With most of Trine’s Professional Studies students in their mid-20s to early-30s, Wood said shifting to a brand new way of learning could be more challenging than it would be in a program with teenage students, although any group of college students would have a share of critics.
“Most of that [hesitation] comes from fear of, ‘What does this mean for me? Am I going to be able to handle the technology,’” he said. “We just want to make them feel comfortable with the new technology … and I think fear of change is big with adult students.”
Wood, who headed the distance education program at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne from 2001-07, said the economics of eTextbooks could sway some skeptical students into embracing the technology.
Trine students will save about 75 percent on textbook costs with the CafeScribe program, Wood said, and other parts of the university could soon adopt the eBooks as well.
“It’s student demand,” he said. “They want the cost to go down and they want more interaction and flexibility.”
The massive cost savings – especially as textbook costs skyrocket – could be a selling point for Trine and other institutions, but a survey released last fall suggests eTextbooks have an uphill climb before hardcover books are replaced on campus.
- Research: Social media has negative impact on academic performance - April 2, 2020
- Number 1: Social media has negative impact on academic performance - December 31, 2014
- 6 reasons campus networks must change - September 30, 2014