Students To Test Drive Cloud-Based E-Book Platform
Bridgepoint Education will announce a new e-textbook digital learning platform Wednesday at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
The cloud-based platform, called Thuze, is being piloted by Pearson, McGraw-Hill Education, and Jones & Bartlett Learning. College and university students will be invited to try out Thuze and provide feedback to the company.
Thuze provides the tools for students to read and engage with e-textbooks. The platform syncs from desktop computer to multiple mobile platforms, including tablets running iOS and Android operating systems.
Features of Thuze include:
- Multi-color note-taking and highlighter tools. Users can share content with peers at the same or different schools, and click on notes to be linked back to bookmarked e-book pages;
- The ability to search e-textbooks by keyword or concept;
- An Annotation Summary view, which displays highlights, notes, and bookmarks in one location;
- Discussion boards, which allow students to share thoughts with each other on e-books;
- Notebook, which allows students to build study guides from their own annotations and those of peers; and
- Tutorials and answers to frequently asked questions (only on the Web version).
Thuze requires a WiFi connection and is compatible with Chrome 10, Safari 5, Firefox 3.6, and Internet Explorer 8, and up. The iPad app works with iOS 5.0 and higher.
Representatives from Thuze will be at booth number 3206 in North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center from Jan. 10-13 at the International Consumer Electronics Show.
The first 500 people to register will receive one of six free e-textbooks.
For more information, visit the Bridgepoint Education Web site.
About the Author
Tim Sohn is a 10-year veteran of the news business, having served in capacities from reporter to editor-in-chief of a variety of publications including Web sites, daily and weekly newspapers, consumer and trade magazines, and wire services. He can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @editortim.