While electronic devices may be distracting in the
classroom, long readings in dull textbooks can be like a sleeping pill for many
students. The online learning platform zyBooks is trying to change that.
The website replaces text with learning activities such as
questions and animation. Instructors at nearly 250 universities are using the
platform instead of traditional textbooks to help students engage with the
material, according to a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
“They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say an
animation is worth 5,000,” Frank Vahid, computer science and engineering
professor at the University of California, Riverside, and co-founder of
zyBooks, told UCR Magazine last spring. “So we don’t have to write as much because we can
replace a whole page of text with an animation or with learning questions.”
Platform creators also took a look at ways to improve
homework. zyBooks integrates assignments into the platform, which are personalized
to students’ ability levels. It also allows a way for instructors to track
progress.
Students can subscribe to the service for $40-$60 per
class, with discounts available for subscription renewals and extensions. The
company offers special pricing for high schools and large numbers of multiterm
subscriptions.
A two-year study of nearly 2,000 students done by Zyante
Inc., the company founded by Vahid and Smita Bakshi, a former UC Davis
engineering professor, found that those using zyBooks averaged a quarter-grade
higher than those using traditional content. In addition, a controlled group of
136 students showed they spent twice as much time using the interactive zyBooks
material when compared with reading electronic content.
