Learning Enhancement or Headache: Faculty and E-Textbooks

The availability of e-textbooks is increasing along with the variety of electronic readers. According to the “2010 Horizon Report,” adoption of this technology will be widespread in academia in two to three years as it will “... reduce costs, save students from carrying pounds of textbooks and contribute to the environmental efforts...” (Johnson, Levine, Smith, & Stone, 2010, p.6). Will etextbooks become favored by faculty in higher education? This paper will examine the benefits and limitations of etextbooks and the attitudes of faculty and students towards using this radical alternative to the centuries-old standard of education. An exploratory case study of faculty attitudes and usages of e-textbooks at a small liberal arts university was performed.