My first e-textbook experience: Big disappointment from Pearson

(Teleread, By Ficbot)

I’ve just had my first e-textbook experience, and if this is what the future of e-books in education looks like, color me disappointed.

The course is an on-line summer credit offered by a somewhat local university. I have taken one such course every summer for the last three years to add various teachables to my teaching credentials, and in the past, the course has consisted of the following:

• A print textbook.
• An online forum with an organizer listing the schedule of readings, discussion questions for them, etc., and a message board to talk about them
• A “lecture” for each section of the course which could be read on-line or cut and pasted to a word file
• A section of Internet links to other websites or readings

This course had an “e-book” option where one could pay on a sliding scale to get a) a print book and “access” the e-version b) only a print book c) only the e-version “access.” I suppose the word ‘access’ should have clued me in that this was not a PDF or some-such, but I was just so excited not to have to deal with the clutter of a paper copy (and to save the $20 more plus shipping that the deluxe “e-book plus paper copy” would cost) that I didn’t investigate the situation more carefully.

I came to regret this. If the e-book system used by this course is any way becoming the “standard,” then e-books have no way of conquering the mainstream educational market.

The”’e-book” was compiled by a site called Pearson Educational Media. One can access the “e-book” by setting up an account with them and logging in. From here, I thought I would get a PDF, perhaps with a password, but what I instead got was a Macromedia Flashpaper document. There was no facility to download the text as a file so it could be read on a mobile device. There was no facility to cut and paste the text into a word processor to make your own file to read on a mobile device. You could not even use the arrow keys to read easily off the screen; you needed a mouse so you could move down the hand or click on the arrows. You could print the book to paper. That was the only real “functionality” you had beyond sitting in front of your computer and clicking with the mouse.

There were some other usability concerns. Our on-line postings to the message board required that we respond in such a way as to prove we had done the readings. But there was no cut and paste! So if you had the e-book open in one window and the message board open in another, and you wanted to quote a line or two, you would have to switch back and forth between the two windows and manually type in every word! It’s ridiculous. I still think cutting and pasting the whole shebang into Word so I could read it on my Sony is fair and should be permitted, but you could persuade me why this might not be allowed. But two lines, to put into my message board post? I can’t do that? Piracy of three-year-old journal articles from educational trade magazines is such an issue? Why even have an e-book if you have to type it in from scratch anyway?

Here was another issue: the search box. It seemed to work fine for standard text—plain, simple, less formatted stuff that seemed to come from textbook chapters. But it could not make sense of anything formatted (such as call-out boxes from scanned magazine articles) or anything that wasn’t just regular, basic text. One particularly vital chapter seemed to be scanned from an older book, and there was a lot of ’static’ on the page. The whole chapter was unreadable by the search function. Every time I wanted to refer to it, I had to manually scroll back and find what I was looking for. And of course, once I found it, I had to juggle two windows back and forth while I manually retyped whatever word or phrase I wanted…

So what did my $35 get me? “Access” to a website (for the duration of the course only) that pretty much lets me look, but not touch. No ability to download to my mobile device. No ability to cut and paste even two words from one browser window into another. Limited ability to search for parts I want read later, the usefulness dependent on whether the parts important to me have the fortune to be recognized by the program as actual words. And if I want to keep any of it after the course is done, only a print button and a pile of papers, just like in the old days. This is progress?

At minimum, we should have a PDF we can download and read off-line, and the ability when reading off the OC to copy/paste even in a limited way. Better still would be if they took the raw scans, run them through an OCR program and left us with text we could actually search and bookmark. I would not “buy” another textbook under a scheme such as the current one. I hate reading lengthy documents off a computer screen and need to be able to download it for off-line, off-computer use. And an e-book that a) requires you to print it in order to read it later b) does not let you copy even a snippet from one browser window to another c) only sometimes allows you to search through text as if they were actual words is barely an e-book at all.

The Summer of E-books

Ditto Book Digital Reading Device Hits the Market

By Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 7/6/2009 7:49:00 AM

With the release of the newest handheld digital reading device, the awkwardly named Ditto Book (Digital Interface Total Text Organizer), this has truly become the summer of the e-book reader.

The Ditto Book is a nonwireless e-book reading device that looks a bit like the Amazon Kindle 2 but has a price ($249) that’s more like that of the Cool-ER, a similar nonwireless e-reading device that debuted at BookExpo America this year. (The Amazon Kindle 2 sells for $359.) Like the Kindle, The Ditto Book has a 6-inch black & white e-ink screen; long battery life and can read both text and PDF as well as play MP3 sound files. On the other hand, like the Cool-ER, the Ditto Book offers an expandable SD card slot that kicks its memory up to 2 GB of storage.

Most importantly, unlike the Kindle, the Ditto Book supports epub format titles, the industry's open e-publishing format standard and the format in which most e-books will be published going forward. In addition the Ditto Book is not a wireless device and users will need a computer and USB connection to move their e-books onto the device after downloading them to a laptop or desktop computer.

Although Amazon’s Kindle dominates part of the e-book marketplace, it seems that more companies are planning to target this sector of the market with black & white reading devices priced to undercut the Kindle. The Ditto Book is just the latest dedicated handheld reading device targeting this sector and it certainly won’t be the last. Companies like Plastic Logic are planning to offer their own black and white devices to a market that includes a range of devices that can used for reading, such as the Sony Reader, mobile phones (with high res screens and full color display for roughly the same price); and lesser known wireless and nonwireless b&w reading devices like the DRS series of devices from iRex Technologies or even the forthcoming full-featured CrunchPad. And you can bet there are even more devices offering similar functionality and similar prices on the way.

Preparing to Sell E-Books, Google Takes on Amazon

By MOTOKO RICH

Google appears to be throwing down the gauntlet in the e-book market.

In discussions with publishers at the annual BookExpo convention in New York over the weekend, Google signaled its intent to introduce a program by that would enable publishers to sell digital versions of their newest books direct to consumers through Google. The move would pit Google against Amazon.com, which is seeking to control the e-book market with the versions it sells for its Kindle reading device.

Google’s move is likely to be welcomed by publishers who have expressed concerns about the possibility that Amazon will dominate the market for e-books with its aggressive pricing strategy. Amazon offers Kindle editions of most new best-sellers for $9.99, a price far lower than the typical $26 at which publishers sell new hardcovers. In early discussions, Google has said it would allow publishers to set a suggested retail price, but that it would set the ultimate consumer price.

“Clearly, any major company coming into the e-book space, providing that we are happy with the pricing structure, the selling price and the security of the technology, will be a welcome addition,” said David Young, chief executive of Hachette Book Group, which publishes blockbuster authors like James Patterson, Stephenie Meyer and Nicholas Sparks.

Google’s e-book retail program would be separate from the company’s settlement with authors and publishers over its book-scanning project, under which Google has scanned more than seven million volumes from several university libraries. A majority of those books are out of print.

The settlement, which is the focus of a Justice Department inquiry about the antitrust implications and is also subject to court review, provides for a way for Google to sell digital access to the scanned volumes.

And Google has already made its 1.5 million public-domain books available for reading on mobile phones as well as the Sony Reader, the Kindle’s largest competitor.

Under the new program, publishers give Google digital files of new and other in-print books. Already on Google, users can search up to about 20 percent of the content of those books and can follow links from Google to online retailers like Amazon.com and the Web site of Barnes & Noble to buy either paper or electronic versions of the books. But Google is now proposing to allow users to buy those digital editions direct from Google.

Google has discussed such plans with publishers before, but it has now committed the company to going live with the project by the end of 2009. In a presentation at BookExpo, Tom Turvey, director of strategic partnerships at Google, added the phrase: “This time we mean it.”

Although Google generates a majority of its revenue from ad sales on its search pages, it has previously charged for content. Three years ago, it opened a Google video store, and sold digital recordings of N.B.A. games as well as episodes of television shows like “CSI” and “The Brady Bunch.” This year, Google said it might eventually charge for premium content on YouTube.

Mr. Turvey said that with books, Google planned to sell readers online access to digital versions of various titles. When offline, Mr. Turvey said, readers would still be able to access their electronic books in cached versions on their browsers.

Publishers briefed on the plans at BookExpo said they were not sure yet how the technology would work, but were optimistic about the new program.

Mr. Turvey said Google’s program would allow consumers to read books on any device with Internet access, including mobile phones, rather than being limited to dedicated reading devices like the Amazon Kindle. “We don’t believe that having a silo or a proprietary system is the way that e-books will go,” he said.

He said that publishers would be allowed to set list prices but that Google would price the e-books for consumers. Amazon also lets publishers set wholesale prices and then establishes its own prices for consumers. In selling e-books at $9.99, Amazon effectively takes a loss on each sale because publishers generally charge booksellers about half the list price of a hardcover ­ typically, around $13 or $14.

Mr. Turvey said that Google would probably allow publishers to charge consumers the same price for digital editions as they do for new hardcover versions. He said Google would reserve the right to adjust prices that it deemed “exorbitant.”

Pearson Answers Schwarzenegger’s Call for E-Textbooks

(By Craig Morgan Teicher -- Publishers Weekly, 6/18/2009)

Last week, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed replacing school textbooks with e-books in order to help plug a state budget gap. Now, textbook giant Pearson has responded with digital content to supplement California’s programs in biology, chemistry, algebra 2, and geometry.

In a statement made recently, Schwarzenegger said, “Kids are feeling as comfortable with their electronic devices as I was with my pencils and crayons. So why are California’s school students still forced to lug around antiquated, heavy, expensive textbooks?” But easing the strain on students’ backs was not the Governor’s main reason for putting out a call to developers to create electronic textbooks. The current budget gap in the state is estimated at $28 billion.

Peter Cohen, Pearson’s CEO of North America school curriculum business, said, “We believe it is important to take these forward steps toward an online delivery system and we are supporting the Governor’s initiative, recognizing there are numerous challenges ahead for the education community to work through,” including “how we ensure that low income and disadvantaged students receive equal access to technology; how we address the needs of English language learners; and how we protect the intellectual property rights of content and technology creators to support future investment and innovation.”

According to the official Web site for California’s Free Digital Textbook Initiative, e-books must “approach or equal a full course of study and must be downloadable.” The site also offers instructions and links for publishers of e-books to submit books for consideration for use in California schools.

Pearson is the first major company to respond to Schwarzenegger’s initiative, which garnered an array of responses from the media, from speculation in the U.K. that others will imitate the project, to others who point out that e-books in school are not more environmentally friendly than print textbooks.

McGraw-Hill Education Announces Digital Initiative

Programs will cultivate critical thinking and teach students ways to use the Internet for problem-solving

By Lynn Andriani -- Publishers Weekly, 6/16/2009 8:04:00 AM

McGraw-Hill Education today announced the creation of its Center for Digital Innovation, a research and development center that will focus on bringing technology to elementary and secondary classrooms. The Center will be led by McGraw-Hill Education’s team of former teachers, engineers and software developers.

The Center, in Bothell, Wash., is developing digital platforms that are customized by state standards, district requirements, and individual teacher and student needs. The Center’s digital platforms will allow teachers to quickly assess a student’s proficiency level, so that teachers can alter their instruction based on the needs of each student. Programs will cultivate critical thinking and teach students ways to use the Internet for problem-solving.

Programs will address literacy, mathematics and science. Today, the Center launched two new products that will be available in August for the new school year: CINCH Project, a collection of Web 2.0 tools for collaborative learning projects, with a community-based Web site where teachers and students create digital profiles and participate in group activities; and Planet Turtle, a K-3 social network where children can interact with their peers by developing online animal-based character avatars and completing learning “challenges” that progress as their skills improve.

While college publishers are rapidly moving into digital publishing, there has been less activity at the elhi level, something MHE hopes to address with the Center. Terry McGraw, chairman, president and CEO of the McGraw-Hill Companies, said, “Our programs will be the first to create offerings based on how students use technology to bridge the gap between digital socialization and digital learning. This will help teachers, parents and students to unite around the goals of fostering growth and development; creating richer, more involved methods of learning; and more effectively addressing issues that arise.”

"Giving It Away": When Free E-books Work and When They Don't

(Book Business, By Noelle Skodzinski)

More U.S. adults had read an e-book (15 percent) than had actually paid for an e-book this year, according to Michael Norris, senior analyst at Simba Information, based on the results of a recent Simba study called, "Trade E-book Publishing 2009."

Norris moderated a session at BookExpo called, "Giving It Away: Balancing a Sustainable Publishing Model While Discovering the Rewards of Free."

Peter Balis, director of digital content sales for John Wiley & Sons, and Brent Lewis, vice president, digital and Internet at Harlequin Enterprises, shared their experiences with free e-book efforts and their insights into the place for free e-books in a publisher's business model.

Balis, whose responsibilities span both nonfiction and trade publishing, said that this year, for the time, "thanks to mobile devices," trade titles sold more in e-book form than scientific, technical, medical and scholarly (STMS) titles—sales through "a consumer-facing retailer superseded Wiley's largest library wholesaler," he said. "That's very significant because it shows, for us, a migration from research-based [usage] to consumer [usage]. It follow our traditional best-seller list now."

Overall, Balis said, "When we explore free offerings at Wiley, we have to do so in light of our profit," he said. The company has found that "free does not cannibalize paid; free does not dilute brand; and free has some purpose," whether for marketing, public relations, or to upsell or generate traffic and/or sales/revenue on Web sites. (Wiley's online business model is a bit different than most publishers, however, as revenue from Wiley's Web sites is based on advertising, not book sales, said Balis.)

Balis discussed a few examples of the company's free e-book efforts—for Frommers.com and CliffsNotes.com. "Both are standalone, successful businesses," he said. "Any content on the site is there for these businesses' profitability."

The company, therefore, has been careful to ensure that free will not cannibalize print sales, he said. On Frommers.com, free content is "sectioned off," or served by segment, theme or destination, not by chapter or in a complete digital facsimile of print content. For example, said Balis, a search for content on accommodations or restaurants in Paris would produce a relevant chapter from a book, "but you can't read [the book] in its full form," he said.

Free content also is presented in a way that site visitors must click through multiple pages while reading, which Balis said "allows us to monetize other areas of content and create opportunities for advertising."

The lesson learned from this example, said Balis, "Is that despite offering free content in complete, but not identical form, Frommer's is the No. 1 travel site in its category and maintains its market share in travel books."

Cliffs Notes, which generally sell for $5.99 in print form, he said, are still a very successful print program for Wiley. On CliffsNotes.com, "any student can read a book in complete digital form," he notes. But, says Balls, "we find we sell the downloadable [PDF] form." In fact, 25 percent of those who view the free content convert to paid readers, paying $5.99 for a downloadable PDF. The key, suggests Balis, is the portability of the downloadable PDFs; students want something they can "take with them," he said. The bulk of orders are placed late at night when students "can't wait for the print version."

Overall, Wiley has "archived digitally the first chapter of every book, online only, non-downloadable," and a 15-page preview is offered on Wiley.com. The company also has explored (but not yet participated in) content-sharing sites such as Scribd, but said Balis, "We are cautious about our content. We want to take advantage of legitimate viral aspects, but these sites are also aiding in pirated distrubution of content."

Balis noted one example where offering content for free did not work so well. The author of "The Truth About Cheating" (M. Gary Neuman) wanted to offer his book for free on the Amazon Kindle for one week coinciding with his appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

"The book did well, but not as well as it should [have]," said Balis. "There's no question that one week [of] free download cannibalized sales." The one-week period was just too long, he noted.

Balis offered a word of caution for other publishers: Free e-books have to have some hook to a causal relationship, either by metrics and traffic increase or an upsell to future products.

Wiley is now exploring offering backlist titles for free to upsell an author's new title, as well as a "try-before-you-buy environment" for mobile.

"Be careful about how you use [free content], but don't be skittish," he said.

Lewis said that Harlequin has been doing free promotions for decades, and this year has a significant free e-book and print-book giveaway effort in conjunction with the company's 60th anniversary. The goal, he said, is "to increase awareness of our brand and the amount [and scope] of content we publish." To this end, he said, their efforts have been successful.

"I think it's really important to define the business objective of why you're giving it away free and how it's going to help your business," he said.

"The interesting thing about digital sampling," he noted, "is that a lot of people download the digital book, but don't read the whole thing; they read the first chapter and then go buy [the book]."

The key, said Lewis, is: "Make sure it's measurable—define success. What is success for you and can you track it?"

Google Promises Publishers (And Amazon) Will Sell E-Books In 2009

(paidcontent.org; By Staci D. Kramer - Sun 31 May 2009)

Nothing says we’re not a monopoly like trying to break up another perceived stranglehold. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) plans to enter the commercial e-book business this year—and, unlike Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN), apparently plays to let publishers set prices, according to The New York Times. The program would be separate from the recent book-scanning settlement. Piecing together conversations Google held with publishers at the BookExpo in New York with a presentation made by Tom Turvey, director of strategic partnerships at Google, the NYT reports:

—Publishers could set their own prices and probably would be allowed to charge as much as they do for hardcovers but Google would retain the right to lower “exorbitant” rates. Amazon sets its own prices, buying wholesale and taking a loss on some to keep the usual price for hardcover equivalents at $9.99

—Publishers still aren’t sure how the direct-to-consumer sales would work but Turvey told them the company is committed to making it happen by the end of 2009: “This time we mean it.”

—Readers would gain online access to digital titles but also would retain access offline through cached versions in browsers. (This sounds like a job for Google Gears, the sync manager which is not the most stable app in my experience. It’s the app most likely to crash in Google Chrome for me so far.)

—Access would not be limited to certain devices but would require internet access.

Motoko Rich goes pretty far for a news piece with the flat-out claim that Amazon “is seeking to control the e-book market.” Dominate, I can see, but control suggests the M word and Amazon isn’t close to that.