that interface, it was disappointing, Nelson said. A university-wide implementation of eTextbooks doesnt seem likely in the near future. Were keeping the conversation open, but it doesnt seem to be going anywhere quickly, Nelson said.