The future of textbooks and evolution of an e-book

Abstract

Paper-based textbooks have problems that are caused by their static nature. A single format must motivate students, provide detail and also be suitable for revision and later reference. It must also cope with students from different application areas and whose courses teach different topics. E-books have the potential to overcome most of these problems and some solutions are presented and illustrated with features added to CAST (Computer Assisted Statistics Textbooks) during its development. CAST started life as a single e-book whose initial goals were to use interactive diagrams for active learning within a textbook and to use dynamic diagrams to explain concepts more clearly. It evolved into a framework with alternative versions of pages for initial study and revision and with examples from different application areas. It has recently been improved with a drag-and-drop user-interface that allows customised e-books to be created. Possible future directions are discussed.