Digital Course Materials

Here you'll find articles detailing new developments in the area of e-textbooks, open educational resources and other digital course materials, along with stories about institutions adopting them.


closeup of hands typing on laptop

Cengage Adds Free Password Management to Subscription Service

Cengage is now offering free password management for users of its Cengage Unlimited textbook subscription service.

stack of open textbooks

Rental Textbook Usage on the Rise as New/Used Pricing Flutters

Alongside a report from the National Association of College Stores on declining costs for course material, another source for tracking down college textbooks has released its own data, suggesting that textbook pricing isn't necessarily on the slide.

Combined spending on course materials, tech and school supplies

Report: Student Spending on College Course Materials in Decline

For the first time in a long time, combined spending over the academic year on course materials, technology and school supplies came in under $1,000, according to a recent survey by the National Association of College Stores.

college student holding textbooks

Austin Peay Tests Day One Access to E-Books

This summer, Tennessee’s Austin Peay State University is piloting a program to put textbooks in the hands of students from the first day of class.

closeup of stack of textbooks

Cal State Adds Lumen Courseware to Menu of Affordable Textbooks

California State University's Affordable Learning Solutions initiative has partnered with Lumen Learning to make courseware from the open educational resources provider available to faculty and students across the system.  

student studying on laptop

McGraw-Hill Pilot to Study On-Demand Tutoring

This fall, McGraw-Hill is launching a pilot incorporating on-demand tutoring into its digital courseware.

laptop with stack of textbooks

Pearson Moves Away from Print Textbooks

All of Pearson's 1,500 higher education textbooks in the U.S. will now be "digital first."

open book on library table

Project Working to Improve Open-Access Publishing

A new project has been launched to help universities, researchers, libraries and publishers make more —and better — use of open-access book publishing in humanities and the social sciences. The Community-led Open Publication Infrastructures for Monographs is a partnership led by Coventry University in the United Kingdom and including the University of California Santa Barbara Library, among other institutions.

Amazon Echo

Pearson Releases Courseware Skill for Amazon Alexa

Pearson has created an Amazon Alexa skill for its Revel digital courseware product, allowing students to access text audio, homework reminders, class schedules and more via Alexa-enabled devices.  

Impact calculator

Ontario Schools Tally OER Savings with New Tool

A new tool from the eCampusOntario Open Library measures student savings from open educational resources usage. Impact, as it's called, recently calculated that students have saved some $4.5 million (Canadian) in "mandatory textbook fees."