E－Textbooks in a digital ecosystem for learning

C.WESTON

（ALpha learning，Derset，DT6 3TN，UK）

0 Introduction

Over the last year，I have had the pleasure of working in an international team which is producing a technical report on the future requirement for e－Textbooks.The project was initiated by the Chinese delegation to ISO／IEC JTC1／SC36，the committee within the International Standards Organisation that is dedicated to the production of IT standards for learning，education and training.Including representatives from China，Japan，Korea and France，as well as myself from the United Kingdom，we have drafted a technical report that describes the main opportunities and challenges for the development and use in an educational setting of e－Books—or what we describe more simply as“e－Textbooks”.

Over the last twenty years，my own work in education technology has been focused on the data standards that will be required to underpin a coherent ecosystem for digital learning.In the mid－1990s，I was involved in a UK initiative called the Open Integrated Learning System（OILS）specification，which allowed digital activities to report scores and other outcome data back to a Learning Management System （LMS）.In 1999／2000，this work was overtaken by the Shareable Content Object Reference Model（SCORM）［1］，a specification that was produced by a section of the US Department of Defence called Advanced Distributed Learning（ADL）［2］.SCORM brought together a series of specifications，most of which were produced by other organisations like the IMS Global Learning Consortium and the Aircraft Industry CBT Committee（AICC）.These different components covered the packaging of learning content，metadata mark－up，and the reporting at runtime of outcome data such as scores.In 2004，Simple Sequencing was added to describe how different pieces of learning content should be sequenced or aggregated into coherent instructional processes.

The great merit of SCORM was its breadth and coherence：it provided a set of data standards that worked together to provide a complete set of tools to describe how digital learning content could be created，distributed，launched and tracked.SCORM also suffered from disadvantages.It supported only a restricted model of the learning process，failing to support“multi－player”environments or creative processes like essay writing.It also failed to keep up with technical advances in the web，supporting only a JavaScript API that restricted communications between different domains.It continued to offer a restricted data model that had originally been developed in the early 1990s and was always vulnerable to being overtaken by generic standards for metadata tagging，content packaging and runtime communications.A number of attempts were made to update SCORM，most notably by aproposal to pass stewardship of the standard to a new，independent organisation called Learning Education and Training Systems Interoperability （LETSI）［3］.Although LETSI has done much useful conceptual work，ownership of the brand was never transferred for legal reasons and SCORM progressively fell behind the expectations of the education community，both technically and pedagogically.

The last three years have seen a number of developments that have signalled a radical new departure.Fundamental to this change of environment has been the development of mobile computing，which has been significant for the future development of education technology in three particular ways.

First，mobile computing has made it possible to deliver a student－computer ratio of 1：1.Until every student was able to access to his or her own device，the use of digital media in the classroom always presented serious logistical difficulties.

Second，mobile computing has been accompanied by the proliferation of mobile apps that depend on good runtime communications with remote servers，working outside traditional web－browsers.Browser－based applications have always tended to make inefficient use of bandwidth，repeatedly downloading application code and user interface information as well as runtime data.For security reasons，browsers have increasingly restricted the application’s access to the full capabilities of the local device.The emergence of connected applications supports the development of educational software which combines rich interactivity with the reporting of scores and other learning outcomes to remote management systems.

Third，the development of mobile computing has coincided with the development of the e－Book，whose dependence on mobile devices might be attributed to two particular characteristics.First，the development of multi－touch gestures for use primarily on mobile devices has made the book metaphor particularly intuitive.Second，the fact that mobile devices cannot always rely on internet connection has made it important to be able download content onto the local device and the“book”has proved an easily understood metaphor for such an aggregation of locally stored content.

In the world of standards for learning，education and training，these developments have already led to signs of change.ADL has itself signalled that it will not continue to develop SCORM［4］，devoting its energies to a new way of communicating outcome results.Emerging from work done by LETSI in its Runtime Web Services（RTWS）project［5］and further developed by Rustici software in its TinCan project［6］，ADL is now calling this new approach the Experience API（xAPI）.At the same time，a number of educational authorities，from California［7］to Shanghai［8］，have been asking serious questions about the use of e－Books in educational settings.

1 The nature of a digital ecosystem for learning

The assumption that we need a digital ecosystem for learning has been the subject of discussion in LETSI since 2008.The concept of such an ecosystem combines two fundamental assumptions：

· that effective education technology will depend on software that delivers and manages interactivity；

· that such interactivity needs to be delivered by many complementary softwaresystems，integrated through the use of robust interoperability standards.

The need for interactivity could be summarised by the following representation of the learning process，as it is supported within a formal educational environment.I refer to this process as the“digital dialectic”—“dialectic”being the term originally used by Socrates to refer to the process of an interactive，rational discussion between a learner and a tutor.In the sense that I use the term below，the digital dialectic refers to two nested interactive cycles：

· at the heart of the learning process is a learning activity cycle，in which the student interacts with another entity，not only by verbal conversation with a tutor，but also through any kind of learning interaction，for example with a physical object such as a bicycle which the student is learning to ride，with an environment（real or simulated），with another student，or with a digital software package；

· each learning activity is embedded within a slower learning management cycle，in which students’outputs are assessed by their teachers and used to progress the student through a variety of different learning activities，each of which is appropriate both to the student and to their learning objectives.

Fig.1 Representation of an educational process，based on the concept of the digital dialectic

Figure 1 shows two iterative cycles：the lighter learning activitycycle and the darker learning management cycle.

Within the lighter learning activitycycle：

· the student performs an action；

· the student receives a reaction（e.g.from the teacher，apeer，aphysical objector environment or appropriate digital activity software）；

· the student reflects on the reaction；

· if necessary，the student corrects or modifies his or her behaviour before starting the cycle again by performing another action.

Within the darker learning management cycle，the teacher（assisted as required by learning management software）：

· profiles the student as a result of his or her performance in an activity；

· offers appropriate criticism and guidance，as required；

· makes a decision on the progression of the student to the next activity；

· decides on the grouping of students for the chosen activity；

· provides appropriate expositive information to the student，which may either comprise curriculum information that is required to meet the student’s learning objectives or briefing information on how to perform the next activity；

· facilitates the performance of the next learning activity.

This representation of the learning process within a formal educational environment supposes the existence of an ecosystem，populated by many different types of interoperable software components，including：

· Learning Activity Platforms（LAPs）—software capable of delivering or managing certain types of learning activity；

· learning analytics software，capable of making sense of learning activity outcome data in order to profile the student；

· intelligent tutoring systems（and／or human tutors）capable of providing appropriate criticism and guidance to the student；

· sequencing systems，capable of routing and grouping students for their next activity；

· systems for storing，organising and delivering supporting information resources.

This paper discusses how e－Textbooks will contribute to the last of these five tasks.

2 Advantages and disadvantages of e－Books as an educational medium

Many of the advantages of digital e－Textbooks can be understood directly by observing the benefits of commercial e－Books.Even if e－Books are just as costly as traditional books to write，their physical production is cheaper.They are easy to distribute and update.They do not weigh down a businessman＇s briefcase or a school child＇s school satchel and they do not get damaged and have to be replaced.All these advantages may seem significant enough to education authorities that wish to save money and increase the ease with which school children can access essential curriculum information.

Given these obvious advantages，it may seem strange even to question the value of e－Books in an educational setting.Books have，after all，provided the backbone to education since the invention of block printing in China in the third century，and of the movablepress in Germany in the fifteenth century.But it was not for nothing that the Greek philosopher Socrates questioned the role of books in education［9］.He argued that education was not primarily about the transfer of information，but consisted instead in a conversation between master and pupil，a conversation in which the pupil developed his or her intellectual understanding by constantly questioning his or her assumptions.It was in this same tradition that William Cory，Assistant Master of the exclusive English school Eton，wrote in 1861：“You go to school at the age of twelve or thirteen and for the next four or five years you are engaged not so much in acquiring knowledge as in making mental efforts under criticism”10.

While books have for many centuries been the primary means of disseminating information，education is about more than this alone：it is an iterative process that requires students to make mental efforts，respond to criticism，and refine their actions accordingly.Traditionally，this process has been managed by human teachers，using paper textbooks as one of the tools of their trade.The key problem facing governments that wish to make education more widely available to their populations in the twenty－first century is not the cost or inconvenience of traditional paper books，but the cost and scarcity of suitably qualified teachers，that are required to service this labour－intensive conversation.

The disadvantage of traditional，teacher－led instruction is its lack of scalability.The nineteenth century US President，James Garfield，described his vision of an ideal learning environment as“a log hut，with only a simple bench，Mark Hopkins（a famous American educationalist of the time）on one end and I on the other”11.This was the same model used by the Greek philosopher Socrates，who engaged young nobles in one－on－one conversations in the Athenian market place in the fourth century BC；it is the same model advocated by William Cory，Assistant Master at Eton in nineteenth century England；and it is the same model as is still used at Oxford and Cambridge，the UK’s most prestigious universities，where students are required to attend weekly one－on－one tutorials with their supervisors.It is a model that has always worked well for the education of small social elites but it is not a model that is scalable.The challenge facing modern economies，the challenge that American Massive Open Online Courses are trying to address today—is to deliver education to whole populations and not just to small social elites.

The potential disadvantage of the e－Book，transferred into educational environments，is that it might emphasise a model of education that focuses merely on the dissemination of information，at the expense of that critical conversation which has been so fundamental to good quality education in the past.To avoid this danger，e－Textbooks need to be integrated with wider digital ecosystems for education—ecosystems that engage students in active mental effort，that subject that mental effort to criticism，and that allow students to progress by following adaptive，personalised learning pathways.

If technology is to be used in order to scale education，it’s interactive and analytical capabilities will need to harnessed in order to manage this interactive aspect of education，rather than being used merely to disseminate information.In considering how the paper textbook is going to be transformed into the digital e－Textbook，we need to consider how that e－Textbook is going to play apart in a wider digital ecosystem for education.It is these questions that have been the primary focus of the work in SC36.

3 Bringing interactivity to e－Textbooks

I suggest that there are five ways in which the traditional book can be integrated with more active forms of learning.

3.1 As resources，supplemental to traditional exercises

The simplest model is one in which interactivity is managed traditionally by the intervention of a human teacher，who might，for example，require the student to write an essay that will be marked manually.The e－Textbook may then used as a resource，allowing the student to gather the information required to complete the traditional task.In this model，no particular modification is required over the generic e－Book.It may be advantageous to allow the student to annotate the book，highlighting important sections or adding notes and comments— but these are functions that many generic e－Book readers already support.

3.2 Support for integrated annotation and discussion

In the second model，means are provided by which the student＇s individual reactions to an e－Textbook can be shared with his or her peers and／or tutor.In this model，annotations are no longer private to the individual student but can be shared and integrated with discussion environments modelled on popular social networking paradigms.The student＇s own interpretations of the text are subject to challenge，either by peers or by tutors.The process of responding to those challenges is likely to deepen the studen’s reflection and ultimate understanding of the information contained in the e－Textbook.

Such a model will require a means of exporting or sharing annotations between different students’e－Textbooks，allowing students to move seamlessly between book－like interfaces and discussion－like interfaces.The significance of these capabilities have been underlined by the recent advocacy of peer mentoring by Professor Eric Mazur［12］，of theories of connectivism by Stephen Downes［13］，and by the use of peer－to－peer discussion as a pedagogy used by many modern MOOCs.

3.3 The creation and curation of e－Textbook content

As one benefit of digital publishing has been the increasing ease with which amateurs can publish their own books，so the e－Book revolution can encourage interactivity by allowing students to produce their own works，rather than by merely reading works produced by other people.

Such self－publishing may be based on the production of original content or on content that has been selected and re－mixed.Both teachers and students may wish to create new compilations of content that are appropriate to a particular course of study or topic of interest；while students may wish to collect content to articulate their own understanding or perspective.

Opportunities for self－publishing will therefore cover a wide range of different situations.At one extreme，there might be very little difference with a process of annotation，in which a student adds his or her own supplementary material to an existing book.Alternatively，a student might wish to bring together a collection of chapters，each of which has been originated by other subject experts.Finally，students may wish to publish a completely new work to articulate their own understanding.

While such self－publishing presents huge opportunities for encouraging creativity and original thought，it also presents dangers.From the point of view of the publisher，it will be important to protect intellectual property rights.From the point of view of the teacher，it will be important to distinguish between authoritative material on which the student can rely，and student－created works that may need to be approached with more caution.It is important that the reputation associated with an authoritative text should be protected when it is re－mixed with texts produced by less trusted sources.Many of these issues are likely to be addressed by the use of appropriate，authoritative metadata，used at appropriate levels of granularity within a textbook to mark－up what may often be heterogeneous content.

3.4 Incorporation into external digital activities

The first item in this list referred to the use of e－Textbooks to support traditional forms of interactivity，like essay－writing.The second and third items referred to social forms of interactivity，in which students themselves annotated，authored and combined e－Textbook content.The fourth and fifth items refer to digital activities that are delivered or managed by computer software.At their simplest level，such digital activities might comprise multiple－choice quizzes；at a more complex level，they might comprise immersive simulations，multi－player games，or tasks that require the use of integrated，creative tools like word－processors.

In every case，the“digital activities”are delivered or enabled by software.In the case of external digital activities，this software operates separately to the e－Textbook reader，running either locally on the same device as the e－Textbook reader，or running remotely on the cloud.

External activity software，which I describe above as a Learning Activity Platform（LAP），may deliver a generic activity，such as：

· the prioritisation of a number of items in a list or a stack of cards；

· the discussion of a question within a group，prior to agreeing to submit a singleanswer；

· the arrangement of a number of factors into a graph showing causal relationships.

Software delivering such generic paradigms will often need to be instantiated or contextualised by being associated with particular curriculum－specific information.For example，the teacher might use the last of these activity types，the causal relationship mapping software，to get students to arrange a number of factors that are significant for industrialisation.The activity instance will need to be supported by providing links to information about factors such as population rise，the availability of natural resources，political conditions，and the development of technology，trade，and finance.This information is likely to be contained within an e－Textbook.

This means that the activity assignment must be able to reference one or more sections or passages within the e－Textbook，maybe allowing this information to be viewed within the activity software，rather than through the default interface provided by the dedicated e－Textbook reader software.Supporting such flexible referencing will require a strong and open e－Textbook data format，accessible to a range of different types of software；and it will need to include robust means of referencing e－Textbook fragments （chapters，sections，or paragraphs）.

3.5 Encapsulation of digital activities in e－Textbooks

The final model for integrating e－Textbook within interactive learning processes is achieved by including digital activities within the e－Textbook itself.Such embedded activities are likely to be relatively simple（such as multiple choice quizzes）rather than fully immersive simulations.However，even complex and immersive activities might be embedded within e－Textbooks in the form of web－links.

Modern e－Book formats，such as ePub3，are based on HTML5，a layout format that supports a high degree of interactivity.While there is no reason why highly interactivity elements should not in principle be included within e－Textbooks，there are nevertheless a number of practical problems.

The most significant concerns runtime interoperability.It is in the nature of interactive elements that they may need access to contextual information（about the student or the assignment）in order to run properly.In order to contribute to computer－mediated learning management，as described in Figure 1，activities need to report useful learning outcome data to a central grade－book or learning management system.These two requirements require the interactive element to be able to communicate with a remote server.As it is in the nature of e－Books that are rendered on mobile devices to be used when not connected to the internet，such connectivity may not always be available；in addition to which current e－Book readers often explicitly prohibit this sort of external communication.It will therefore be necessary to establish a requirement for e－Textbook readers（as distinct from conventional e－Book readers）not only to allow remote data exchange，but actively to sup－port it by caching data locally when remote connectivity is not available.

A similar problem，applying to rich media such as video as well as to interactive content，is the difficulty presented by large downloads.The requirement for an e－Book to be available offline requires that the whole book should be downloaded prior to use and stored locally.If the book is long and contains large media files，such a model might become problematic，both in terms of bandwidth and in terms of local storage capacity.It therefore makes sense to exclude large media and complex interactive functionality from the e－Book itself.

One promising approach to the provision of interactive functionality is by the use of embedded widgets or plug－ins，software components that are installed on the user’s device as part of the local environment.This means that particular e－Textbooks may contain interactive elements that would only work if appropriate software had been installed locally.

Such an approach is compatible with a controlled environment，as is being used in the Shanghai pilots，which have promoted a standard“e－Schoolbag”environment on student＇s local devices.This allows e－Textbook publishers to rely on the presence of particular software components to render and interpret embedded interactive content and to provide associated learning services.

3.5.1 Future directions for e－Textbook development

3.5.1.1 The importance of international standards

Much of the momentum that has built over the last few years in the development of mobile e－Book readers has been connected with the competition for marketing platforms，tied to proprietary data formats and mobile devices：Amazon＇s Kindle and Apple＇s iBooks being the two foremost examples.

Whatever the commercial drivers supporting proprietary formats for commercial publishing，it seems unlikely that such proprietary systems will prove to be viable in an educational environment.Because education is a process and not merely an exercise in the dissemination of information，the educational requirement is intrinsically more complicated than the requirement for the publication of simple text－based books.Education requires interactivity，adaptive sequencing of content，the tracking of student outcomes，and the blending of digital content with traditional face－to－face teaching.For all these reasons，an effective digital ecosystem for learning will require many different contributions from many different software components.Peer－to－peer networking amongst students is likely to play an important part，as too will learning analytics，automated assessment，the provision of feedback，and adaptive sequencing.e－Textbooks will need to find their own place in this wider ecosystem.To do this they will need to support the open standards that allow them to interoperate with other，complementary pieces of the ecosystem.

It is difficult at the present time to specify in detail what will surely prove to be a vital relationship between e－Textbooks and the wider ecosystem — the main difficulty being that this wider ecosystem itself remains at such an early stage of development.Many at－tempts were made in the 1990s to create robust standards for interoperability between learning content and learning management systems.Although these various specifications coalesced around the SCORM reference model，SCORM failed to keep pace either with technical developments or with pedagogical requirements—leaving the educational world with a weak standards environment to underpin innovative forms of education technology.

The development of e－Books and their further refinement for use in education as e－Textbooks provides an opportunity to breath new life into what has become a somewhat stagnant world of educational data standards.Even though e－Textbooks will not in themselves provide a complete and sufficient platform for the development of effective education technology，they have an important part to play in any future digital ecosystem.What is more，they can help to stimulate a renewed effort to create an appropriate set of educationspecific data standards that will provide the glue to bring together many different types of software component in a single，integrated environment.Some components will provide information and rich media；some will support interactive and immersive environments；some will support peer－to－peer networking；and some will provide management，analytics and learning sequencing services.

If e－Textbooks are to play an important part in these developments，they will need to fulfil two important criteria.

· First，e－Textbooks must do more than merely model in a digital environment the traditional paper book.They must allow themselves to be integrated into a wider educational ecosystem，supporting interaction，discussion，re－mixing and active management of learning.

· Second，e－Textbooks must conform to open and international standards that enable innovative software developers to discover synergies with new types of learning software.Proprietary or localised data formats that inhibit interoperability with third－party software will not be compatible with the development of a wider ecosystem for learning.3.5.1.2 The work in ISO／IEC

The Chinese National Body has played an important part in leading work on e－Textbooks in ISO／IEC JTC1／SC36.So far，this work has drafted a technical report，based on an international，online survey which received a total of 119 responses from countries across the world.A summary of key findings is included below.

3.5.1.3 The most appropriate base specification

If e－Textbooks are to be used throughout education，it will be useful if they can conform to a single，open specification，to allow schools and colleges to standardise the authoring and e－Reader that they provide.Respondents were asked which they would regard as the most appropriate base standard for educational e－Textbooks（see Fig.2 and Tab.1）.

These results were used to tabulate the degrees of approval and recognition shown by respondents for different specifications，as shown below in Figure 3.

Fig.2 Standards for basic content

Tab.1 Standards for basic content

3.5.1.4 Education－specific requirements

Respondents were asked about four key areas that might require further work in order tosupport education－specific requirements：

Fig.3 Two－dimensional plot of recognition and approval of candidate specifications

· for a common approach to educational metadata；

· for a common approach to the handling of annotations；

· for a common approach to the reorganisation and re－sequencing of e－Textbook content；

· for a common approach to issues associated with interactivity，such as the accessing and reporting of runtime data.

Respondents’reactions to these proposed requirements are shown in（Fig.4 and Tab.2）.

Fig.4 Importance of key educational requirements

Tab.2 Importance of key educational requirements

Respondents gave generally high levels of agreement with the education－specific requirements proposed by the questionnaire.The fourth category，the requirement to re－organise and re－mix e－Textbooks，created the most contention.While many respondents viewed this as being critical to the need to tailor materials to different educational requirements，others were concerned about complications that might be caused by the loss of context，or withthe preservation of digital rights.

The full survey results，along with the authors’recommendations，is expected to be published early next year.In the meantime，a summary of key findings is provided below，under the four key requirements described above.

3.5.1.5 Education－specific metadata

While a minority of respondents cited a wide variety of possible types metadata，only a small number of common fields achieved general support（such as title，identifier，description）.Furthermore，respondents showed a low level of familiarity with different education－specific approaches to metadata，the most widely known specifications being Learning Object Metadata（IEEE1484.12.1－2002）［14］.

The Technical Report recommends that the education community should agree on a simple metadata profile that does not conflict with those metadata specifications most likely to gain traction in generic publishing circles，while also providing for extension mechanisms to support experimentation with different education－specific fields.

3.5.1.6 Interactivity

Respondents correctly pointed out that HTML5 supports a rich interactive environment.Fewer respondents showed an awareness of the problems of runtime reporting，e.g.of activity outcome data to learning analytic systems.The editors see this as a problematic area，for two key reasons：

· SCORM，the traditional way of reporting educational runtime data，has effectively been deprecated and ADL’s TinCan／xAPI and IMS’Learning Tools Interoperability（LTI）［15］，two potential replacements，are both at an early stage of development with regards to the reliable communication of useful runtime data；

· it is assumed that e－Textbooks will often be used when the mobile device on which the e－Textbook is located is not connected to the internet—so there will be a need for the automatic caching of launch and results data；

· leading e－Book readers prevent any kind of remote connectivity out of the e－Book itself.

The editors consider that the management of runtime data will be vital to the integration of e－Books within a wider digital ecosystem for e－learning.However，there is still a requirement for technology demonstrators that show how this can be achieved，as well as for the emergence of e－Textbook readers that will support such functionality.

It will ultimately be for the market to decide how much interactivity publishers wish to build into their e－Textbooks and how much interactivity will be delivered outside the e－Textbook by other forms of dedicated software application，that may wish to reference into e－Textbooks rather than being themselves embedded within them.Early indications are that publishers will at least want to incorporate simple forms of interactivity into their e－Textbooks（whether by native HTML5 or by embedded widgets），and that in a formal educational environment it will be useful to contextualise and track this interactivity by the communication of runtime data.

3.5.1.7 Annotations

The International Digital Publishers Forum （IDPF）［16］is currently engaged in work being undertaken in the Worldwide Web Consortium（W3C）on an Open Annotations spec－ification.The editors believe that the formal standards community should track the development of this work，while consulting closely with IDPF on how this work should be developed.

At the same time，many survey respondents believe that there is scope for the sharing of annotations and their integration into third－party discussion services.This is another area in which technology demonstrators are required.

3.5.1.8 Reorganisation

The editors acknowledge the possible complexities that some survey respondents predicted in relation to the reorganisation of e－Textbooks.At the same time，we believed that this will ultimately be an important function for e－Textbooks that are going to be deployed in a wide variety of educational contexts.

The editors consequently recommended a cautious approach that starts by building consensus on how e－Textbook content could be“chunked”.We use this term to indicate a process by which e－Textbooks should be composed of distinct units of content that could be externally referenced and to which metadata and usage rights information could be attached.

Such“chunking”of e－Textbook content would have many follow－on benefits：

· it would support the re－mixing of content chunks while respecting the integrity of the different chunks；

· it would support the development of new flow sequencing specifications，that will guide students through a sequence of embedded interactive elements；

· it would support the referencing of content where the re－flowing of content（for example，as font sizes were changed）meant that it could not be identified consistently with a particular page number；

· it would support the updating of content，allowing for example for the removal and insertion of content sections，without compromising the referencing of other parts of the same e－Textbook.

3.5.1.9 Next steps in ISO／IEC JTC1／SC36

The editors finally recommend that，as soon as the Technical Report has been completed，ISO／IEC JTC1／SC36 should proceed to produce a technical specification that will describe a set of functionalities（applicable to both e－Reader software and e－Textbook instances）at a number of different levels.

e－Textbooks and associated e－Readers at the first level of functionality would provide digital text and graphics of a similar kind to current e－Books and e－Book readers，with the proviso that such functionality should be conformant to open standards.

· e－Textbooks and associated e－Readers at the second level of functionality would use open standards to support shareable annotations and the chunking of content，allowing for the books to be remixed or for fragments to be precisely referenced.

· e－Textbooks and associated e－Readers at the third level of functionality would useopen standards to support more complex interactivity and the reporting of outcome data to remote learning management systems.

It will not be the role of ISO／IEC JTC／SC36，as an international standards organisation，to specify how these functions should be provided at a technical level.It is for technical and educational innovators to work together to discover the most efficient way of delivering such requirements.Extensive pilots in Shanghai，focusing on the use of e－Textbook and e－Schoolbag specifications，are one way in which this technical innovation is already taking place.

3.5.1.10 Conclusion

We have only just started to explore the full benefits of digital technology for education.In the case of e－Textbooks，some of the more accessible benefits，the“low－hanging fruit”as it were，are the ability to save money and democratise access to information.The more challenging—and ultimately more significant—objectives will require the exploitation of digital technology to systematise and scale the interactions that are fundamental to learning in formal educational environments.This is what I have referred to as the“digital dialectic”.

e－Books have an important role to play in providing a convenient and familiar format in which to disseminate information and simpler forms of learning activity.But if they are to fulfil this role，standard digital e－Books will need to develop into a more interactive，more flexible and more integrated e－Textbooks.

ISO／IEC will continue to provide a forum through which advances in this direction，made by the Shanghai pilots and other similar projects，can inform a new generation of international standards for education technology.Because no innovation works in isolation，it is these standards that in the end will provide the platform for continued innovation.And it is this long－term innovation that we will need if we are to find ways in which technology can be used effectively to help us deliver the highest quality of education，at scale，to the many and not just to the few.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution－NonCommercial－NoDerivs 2.5 License.

［1］ http：／／www.adlnet.gov／scorm／scorm－2004－4th／

［2］ http：／／www.adlnet.org／

［3］ http：／／www.letsi.org／

［4］ Although no formal announcement has been made，Aaron Silvers，a contractor for ADL，has announced on the ADL website that"ADL is embracing a definite future with what we＇re currently calling the next generation of SCORM…expressed through the Tin Can API".In other words，the Tin Can API（which represents a significant break from traditional SCORM）is being presented as"the next generation of SCORM）.See http：／／www.adlnet.gov／the－definite－indefinite－future－of－scorm／.

［5］ An explanation of the RTWS project is provided by Rustici Software at http：／／scorm.com／rtws／.

［6］ http：／／tincanapi.com／

［7］ California＇s high－profile Governor，Arnold Schwarzenegger，has promoted the use of digital textbooks in the state＇s schools，launching a scheme to provide free maths and science textbooks in2009（http：／／news.bbc.co.uk／1／hi／8090450.stm）and passing a law to establish a California Digital Open Source Library for school textbooks in 2012（http：／／www.theatlantic.com／technology／archive／2012／09／california－takes－a－big－step－forward－freedigital－open－source－textbooks／263047／）.

［8］ In 2010，the Shanghai Municipal government announced a five year programme to move their K12 provision entirely to digital textbooks.See http：／／publishingperspectives.com／2010／06／shanghai－hopes－for－all－e－textbook－campus－in－five－years／.

［9］ In his dialogue Phaedrus，Socrates argues that"Writing has this strange quality，and is very like painting；for the creatures of painting stand like living beings，but if one asks them a question，they preserve a solemn silence.And so it is with written words；you might think they spoke as if they had intelligence，but if you question them，wishing to know about their sayings，they always say only one and the same thing."In other words，written text cannot participate in the sort of active，rational discourse that Socrates referred to as the dialectic.See http：／／classics.mit.edu／Plato／phaedrus.html.

［10］ Quoted in Resources for Learning，by L C Taylor，Penguin Education，1971，p.22.L C Taylor takes the quotation from Anthony Chevenix－Trench，the Public Schools，in Peter Blander（ed.），Looking Forward to the Seventies.Smythe，1968，p.76.

［11］ The complement was paid in a lecture by President Garfield given in 1871 at Williams College，where Mark Hopkins was president.Quoted by Clifford E Swartz，Cliff＇s Nodes－ Editorials from The Physics Teacher，The Johns Hopkins University Press，Baltimore，2006，p.68.

［12］ Mazur，E.，Peer Instruction：A User＇s Manual，Addison Wesley，1996.See also Professor Mazur＇s lecture to the UK－based Specialist Schools and Academies Trust at http：／／www.youtube.com／watch？v＝y5qRyf34v3Q.

［13］ Downes，Stephen，"Connectivism and Connective Knowledge：Essays on meaning and learning networks"at http：／／www.downes.ca／files／Connective＿Knowledge－19May2012.pdf.

［14］ The final draft of IEEE1484.12.1 is available at http：／／ltsc.ieee.org／wg12／files／LOM＿1484＿12＿1＿v1＿Final＿Draft.pdf.

［15］ IMS Learning Tools Interoperability provides a means of embedding a signed widget in a web－page.Means of reporting on the use of the embedded tool are still at an early，experimental stage.Full details of LTI are available at http：／／www.imsglobal.org／lti／.

［16］ http：／／idpf.org／

［17］ http：／／www.adlnet.gov／scorm／scorm－2004－4th／

［18］ http：／／www.adlnet.org／

［19］ http：／／www.letsi.org／

［20］ Although no formal announcement has been made，Aaron Silvers，a contractor for ADL，has announced on the ADL website that"ADL is embracing a definite future with what we＇re currently calling the next generation of SCORM…expressed through the Tin Can API".In other words，the Tin Can API（which represents a significant break from traditional SCORM）is being presented as"the next generation of SCORM）.See http：／／www.adlnet.gov／the－definite－indefinite－future－of－scorm／.

［21］ An explanation of the RTWS project is provided by Rustici Software at http：／／scorm.com／rtws／.

［22］ http：／／tincanapi.com／

［23］ California＇s high－profile Governor，Arnold Schwarzenegger，has promoted the use of digital textbooks in the state＇s schools，launching a scheme to provide free maths and science textbooks in2009（http：／／news.bbc.co.uk／1／hi／8090450.stm）and passing a law to establish a California Digital Open Source Library for school textbooks in 2012（http：／／www.theatlantic.com／technology／archive／2012／09／california－takes－a－big－step－forward－freedigital－open－source－textbooks／263047／）.

［24］ In 2010，the Shanghai Municipal government announced a five year programme to move their K12 provision entirely to digital textbooks.See http：／／publishingperspectives.com／2010／06／shanghai－hopes－for－all－e－textbook－campus－in－five－years／.

［25］ In his dialogue Phaedrus，Socrates argues that"Writing has this strange quality，and is very like painting；for the creatures of painting stand like living beings，but if one asks them a question，they preserve a solemn silence.And so it is with written words；you might think they spoke as if they had intelligence，but if you question them，wishing to know about their sayings，they always say only one and the same thing."In other words，written text cannot participate in the sort of active，rational discourse that Socrates referred to as the dialectic.See http：／／classics.mit.edu／Plato／phaedrus.html.

［26］ Quoted in Resources for Learning，by L C Taylor，Penguin Education，1971，p.22.L C Taylor takes the quotation from Anthony Chevenix－Trench，the Public Schools，in Peter Blander（ed.），Looking Forward to the Seventies.Smythe，1968，p.76.

［27］ The complement was paid in a lecture by President Garfield given in 1871 at Williams College，where Mark Hopkins was president.Quoted by Clifford E Swartz，Cliff＇s Nodes－ Editorials from The Physics Teacher，The Johns Hopkins University Press，Baltimore，2006，p.68.

［28］ Mazur，E.，Peer Instruction：A User＇s Manual，Addison Wesley，1996.See also Professor Mazur＇s lecture to the UK－based Specialist Schools and Academies Trust at http：／／www.youtube.com／watch？v＝y5qRyf34v3Q.

［29］ Downes，Stephen，"Connectivism and Connective Knowledge：Essays on meaning and learning networks"at http：／／www.downes.ca／files／Connective＿Knowledge－19May2012.pdf.

［30］ The final draft of IEEE1484.12.1 is available at http：／／ltsc.ieee.org／wg12／files／LOM＿1484＿12＿1＿v1＿Final＿Draft.pdf.

［31］ IMS Learning Tools Interoperability provides a means of embedding a signed widget in a web－page.Means of reporting on the use of the embedded tool are still at an early，experimental stage.Full details of LTI are available at http：／／www.imsglobal.org／lti／.

［32］ http：／／idpf.org／