Research on teachers’ needs when using e-textbooks in teaching

Abstract

The major purposes of this study were to understand teachers' definitions of e-textbooks, to identify teachers' needs when using e-textbooks and to explore the relationships between teachers' needs of using e-textbooks and teachers' attributes. To achieve these major purposes, an open questionnaire was proposed to experts to obtain their requirements of using e-textbooks. A needs of using e-textbooks perception scale (NUEPS) was then constructed based on teacher interview results, the literature review and the results of the open questionnaire mentioned above. In the formal study, 378 elementary and secondary school teachers were selected to complete NUEPS, and the reliability and validity of the scale were checked. The results indicated that the teachers' needs when using e-textbooks comprised three factors: (1) to support teaching activities (STA); (2) to support reading and presentation (SRP); and (3) to support learning activities and parental interaction (LAPI). Besides, the findings of the study showed that the Taiwanese school teachers' perceptions of using e-textbooks were positive in average. There were no significant differences in terms of gender and age, but there were differences regarding teachers' school level, and application experience in both the STA and SRP sub-dimensions. The results of this study can be used to offer a better understanding of teachers' needs of using e-textbooks, and to help novice teachers' application in e-textbook.

Implementation of Electronic Textbooks in Secondary Schools: What Teachers Need

“…One of the participants mentioned that they are unable to choose the e-textbooks they would like to use. This statement is supported by the response from a teacher from the Lin, et al (2015) study. At the time of conducting this study, EduX had an agreement with only selected publishers, resulting in having only certain textbooks available.…”

“…Facilitating Conditions was used to investigate the things that teachers need so that they can accept and use e-textbooks in the classroom. Literature findings identified three needs which were found from a study by Lin, et al (2015). The needs they identified are detailed in Section 2.4 above.…”

“… Facilitating conditions, which "is the degree to which an individual believes that an organisational and technical infrastructure exists to support use of the system". Lin, Liu and Kinshuk (2015) constructed the "needs of using e-textbooks perception scale" that would assist teachers in implementing and using e-textbooks in schools. Their study involved 415 teachers from 22 schools responding to a questionnaire and they interviewed five teachers who were known to be experts in the field of using technology in school.…”

“…However, they emphasized the importance of proper infrastructure and teachers needing to acquire new teaching skills. Lin, Liu and Kinshuk (2015) investigated "teachers' needs when using e-textbooks in teaching". They suggested a number of needs pertaining to the textbook itself (discussed in more detail in section 2.4 below).…”

“…This study aimed, through a qualitative detailed investigation, to add to the study of Lin, Liu and Kinshuk (2015) by identifying the needs of teachers regarding the use of tablet-based e-textbooks in classroom. The researchers used the UTAUT model of Venkatesh, Morris, Davis & Davis (2003) to guide the interviews with focus on the constructs performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and lastly facilitating conditions.…”