Analysis

Selected Results

Most digital textbooks can be used on different devices such as laptops and tablets, although smartphone screens are usually too small to use the book in a sensible way. This allows pupils to access the textbook regardless of the device they are using and allows teachers to easily use digital textbooks in the classroom provided the students have any kind of digital device.

The analysis showed that current digital textbooks are often not "digital born" but only a transformation or scan of a paper-based textbook. The opportunities of digital environments, such as adaptivity to individual students' needs or the possibility to create interactive and immersive learning scenarios are often not fully seized. The analysed textbooks also often tend to focus on traditional methods and closed formats instead of harnessing the power of collaborative work and open-ended tasks that include all pupils and their individual strengths.

None of the analysed digital textbooks was fully accessible according to a defined standard (WCAG, PDF/UA). This means that pupils with different educational needs or pupils using assistive software such as a screenreader often cannot access the books or part of the books. Another point that is lacking in current digital textbooks is a perception-specific presentation of the design and content. On a technical level, this means that pupils are not able to remove distracting information such as decorative images or background or change the colour, font and size of the content. On a didactic level, this means that students are not always able to receive scaffolding or do not get to choose from various difficulty levels.

The analysis also showed that there is still room for improvement when it comes to customised feedback that allows students to take credit for their own learning paths and receive customised recommendations for further training or improvement of their answers.