Technology has forced changes in the role of textbooks in education, and e-books have been gaining popularity, along with standard textbook rental. Companies like Chegg rent both standard textbooks and e-textbooks, and Amazon’s Kindle Store claims students can save up to 80%, as well as designate the length of the rental.

Two of the most popular e-book readers are the Apple iPad, and the Amazon Kindle Fire. The Amazon Kindle Store offers over 1 million publications for use on both platforms, and Apple’s iBooks 2 allows students to engage in interactive material, as well as take assessments.

Advances in the online classroom have harbored a more student-oriented approach to learning, as tablet devices can be linked to projectors in the classroom setting. Also, all formerly written materials can be more easily accessed, making note-taking more efficient, and digital library research functions make student publishing easier.

With these advances comes the concern of content ownerships, copyrights and plagiarism, and it is important for educational institutions to properly manage online ethics, without getting in the way of the classroom learning process. More information can be found at Online Universities.

Via: Accredited Online Universities Guide