An Assessment of College Students’ Attitudes towards Using an Online E-textbook

Abstract

In this digital age, e-textbooks are becoming more prevalent. This assessment surveys a group of public speaking students on their attitudes toward an e-textbook. A qualitative and quantitative approach to collecting student feedback using an online survey reveals mixed reviews of stu-dents' use of an e-textbook. In an introductory public speaking course, most of the respondents prefer using a combination of a print textbook with an e-textbook. Although many of the students surveyed experienced some frustrations and technical difficulty, most of the students found the e-textbook to be helpful for assignments and studying for tests at least some of the time. Faculty could inform students of the drawbacks of e-textbooks and make suggestions on ways to maxi-mize their effectiveness for better comprehension and less frustration.