Teaching and Learning blog

When I was a college student, there were times when I skipped out on buying a required textbook for a course. Finances were always tight, so I tried to balance my checkbook with buying actual books. Even then, textbooks weren’t cheap. Today, students are paying more and more for their higher education experience. If a university can find ways to make attending college more affordable, accessible, and “high-tech/high-touch”, well, it’s not really an option, it’s a necessity.

Today’s technology makes it easy to distill course materials into digital formats and enhances them as a result. Colleges and universities are quickly shifting from books to bytes to improve the student experience and boost course outcomes.

Here are 10 reasons why your university should go digital with its course materials:

1. Affordability

This may seem like an obvious reason to move to digital delivery of course materials. Students will end up paying less for digital course materials. From production to shipping, textbooks require a lot of costly infrastructure. Digital materials eliminate these costs and pass the savings on to students.

2. A better experience for students with disabilities

Unlike print books, modern eTextbooks can be accessible “out of the box.”  When eTextbooks include features such alternative text descriptions of visuals and content that can be used with assistive technology, students can start reading right away, without waiting for a disability services department to create a file.

3. Learning analytics and digital integration

Can you remember when a physical book connected to a digital learning system? It’s just not possible. However, with digital course materials, integration with the campus LMS/VLE is possible. Plus, with learning analytics built in, digital materials can help support at-risk learners who may need additional assistance.

4. Recruitment

Digital course materials might not seem like they give universities a recruitment edge, but in an increasingly competitive enrollment landscape, everything helps. Students seek modern solutions for their educational experience. For bring-your-own-device (BYOD) campuses and institutions that provide technology platforms for students, digital course materials hit the sweet spot. They create more affordances for student success and showcase a university experience that is effectively using the latest technologies.

5. Multi-platform capability

The ability to view course materials on a variety of devices represents a huge advantage for digital course materials. If a student needs to read a chapter while on the go, odds are, they will be able to access it on whichever device they have with them. Also, it’s a good bet that no one misses having a backpack filled with textbooks.

6. Seamless group work

University campuses are filled with versatile seating and project workspaces. You can’t project a textbook onto a large screen, but you can with digital course content. It’s simply a matter of either plugging in or wirelessly beaming content to a screen. It makes group work and collaboration a much easier task.

7. Always current

Have you ever tried to update a textbook? Editions come and go, each one costing more than the last. With digital course materials, content is as up to date as possible and it doesn’t cost students more for this “always current” content. Who wants a used book when you can have a new digital version?

8. Instant access

No longer do students have to search for the lowest price option or wait until after term starts. Instant access to digital materials, through programs such as Pearson Inclusive Access and others, ensures all students are ready to learn on the first day of class, not the third week. It’s as easy as logging into the university system, selecting the appropriate course, and downloading the material to a compatible device.

9. Interactivity

Textbooks have been surpassed in form, function, and capability. Digital course materials allow authors the opportunity to embed audio and video into their work. This makes for a much more interactive and “real” experience for students.

10. Retention

Anything that a college or university can do to assist students with their academic success is a good thing. Digital course materials aid and enhance an institution’s ability to improve their overall retention rates and bolster student success with all of the supportive elements in this list.

What would you add to the list?

Digital course materials are not the future for higher education; they’re the present. It’s only a matter of time before your institution goes digital for student success.

This post was sponsored by Pearson as part of a higher education influencers collaboration.

Jai Shekhawat stood out from the other MBA students in Howard Tullman’s class at Kellogg School of Management 22 years ago. He sat in the back row, never raised his voice, and kept a low profile. Rather than talk about his aspirations or accomplishments, he came to class prepared, and it quickly became evident that he was putting in the work behind the scenes to make big things happen.

“Jai is just as kind and self-effacing today as he was then,” Howard confides.

So how has Jai changed? Far from sitting in the back row today, he has successfully founded and sold a business for $1 billion, and is considered one of Chicago’s most successful entrepreneurs. In 2012, Jai was named Ernst & Young’s 2012 Midwest “Entrepreneur of the Year”, and has been recognized as an innovator in the Vendor Management Software (VMS) space.

In 1999, Jai took what he had learned from Howard and others and channeled it into a project that addressed a problem he was deeply familiar with. He started Fieldglass, a company that offers the world’s most widely used Cloud platform for the procurement of contract labor and services.

Over the past two decades, Jai and Howard have kept in touch and maintained a student/mentor relationship that has blossomed into a friendship. Howard credits Chicago’s unique business culture in part for helping to make Jai a success.

I know of few people with more enthusiasm, and being in his class gave me the confidence to eventually find my own path as an entrepreneur.

— Jai Shekhawat

“Chicago is different,” says Howard. “People here are loyal in a way that perhaps you don’t see on the coasts — we’re in it for the long haul. Loyalty is a competitive midwestern advantage, and we also have an economy that is good for entrepreneurs who have diverse interests.”

Chicago can’t take all the credit, though. Howard taught Jai early on that it takes five things to be successful as an entrepreneur: passion, preparation, perspiration, perseverance, and principles. These “5 Ps” are instilled in many of the young, hopeful entrepreneurs that come to Howard’s prestigious startup incubation program, 1871 Chicago. And Jai gives credit where it’s due.

“Back then and right up to today, I thought of Howard as half teacher and half preacher. He’s always spreading the gospel and excitement of innovation and entrepreneurship. I know of few people with more enthusiasm, and being in his class gave me the confidence to eventually find my own path as an entrepreneur.”

Always the teacher, Howard deflects with more praise of Jai’s work ethic.

“Of course everybody wants to be the next Jobs, but with Jai, we sensed that he had the determination to be really successful. Perhaps more important than talent or anything else is the ability to keep your head down and stay focused. Half the battle is keeping your butt in the chair. Jai’s got that.”

What does one do after selling a company for $1 billion? In Jai’s case, he’s staying active in the city’s entrepreneurial scene with Howard at 1871, but he’s also focused on making Chicago the best city it can be by way of social activism and community service. He is heavily involved with an inner city academic program called MetroSquash, which helps to teach underprivileged urban youth how to play the unlikely game of squash while devoting an equal amount of time to academics. In doing so, MetroSquash mentors teach them dedication and discipline,two traits that Jai discovered are crucial to making it in his much-loved city.

(This is the last part of our three-part series “Goldilocks and the Three Bears of Critical Thinking.” Read part one and part two).

Empty calories or nutritious porridge?

Most students acknowledge that easy classes tend to serve the empty calories of rote memorization and regurgitation; however, when given a choice, students often pick such an option over a more rigorous course that serves the nutritious porridge of critical thinking.

We see this behavior when students “shop” for the easiest professor. In all honesty, I can’t blame them. It’s only natural that students are pathologically hung-up on grades when parents, scholarship committees, and collegiate programs are GPA obsessed.

During my 15 years of teaching introductory microbiology and anatomy and physiology to allied health students and tomorrow’s nurses, I have heard the phrase, “I have to get an A” countless times. However, a high GPA is not necessarily linked to passable work-skill competencies or even average critical thinking skills.

This is partially why standardized tests have become important screening tools for admission into colleges and graduate programs. When students say they, “have to get an A,” perhaps we should reply that an A is useless if it’s not packed with vitamins. So, how do we make a healthy porridge that students will try and perhaps even enjoy?

A recipe for porridge

Students often avoid trying the critical thinking porridge because they are afraid to fail. It’s no wonder they fear failure—society’s message is pretty clear, “We don’t have time for you to learn from your mistakes.”

The good news is we can get students to try the porridge of critical thinking and position them for success if we add pedagogical ingredients that: (1) foster a growth mindset, (2) require that students are prepared to participate in class, and (3) include context-rich assessments that provide ample opportunities to practice in the Goldilocks zone of development.

Let’s delve a little deeper into each of these ingredients.

Intelligence mindset matters

Psychologists tell us that how we perceive intelligence may affect our academic experiences. Some people have a fixed intelligence mindset, which means they see intelligence as static. In contrast, others see intelligence as cultivable, and are said to have a growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset often interpret a struggle with tough course material as proof of an inherent lack of ability.

They are therefore, more likely to give up when courses challenge them and they are prone to excusing themselves from the struggle with cop-out phrases such as, “I’m just not a math person,” (or fill in your choice of discipline).

As educators, we have an important role in shaping the intelligence mindset of our students. We should emphasize that just as students can strengthen their muscles through training and pushing their boundaries, so too can they strengthen their minds through practice.

Prepared to participate

My gym teachers never made dressing out optional. We were required to come prepared to participate, otherwise we were as good as absent. The same should hold true when it comes to academic classes. If we expect students to be prepared to participate, then we can’t make being prepared to participate optional—we must require it.

To do this I use Pearson’s MyLab and Mastering platforms, which integrate Socratic coaching and immediate wrong answer feedback so that my students are redirected before misconceptions take root; this also affords them a chance to ask about missed questions in class. I don’t delude myself into thinking that everyone will do the work, but certainly more do it than if I didn’t require it.

Requiring that students are prepared to participate through a warm-up exposure to the content facilitates more meaningful content exploration in class.

Plus, because the online platform gives me diagnostic information and specifically points out where students are confused, I can practice precision training with my students instead of making assumptions about what they do or don’t understand. That optimizes our class time and keeps boredom at bay.

The Goldilocks zone for development

The work we give students must be relevant to their careers which means it must put content in context. Case studies, word problems, and reflecting on loosely defined problems are good exercises, but only if they are in the “just right” zone for student development.

That means the work can’t be too easy, nor can it be frustratingly difficult. There’s a reason we don’t use James Joyce novels to teach 6-year-olds to read.

Goldilocks wins

Goldilocks’s triumph over the bears in the forest of critical thinking doesn’t have to remain a fairy tale. We can help students navigate the forest of critical thinking by filling their prerequisite knowledge gaps, overtly teaching critical thinking, and providing context rich exercises in their zone of development.

To accomplish this, we can’t rely on teaching strategies that were designed to support the education goals of the Industrial Revolution. In this Information Age, where information is cheap and easy we must leverage technology to get students from where they are to where they need to be.

There is more than just a grade at stake. The innovators of tomorrow are in our classes, let’s not feed them to the bears.

Hear directly from Dr. Norman-McKay in her recent webinar Thinking Critically from Day ONE of Class on how to explore and apply case-based content to facilitate deeper thought and authentic learning opportunities.

(This is part two of our three-part series “Goldilocks and the Three Bears of Critical Thinking.” Read part one).

Bear-ier #2: The bear that lacks a map through the critical thinking forest

Map-less Goldilocks beat the odds when it came to escaping bears, but it’s unrealistic for us to expect that all students, or even most students, can safely navigate the forest of critical thinking without a map. However, we regularly have this expectation.

Most college faculty say they value critical thinking and most say they teach it. Indeed, I used to believe that I was overtly teaching critical thinking; but when students failed at it I realized that I had mistaken modeling critical thinking, assigning it, and expecting it for overtly teaching it.

The symptoms that I was not overtly teaching critical thinking were all there; students continuously got frustrated with higher level assignments, they complained when assigned case work, and they regularly said that they didn’t even know where to start on the critical thinking based assignments I gave them. My students were struggling to overcome bear-ier #2—the lack of a map toward critical thinking.

Time to be honest…

The truth is I wasn’t trained as a teacher—I was trained as a scientist. Many college faculty share this history with me; they too were hired for their specific discipline credentials versus their teaching credentials. Accrediting bodies evaluate institutions based in part on faculty credentials.

In general, the minimum qualification to teach college credit courses is a Master’s degree with 18 or more graduate credit hours in the discipline being taught. There’s no requirement that faculty have official training in teaching or even an iota of teaching experience. Consequently, many college faculty have very little if any training in teaching, never mind a specific course in how to teach critical thinking.

My point is that we’ve embraced a “you just do it” mindset when it comes to collegiate teaching, so it’s not entirely shocking that we’ve applied that very same mindset to critical thinking—”you just do it.”

Of course, this is garbage. You don’t “just do it” any more than you just fly a plane or you just play the piano. It takes training and it takes practice, just like learning the course content does. While we don’t expect students to learn how to read on their own without an overt curriculum, it seems we often expect self-teaching when it comes to critical thinking.

In light of this, it’s not surprising that so few students are competent at critical thinking, even after earning a college degree.

Critical thinking cartography

Unfortunately, when students fail at critical thinking faculty get frustrated and we may assume that “students just aren’t ready to think critically.” The thing is, students can think critically and they are ready to do it if we give them the tools. It’s up to us to help them overcome the barriers they face to developing their critical thinking prowess—we must give students a map to critical thinking.

This is why I developed the S.M.A.R.T. framework as map toward critical thinking. Because my courses are focused on training the healthcare team of tomorrow, I thought about how trained clinicians and scientists approach problems. I also followed the literature on the neurological aspects of how we learn and how we develop critical thinking skills.

Years of teaching and experimenting with thousands of my own students led me to distill the process into the five steps in S.M.A.R.T. These steps are easy to teach, model, and evaluate students on—and students can readily remember them. Because S.M.A.R.T. is a map for higher order problem solving, these five steps can be applied across disciplines.

Getting S.M.A.R.T. about critical thinking

The S.M.A.R.T. approach is a stepping stone style methodology that provides a cognitive scaffold for sifting through large amounts of information and applying it to solve higher order problems.

In 2016, distance education enrollment continued to grow for the 14th straight year.

This is the headline coming out of Grade Increase: Tracking Distance Education in the United States – a recent report released by Babson Survey Research Group (BSRG).

As stated in BSRG’s press release: “The growth of distance enrollments has been relentless,” said study co-author Julia E. Seaman, research director of the Babson Survey Research Group. “They have gone up when the economy was expanding, when the economy was shrinking, when overall enrollments were growing, and now when overall enrollments are shrinking.”

Explore the key findings from Grade Increase in our infographic below and download the full report to dive in deeper.

This is part one of a three-part series “Goldilocks and the Three Bears of Critical Thinking.”

Digital learning webinar series for educators

In the spirit of always learning, we have an extensive lineup of free, professional development webinars that will leave you with actionable ideas and strategies to effectively implement digital learning tools that will increase student engagement and leave you with the freedom to do what you do best: teach.

Pick and choose from over 50 webinars that span across all disciplines featuring renowned authors and digital learning leaders, like you.

Aren’t sure where to start? Check out a sampling below or visit our This is Digital Learning Webinar Series website to browse or sort by discipline.

Unable to attend live? No problem – all webinars are recorded and available to you at your convenience.

Showcase your learning

Digital credentials allow you showcase the learning you’ve achieved. When you attend one of the webinars live and complete a brief assessment at the end, you will earn a Digital Learning badge via Acclaim to share with your networks.

Happy digital learning!

Monday, March 19, 2:00-2:40 p.m.
Learning Mathematics through Digital Technologies…the Right Way!
Kirk Trigsted, Professor, University of Idaho

Tuesday, March 20, 11:00-11:30 a.m.
6 Ways to Use Polling Questions to Engage Students in Your Accounting Classroom
Dr. Wendy Tietz, Professor, Kent State University

Wednesday, March 28, 4:00-4:30 p.m.
WAKE UP! Engagement Strategies to Compete in an Attention Economy
Michael R. Solomon, Professor, Saint Joseph’s University

Monday, April 9, 12:00-12:30 p.m.
Dynamic Techniques for Teaching Structure and Agency in the Sociology Classroom
Jodie Lawston, Professor, California State University, San Marcos

Tuesday, April 10, 2:00-2:30 p.m.
Measuring Student Apprehension, Comprehension, and Engagement in the E-book Era
Dr. Sam Sommers, Professor, Tufts University & Dr. Lisa Shin, Professor, Tufts University

Thursday, April 12, 11:00-11:30 a.m.
Stories and Histories: Hooking Students with the Tale
Bill Brands, Professor, University of Texas at Austin

Metacognitive Learning Strategies for A&P Students (recording available)
Chasity O’Malley, Professor, Palm Beach State College

Thinking Critically from Day ONE of Class (recording available)
Dr. Lourdes Norman-McKay, Professor, Florida State College-Jacksonville

No More “But That’s the Answer the Computer Gave Me” (recording available)
Jim Hanson, Professor, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

“College students already know how to read, don’t they?”

Yes, students know how to recognize words on a page. But no, many do not know how to read actively to create meaning and analyze and evaluate the author’s message.

Why reading needs to be taught

Just as writing needs to be taught, active reading strategies also need to be taught. It may be intuitive to us, as instructors, but it is not for our students. Integrated Reading & Writing (IRW) classes teach these skills fundamental to student success.

Many developing college writers have a rudimentary command of basic grammar. They can speak clearly and be understood. They may also possess a massive store of word meanings, but they cannot write coherent paragraphs or essays. Likewise, as readers, many college students can recognize words, understand word meanings, and pronounce and define words, but they do not know how to engage and interact with a text to extract meaning from it.

Both reading and writing are essential survival and success strategies for college and the workplace. Both involve critical thinking: interpretation, analysis, and evaluation of ideas.

What needs to be taught

College reading is built on five approaches and skill sets that can be taught:

1. Teach that reading is a process that parallels the writing process. Emphasize that it is an active process in which the reader interacts with the writer’s ideas.
   Reading = recognition of techniques (for example, identifying and understanding topic sentences)
   Writing = implementation of techniques (for example, drafting and revising topic sentences)
   Reading = analysis of ideas (for example, analyzing a writer’s tone)
   Writing = expression of ideas (for example, choosing a tone that suits the audience and purpose)
2. Explain that reading involves strategies to use before, during, and after reading. Students need to:
   • preview before reading
   • think, connect, and anticipate ideas as they read
   • review and analyze after reading
3. Teach students to extract meaning from a text. This involves interacting with the text and being able to explain the author’s intended meaning in their own words.
4. Teach students to think critically, analyzing and evaluating the author’s ideas. Show students how to examine the author’s techniques and assess a work’s accuracy, worth, and value.
5. Equip students with skills to learn and remember what they read. In their other college courses, students must not only discover meaning, but determine what to learn, and use strategies to retain the material. Skills such as paraphrasing, highlighting, annotating, summarizing, and outlining or mapping are valuable.

How to teach reading more effectively

Instructors can teach reading more successfully by following these guidelines:

1. Always prepare students for a reading assignment. Don’t just assign a reading and send students off to complete it. You might pre-teach the reading by:
   • offering some background on the topic
   • building interest through a brief classroom discussion
   • asking students to do a quick Google search of the topic
   • creating a list of questions about the topic

   Alert students about trouble spots, and offer some specific purposes for reading. (For example, “Watch how this author uses shocking examples to stir your emotions.”)

2. Be intentional about teaching reading and writing together. Always remind students that reading is the “flip side” of writing. If you consistently remind students of this connection, they will eventually make the connection themselves and transfer this awareness to new situations.
3. Teach process not content. Don’t focus on the content of the reading (who did what, when and where). Instead teach how to discover what the author says and means. Strategies for discovering meaning have long-lasting value, while knowledge of a particular reading’s content is far less important. Think of the reading as a vehicle for teaching skills and strategies, not as an end in itself. Show students how to find the important details in a paragraph, for example, but don’t spend time on the details themselves.
4. Ask students to stretch. They should be asked to engage with challenging material, while you give them help and support to succeed. You might create a reading guide or graphic organizer; or use scaffolded instruction by providing a partially complete outline to guide them through the reading. Students will encounter difficult materials in other courses, so they need to develop strategies to cope. As they complete difficult readings, they will experience growth, a sense of accomplishment, and greater confidence in their abilities.
5. Teach by showing, not telling. “Walk” students through challenging readings. Demonstrate how to uncover meaning. For example, suggest questions to ask, or use think-aloud protocols.

By using these techniques to teach the approaches and skills outlined here, you can help students think more critically, and interpret, analyze, and evaluate ideas more effectively. Those abilities will empower them — in college, at work, and in society.

Generation Z is the youngest of the five generations, active in today’s economy. They are already the largest generation in the U.S. and will represent 40 percent of the population in 2020. In the world of higher-education, Gen Z accounts for all of the students enrolling today. Generation Z has experienced the most change in their short time on earth. Most of those changes center around technology. Gen Z is disrupting decades-long practices in our education system, forcing colleges and universities to adapt at a rapid pace or become irrelevant.

Millennials were different and required some modifications so higher-ed has been adapting to their needs. Millennials were the first generation to come to campus, laptop in hand. Gen X may have used desktops in computer labs on campus. The Millennials forced educators to begin using technology as a teaching tool. Gen Zs were born with technology. They will never know what life was like without the internet. Gen Z learners don’t see technology as a tool, they see it as a regular part of life.

While Millennials used three screens on average, Gen Z students frequently use up to five. Most use a smartphone, TV, laptop, desktop, and a tablet. These devices occupy ten hours of Gen Z’s daily activity. The constant stimulation and access to all the world’s information at their fingertips has given them an eight-second attention span and has trained their brains to expect instant gratification. Sitting in a hall or classroom listening to a lecture is Gen Z torture. Gen Z students want a chance to be part of the learning process, not a passive bystander.

Gen Z students are much more pragmatic and skeptical than generations before. Many experienced their parents’ and friends’ families lose everything in the Great Recession. They felt intense pressure as their parents did all they could to get them into college. Because of that experience, they are very worried about college debt, and demand colleges provide a good return on their investment. A Gen Z survey from the nonprofit, College Savings Foundation showed seventy-nine percent said costs are a factor on college choice. Thirty-nine percent said high costs caused them to change their path and enroll in state schools, community colleges, or vocational and career schools.

The financial stress continues once Gen Z students enroll. The high cost of textbooks is prohibiting some students from pursuing their choice of classes and majors. A survey of more than 22,000 college students found 49 percent reported taking fewer courses per semester, and 45 percent reported not registering for a course because of the high cost of the textbook. Sixty-four percent of students opted out of buying textbooks for the first day of class.

I’ve seen this with my college sophomore son. He will wait as long as three weeks after a class starts before he decides whether to purchase an expensive textbook. He tells me that some professors won’t even use the book so he waits. He has even dropped classes after learning how much the textbook will cost.

Fortunately, many professors and their institutions are saving students money by migrating to digital textbooks and course materials. Education companies like Pearson provide Pearson Inclusive Access for students that can save them upwards of 80 percent off the price of a new print textbook. Offering digital textbooks also makes it possible for students to receive their course materials the first day of class. Professors can begin teaching immediately without concern that half their students do not have required materials because they either can’t afford it or are spending time searching or borrowing to save money.

In addition to the cost savings, digital textbooks appeal to Gen Z students because they can access course materials on the same devices they already embrace. Gen Z wants to seamlessly jump from their personal experiences to their educational experiences on-demand and do it outside the classroom anytime, anywhere. Seventy-eight percent of students prefer digital course materials. I am not surprised because they provide three Gen Z “must-haves.” Cost savings, convenience, and interactivity. Being able to scan for specific topics, or click on audio and video links keeps those eight-second attention spans engaged in the course materials.

Professors and institutions benefit as well. Digital textbooks provide data on how students are engaging in the content. This is invaluable feedback that can help educators identify struggling students and make adjustments when needed. More than 425 colleges and universities across the country have partnered with Pearson to provide digital course materials, and they are starting to see real results in student achievement.

The primary focus of my book is to help each generation become self-aware of their own generational preferences. When educators become self-aware, they can ignore common Millennial, and Gen Z stereotypes and embrace their unique strengths, preferences, and learning styles. Many Boomer and Gen X educators struggle with this, and it is understandable. Technology has caused Gen Z to see more changes in ten years than older generations will experience in their lifetimes.

Change can be hard, and it can be good, especially when it helps young people grow, learn, and become successful adults. Experienced educators should do everything they can to make learning fun, interactive, and engaging for their Gen Z students. Utilizing digital course materials and other technologies that can provide that kind of experience is a step in the right direction.

This article was originally published on Dillon Kalkhurt’s LinkedIn Pulse page and has been reposted here with permission.