How was it determined that Baylor would participate? How was Baylor accepted into the pilot? Pattie Orr, Vice President for IT & Dean of University Libraries is representing Baylor by serving on the national committee to develop and manage the pilot. Thinking the pilot would be of interest to faculty and academic administrators, the idea was promoted to the President, Provost, Academy for Teaching and Learning, and Baylor Bookstore.
Which institutions are participating? The final list of participants has not yet been determined but is limited to 50 institutions.
Which Baylor faculty are participating? How are they being selected? This pilot is limited to those faculty who submitted required McGraw-Hill texts to the Bookstore as it was the only publisher willing to commit in time for Fall Semester 2012. The Baylor Bookstore has identified faculty with such texts for the Fall Semester, and the list was provided to Online Teaching and Learning Services for coordination of faculty participants. Given the short timeline for this pilot, selection will be made based upon willingness to participate before all details are known, and based upon the diversity of faculty and programs which can be reasonably accommodated in the short timeframe.
Will I still order books through the Baylor Bookstore?
All supplemental material beyond e-texts will be ordered normally through the Baylor Bookstore.
What are the costs of e-texts for faculty and students who take part in the pilot?
Students and faculty will not pay for the e-texts or the e-reader software. The only cost to students and faculty will be for a print copy, if so desired.
How was the e-reader software selected? This pilot builds on work within a small group of Internet2 schools that previously conducted a pilot with Courseload and McGraw-Hill. We expect additional platform providers to join future pilots, which likely will explore different business models and delivery tools from the current pilot’s, as well as expanded content from more publishers. Those agreements have not yet been reached, since planning for the next pilot will not begin until we’ve completed enrolling participants in the current one.
Can I access the e-reader software even if I am not participating in the pilot? Yes. Courseload, the e-reader software being used for the pilot, is available for campus-wide use. Courseload can be used to deliver course materials (notes, original texts, proprietary or licensed texts, etc.) through Blackboard. It offers individual and collaborative tools for learning such as highlighting, embedding notes, and sharing annotations while allowing the instructor to monitor how students are using the materials.
If I choose not participate in the Fall 2012 pilot, will there be more opportunities at a later date? At the moment, this pilot is limited to the Fall semester of 2012 and will not be continued thereafter. However, you are free to adopt e-texts in future courses at your discretion.
