How usable are eBooks in an mLearning environment?

Lam, Paul; Lam, John; McNaught, Carmel

doi:10.1504/ijceell.2010.031645

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…A more recent study investigating the usability and usefulness of e-books in an m-learning environment indicated the following advantages for student learning: increasing access (e.g. more readings, multimedia and portable resources), enabling remote access, and optimising reading time (Lam, Lam, and McNaught 2010). Whalley (2010) argues that there will be an increasing use of e-books by students on and off campus, given the financial pressures faced by all UK higher education institutions and the tuition fees paid by students.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do e-book readers enhance learning opportunities for distance work-based learners?

Nie

Armellini

Witthaus

et al. 2011

Research in Learning Technology

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We report on the incorporation of e-book readers into the delivery of two distancetaught master's programmes in Occupational Psychology (OP) and one in Education at the University of Leicester, UK. The programmes attract work-based practitioners in OP and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, respectively. Challenges in curriculum delivery included the need for more flexibility in the curricula, better access to essential readings and maximising the benefit of learners' limited study time. As part of a suite of pilot changes to curriculum design and delivery, 28 Sony PRS-505™ e-book readers were preloaded with course materials and sent out to students. The evidence suggests that the students' learning experiences improved as a result of four key benefits afforded by the e-book readers: enhanced flexibility in curriculum delivery to accommodate the mobile lifestyle of our learners, improved efficiency in the use of study time, especially short breaks during the working day, new strategies for reading course materials and cost. We discuss the opportunities and limitations associated with the e-book readers used and the challenges encountered in the study.Keywords: e-book reader; distance learning; work-based learning; m-learning; flexibility; innovation Introduction This paper reports a study of the incorporation of e-book readers into the curriculum delivery of two distance-taught master's programmes in Occupational Psychology (OP) and one in Education at the University of Leicester, UK. We discuss how e-book readers were used on work-based distance learning courses at the University of Leicester to address some of the challenges faced by learners on the three programmes.An e-book reader is an electronic device designed primarily for reading digital files such as electronic books (e-books). It is smaller, lighter and cheaper than a small laptop computer or netbook and uses black-and-white e-ink technology, as opposed to an LCD or backlit screen. Storage capacity and functionalities such as wireless connectivity and annotation features vary between models. The model used in this research was the Sony PRS-505™. Other examples of e-book readers include the Amazon Kindle™ and the Sony Pocket™. In the light of earlier research, we evaluate the potential of e-book readers for work-based distance learners. We show how the e-book readers were integrated into the three curricula and describe the process that led to the production and loading of materials. We present our research methods and discuss our key findings in terms of the potential and limitations of e-book readers as a learning technology for delivering content for work-based distance learning programmes at master's level. BackgroundMobile technology for work-based learning Work-based learning plays an important role in meeting the demand for increasing the employability of university graduates (Clamp and Warr 2002;Hills et al. 2003). Most higher education institutions already have work-based learners as a vital segment of their target audience in the...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do e-book readers enhance learning opportunities for distance work-based learners?

Nie

Armellini

Witthaus

et al. 2011

Research in Learning Technology

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“…• Multitask (Broadhurst & Watson, 2012), that is, to read, listen to music, chat with a friend and surf the Internet at the same time (Stone & Baker-Eveleth, 2013). However, whether multitasking benefits the reader is questionable (Jeong, 2012;Lam, Lam, & McNaught, 2010). • Provide a multimedia experience with audio, video (Jeong, 2012;Nelson, 2008;Rockley, 2011), and animation (Heting, 2003) in addition to the text and graphics that characterize printed books.…”

Section: Reading Habitsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Users perceive that e-books offer a general convenience (Lam, Lam, & McNaught, 2010;Williams & Dittmer, 2009) over printed books. Digging deeper, researchers identified several characteristics that could contribute to positive perceptions of e-books, including:…”

Section: Conveniencementioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring Perceptions of E-Books Among CEGEP Students and Faculty | Exploration des perceptions relatives aux livres électroniques chez les étudiants et enseignants au cégep

Chen¹,

Carliner²,

Martínez³

et al. 2019

CJLT / RCAT

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Because they are believed to be able to lower the costs of an education, e-books have been factored into the technology plans for community colleges and CEGEPs during the current decade. But adoption is a function of perceptions, which this study explored: (1) General perceptions of the CEGEP (collège d'enseignement général et professionnel, a community college-like institution in Quebec) students and faculty towards e-books and (2) the factors that drive those perceptions. Previous studies found that users generally had neutral and positive impressions of e-books and that the following factors drive overall perceptions of e-books: (a) previous experience, (b) reading preferences and tasks; (c) reading habits; (d) convenience; (e) costs; and (f) ownership issues. A survey of the 2,260 faculty and students at a CEGEP in Quebec was conducted, with 247 students and 19 faculty responding. Results indicated wide awareness of e-books and at least some experience with them. Results validated that previous experience drove perceptions, that printed materials generally had more credibility than digital ones (this was more pronounced for books), that many students read online but do not take notes when doing so, users perceive e-books to be more convenient than printed ones, that e-books become attractive when their price is 50% that of print, and that most users think that they own e-textbooks even though most publishers merely rent e-textbooks. The results suggest adoption barriers beyond technology and general perceptions that need to be addressed to increase general use and that designers of zero-cost (Z-degrees or Zed-Cred) degrees should consider.Parce qu’on croit qu’ils peuvent diminuer les coûts associés à l’éducation, les livres électroniques ont été pris en compte dans les plans technologiques des collèges communautaires et des cégeps au cours de la dernière décennie. L’adoption, cependant, est fonction des perceptions, que la présente étude a explorées : (1) perceptions générales des étudiants et enseignants du cégep (collège d’enseignement général et professionnel) quant aux livres électroniques et (2) facteurs qui motivent ces perceptions. Des études antérieures avaient conclu que les utilisateurs avaient des impressions neutres et positives sur les livres électroniques, et que les facteurs suivants déterminaient les perceptions globales quant aux livres électroniques : (a) expérience préalable, (b) préférences et tâches de lecture, (c) habitudes de lecture, (d) commodité, (e) coût et (f) questions de propriété. Un sondage de 2260 étudiants et enseignants d’un cégep québécois a été réalisé, et des réponses ont été obtenues de 247 étudiants et 19 membres du corps professoral. Les résultats ont indiqué une vaste conscience de l’existence des livres électroniques et, à tout le moins, une certaine expérience avec eux. Les résultats ont confirmé que l’expérience préalable déterminait les perceptions, que les documents imprimés ont en général une plus grande crédibilité que les documents numériques (cela était plus prononcé pour les livres), que de nombreux étudiants lisent en ligne, mais sans prendre de notes, que les utilisateurs perçoivent les livres électroniques comme étant plus pratiques que les livres imprimés, que les livres électroniques deviennent attrayants quand leur prix est à 50 % du prix de l’imprimé, et que la plupart des usagers croient posséder leurs manuels électroniques, même si la plupart des éditeurs ne font que les louer. Les résultats suggèrent qu’il existe des obstacles à l’adoption autres que la technologie et les perceptions générales, qu’il faudrait régler pour augmenter l’utilisation générale et dont les concepteurs de programmes sans frais devraient tenir compte.

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“…First, e-textbooks can display various digital resources, such as digital texts, photos, animations, simulations, videos, audio and other resources Shepperd et al 2008;Woody et al 2010). Second, e-textbooks can support learning with some basic text functions such as highlighting, annotating, searching, bookmarking, referring and editing Lam et al 2010;McFall et al 2006;Woody et al 2010). These functions make the usage of e-textbooks more convenient.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Besides, the contents can be easily updated by publishers, and the functionality allows students to access the latest knowledge at any time and in any place (Brusilovsky et al, 2004). Third, e-textbooks provide students an easy access to Internet resources (such as websites and online quizzes) Lam et al 2010;Nelson & Webb, 2007;Woody et al 2010). This feature also enables teachers to easily assign relevant materials to students according to the students' levels (Brusilovsky et al, 2004;Nelson & Webb, 2007;Everett, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research on teachers’ needs when using e-textbooks in teaching

Lin

Liu

Kinshuk

2015

Smart Learn. Environ.

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The major purposes of this study were to understand teachers' definitions of e-textbooks, to identify teachers' needs when using e-textbooks and to explore the relationships between teachers' needs of using e-textbooks and teachers' attributes. To achieve these major purposes, an open questionnaire was proposed to experts to obtain their requirements of using e-textbooks. A needs of using e-textbooks perception scale (NUEPS) was then constructed based on teacher interview results, the literature review and the results of the open questionnaire mentioned above. In the formal study, 378 elementary and secondary school teachers were selected to complete NUEPS, and the reliability and validity of the scale were checked. The results indicated that the teachers' needs when using e-textbooks comprised three factors: (1) to support teaching activities (STA); (2) to support reading and presentation (SRP); and (3) to support learning activities and parental interaction (LAPI). Besides, the findings of the study showed that the Taiwanese school teachers' perceptions of using e-textbooks were positive in average. There were no significant differences in terms of gender and age, but there were differences regarding teachers' school level, and application experience in both the STA and SRP sub-dimensions. The results of this study can be used to offer a better understanding of teachers' needs of using e-textbooks, and to help novice teachers' application in e-textbook.

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How usable are eBooks in an mLearning environment?

Cited by 12 publications

References 9 publications

How do e-book readers enhance learning opportunities for distance work-based learners?

How do e-book readers enhance learning opportunities for distance work-based learners?

Exploring Perceptions of E-Books Among CEGEP Students and Faculty | Exploration des perceptions relatives aux livres électroniques chez les étudiants et enseignants au cégep

Research on teachers’ needs when using e-textbooks in teaching

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