This August, major publishing house Macmillan will introduce new software that allows individual professors to edit digital textbooks. With the software, called DynamicBooks, professors will be able to upload syllabi, notes, videos and related materials to the digital file, but they will also be able to edit specific paragraph content, equations and diagrams. The textbooks will be completely customizable, and Macmillan will not require that professors' changes and additions be approved by the publishers or the textbook authors.
There are definite advantages to this new model of e−books. The digital textbooks available through DynamicBooks sell for much less than traditional print textbooks, sometimes by differences nearing $100, which is clearly beneficial to students who traditionally face the burden of paying exorbitant amounts for textbooks. Additionally, the e−books are all stored online, so students can read them from any computer and some mobile devices. Macmillan also plans take advantage of social media to allow students and professors to collaborate and communicate about the textbook through mediums like Facebook.com and Twitter.com.
These are all advantages related to the switch from print to digital media. DynamicBooks, however, is going beyond what other publishers, like Pearson Learning Solutions, have done with e−books. Professors using DynamicBooks will have direct editorial control over the content of the textbook and are not required to cite the sources for the changes they make. Neither the publisher nor the author of the textbook will view or approve the changes individual professors make to the content of the textbook.
Macmillan praises DynamicBooks for being completely customizable and for enabling specific tailoring to students' courses. However, there are also risks involved in giving such editorial control to individual professors. Many of the textbooks that will be available through DynamicBooks are used in large survey courses in the sciences. The idea of a survey course is to give students a general overview of and foundation in the subject. Naturally, different universities and different professors already choose to emphasize and teach different material.
However, there is definite value in using textbooks as a standard reference material for all students to confirm what they learn in lecture, especially when different professors teach the same course, because at the very least, all of the students share the information and perspective from the same textbook. Textbooks are carefully written and edited to be as clear, concise and direct as possible in their presentation of material. It is helpful for confused students to be able to reference the textbook as a different means of explaining the lecture material.
There is the additional risk that professors may change the text with biased or even false information. Additionally, a professor could accidentally miswrite a definition or make an error in a formula or equation. According to a representative for Macmillan, DynamicBooks rely solely on students, parents and other professors to monitor the changes, so students would suffer the consequences of these errors or biases. Despite professors' knowledge in the field they teach, they should not be allowed to edit textbook content without review by the publisher or the textbook author.
The field of digital textbooks opens up a huge range of possibilities for ease of use and accessibility, lowering textbook costs and supplementing course material. But given that professors already have numerous other means to reach their students and supplement the textbook material, the benefits of allowing these textbook edits do not outweigh the potential problems that it could cause. Giving individual professors unchecked editorial control over the textbook content jeopardizes the reliability of course material for students. Professors should be allowed to upload supplemental material, but not to change the actual content of the text.
