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"Key Takeaways This single-class study sought to evaluate technology-enhanced student engagement by comparing the experiences of students using only an e-textbook with the experiences of those using only a standard textbook. Students were surveyed throughout the course, and more than 80 percent of the iPad users reported they "loved" using it and wanted to use it in future courses. Contrary to students' assumptions both before and after iPad use, however, students using the technology did not perform better than those using the standard textbook."

"Hartnell and his team aim to harness a web-based platform, using the standardized Web language of HTML5, to create e-books as an alternative to private proprietary formats like Kindle and iBook."

"Textbooks are a thing of the past, says the common wisdom. Well, the common wisdom of the Technorati maybe. The problem with that thinking is that the number one publisher in the world is Pearson, a textbook publisher, who brought in $7.75 billion in 2009. Pearson, as Tim Carmody noted in a January Wired article, owns 50 percent of the Financial Times, as well as the number two trade house: Penguin. The second largest textbook publisher, McGraw-Hill, owns Standard and Poor's. To say textbooks are big business is like saying bullets are ouchie."

"A typical college student spends up to $1,000 per year on textbooks, and many students don't buy textbooks at all because they're too expensive. E-textbooks can cost up to 50 percent less than standard textbooks while providing the foundation for integration of multiple learning resources into a single delivery system. E-textbooks and their enhanced interactive learning resources also have the potential to accelerate student learning."

Argues for its timeliness. Accessibility might be the biggest .edu win.