Integrating a Digital Textbook into a Statics Course

Abstract

This innovative practice work-in-progress paper presents the findings of the first implementation of a digital textbook developed by the authors. Recognizing that technology offers new ways to conceive of what a textbook is and does, the digital statics textbook is designed to be a personalized learning experience for students. It includes numerous innovations to provide real-world context and motivation for the theory, scaffold learning, support students in developing systematic and structured problem solving processes, and provide immediate feedback. The online materials were integrated into a lecture- and lab-based, active-learning course offered for approximately 80 students in a 10-week quarter. The online resources were accessible to the students through the university’s learning management system. While students learned the material and performed well, they were challenged by this new method of accessing a textbook and identified several limitations of the integration of the digital resource in the course. Instructors need to determine the right mix of online problem solving with immediate feedback and paper-based homework that reinforces a structured problem solving approach. A second offering was underway at the time of writing this paper.