1. eTextbooks: A New Way Forward
UKSG April, 2013

2. Introductions
Becky Hartnup
Head of Marketing and Institutional Sales
becky.hartnup@coursesmart.com
Laura Annis
Sales Manager
laura.annis@coursesmart.com
Slide 2

3. Agenda
• Higher Education: a challenging environment
• Overview of CourseSmart
• Exploring new approaches: 4 examples
– ePUB 3 – Rich media interactive textbooks
– Integration
– Analytics
– Flexible business models
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4. Higher Education:
A Challenging Environment

5. Higher Education: A challenging environment
Managing changing technologies
Proliferation of devices
UK HE structural changes
Increased competition
Students considering choices
Students demanding more
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6. Higher Education: New digital tools
Recruitment
Retention
Satisfaction (NSS)
Learning preferences
Learning outcomes

7. Students are changing
Use their own device for course reading
Would do all/most of their reading online
Feel this helps them learn better
Expect most online course material to be free
Data taken from NUS/CourseSmart research 2012
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8. CourseSmart:
An overview

9. About CourseSmart
A publisher agnostic platform launched in in the US in 2007 by Higher Education publishers.
International office and team set up in 2012 serving Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA)
Presence based around www.coursesmart.co.uk
Three key services offered:
1) Institutional eTextbook platform, for students and faculty
2) Online eTextbook inspection copy service for faculty
3) Online direct and indirect ecommerce for students

10. CourseSmart = Real portability
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11. CourseSmart: what makes us different?
Individual access to textbooks
An alternative model for texts that have a high level of engagement and usage: core course
material. Students use their own copy differently: a combination of ongoing access and
immediate availability (not just discoverability)
Accessible eReader compatible with screen reading technologies
Focused only on Higher Education
Not targeting mainstream consumer books. An offering tailored for teaching and learning.
Focus on institutional delivery: integration with existing systems, innovative features:
analysis tools
eReader oriented to higher education use:
Bookshelf oriented, log-into it from anywhere, any device
Search, notes, bookmarks, highlighting, print & copy
Page fidelity with the physical book
‘Caching’ replaces file downloading, avoids complex DRM issues
Rich media, interactivity supported (EPUB3), where publisher supplies
Web based textbook eReader
No need to download software or content. Account based: log in and access your
eBookshelf, texts and notes. As easy as Facebook. Works on any device with a web
browser: dedicated iPad reader
Customer Services
24/7 customer services. Online chat, email and UK freephone number, so students and
faculty can get support any time of day or night.

12. Optimised for eTextbooks and eLearning
Single page,
Hotlinked table Side by side or Multi level Print Navigate by
of contents Thumbnail zoom page number
view
Bookmark
Search
inside
Make notes,
copy and
highlight

13. eTextbooks:
4 examples of New Approaches

14. The Interactive eReader:
Enables delivery of more innovative
content

15. Evolution to the Interactive Reader (EPUB3)
iPhone App
2009 iPad App
2010 Android App Universal
2011 Reader
2012
Interactive Reader
Today
Mobile
Browser Based Reader 2.0
Desktop / Laptop Online/Offline 2012
Separate Platforms 2011
2008
15
Confidential

16. Integration:
Improving Efficiency and User Experience

17. Integrating for efficiency and user experience
• The CourseSmart eTextbook platform enables universities to integrate core
textbook content into existing systems such as a VLE or reading list
solution.
• Seamless access through single sign on means no lost passwords – and
no need for students and instructors to ‘leave their bubble’
• Instructors and administrators can build links into a module or assignment
• Links take students to the correct chapter or page of their own book –
complete with any notes they made earlier
• Administrators benefit from efficiencies: procurement is quick and easy,
with no print copies to manage
• Content is made available based on VLE ‘roles’:
– students see assigned texts
– lecturers receive free access to the catalogue
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18. CourseSmart: VLE integration, instructor
1. Institutional

19. CourseSmart: VLE integration, student
Student follows link from VLE to open the book in the eReader in the browser
Access by student can have a free period during Add/Transfer/Drop with publisher consent
All student accessed managed centrally, and monitored through analytics

20. Integration Enables
Flexible Business Models

21. Integration supports flexible purchasing models
Who pays?
Institution pays, student pay, institution part-pays
Scalability?
How small can I start? Distance Learners? Learners with print disabilities.
Enterprise-wide solutions. Pilots then roll out. Stand alone then integration.
Flexibility of rental periods?
Short and Fat or Long and Thin. Multi-year. Renewals. Perpetual access.
Flexibility of purchase models?
No forced bundles. Flexible models enabled by integration:
Firm price based on student enrolment numbers
Projected price based actual uptake of eTextbooks – but with a cap
Institution subsidises student purchase
Subscription models where students can dip in to a range of titles
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22. Educause and CourseSmart Subscriptions Pilot 2013
The Spring 2013 pilot is the latest in a series of efforts to provide campuses an opportunity
to explore, evaluate, and advance the transition from traditional media models, including
text books, to electronic platforms.
Like its predecessors, the pilot has two principal goals:
•to continue to advance the higher education community’s understanding of online
materials, and what is necessary for them to attain and surpass the effectiveness,
accessibility, economy, and other relevant outcomes associated with traditional textbooks,
and
•to explore innovative business models, terms, and conditions that make access to digital
educational materials more flexible, economical, efficient, and simple for institutions and
publishers alike.
•The pilot is explicitly experimental: the options are far from a complete set, and we do not
expect the pilot packages to cover all circumstances. The point is not to demonstrate
proven approaches, but rather to learn from early efforts what works and doesn’t work.
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23. Overview of Subscriptions Pilot
Period Jan-June 2013
Value Proposition Value and convenience
Broad access to large catalogue
Max # of Books on eBookshelf 12
Duration of access 5 months
Price per student $249
Swap Restriction Book can be swapped out of eBookshelf after 30
days
Eligible Products eTextbooks Only
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24. A wide range of experiences
Factors influencing student redemption and usage:
Manual vs integrated Start date
Faculty engagement Communication efforts
Relative importance of the text Subject?
Joined up project management Training
% of codes average page maximum
Start date redeemed views page views
Title A October 94 254 1156
Title B November 73 405 1803
Title C January 30 127 532
Title D February 25 94 734
Data compiled by CourseSmart, April 2013 from UK and European sales and pilots. A total of 498
students from multiple universities.
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25. Integration enables
Analytics

26. CourseSmart : Analytics
• Launched at EDUCAUSE 2012, being beta tested in US
• Available where CourseSmart is integrated with VLE e.g. Blackboard
• Based on actual usage data of the books on the platform, provides institution
with key key student engagement metrics:
– Improves Return for Assigned Course Materials: enables more informed
decisions about course materials through assessment of eTextbook usage
and engagement
– Supports Student Retention Goals - provides early indication student
engagement levels to ensure students do not fall behind and ultimately drop
out.
– Helps Faculty Improve Student Success - summarizes actionable
insights to help improve student performance in class.
• Currently in beta, wider roll out Q3 2013
• Operates at university administrator and teaching faculty levels
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27. CourseSmart Analytics
• Provides insights based on
eTextbook usage statistics
• CourseSmart Engagement Index TM
summarizes activity
• Analytics can be embedded in
– Campus technology systems
like portals or LMS for faculty
– Publisher CRM systems for
tracking opened sample use
– Executive dashboards used
to measure eBook
effectiveness
27
Confidential

28. Questions

29. Questions and insights
• iPads or bring your own device
• Connecting with social media
• Sharing notes – how far?
• Other internal systems
• Distance learning and multi-campus
• Non traditional students?
• Analytics and feedback
• Faculty engagement
• How institutions measure cost and benefits?
• Joined up thinking in Universities?
Recruitment, retention, satisfaction,
learning preferences, learning outcomes
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