{"id":4619,"date":"2021-07-20T13:47:42","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T12:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/?p=4619"},"modified":"2026-10-14T14:47:47","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T13:47:47","slug":"online-interactive-textbook-content-delivery-052","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humteachlearn\/2021\/07\/20\/online-interactive-textbook-content-delivery-052\/","title":{"rendered":"Using an Online Interactive Textbook for Content Delivery"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” fullwidth=”on” next_background_color=”#000000″][et_pb_fullwidth_menu _builder_version=”3.0.106″ menu_id=”7″ submenu_direction=”downwards” fullwidth_menu=”off” background_layout=”dark” module_class=”main-navigation” \/][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″ prev_background_color=”#000000″ next_background_color=”#1d1d1d”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.48″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_post_title _builder_version=”3.17.6″ meta=”off” featured_placement=”above” featured_image=”off” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Introduction” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

In this document I present some summary findings regarding the use of an online textbook-type resource which was used in a large Mathematics for Economists unit. Enrollment in this unit was 975 students, the vast majority of which Year 1 students with a small proportion of Year 2 students.<\/p>\n

The circumstances of the academic year 2020\/21 necessitated that all content delivery for this unit had to be moved online. While there are different models possible, the approach taken here was to deliver the material via an online \u201cinteractive\u201d textbook. The platform which was used was\u00a0Mobius by DigitalEd<\/a>, but note that other platforms like\u00a0Xerte<\/a>\u00a0exist.<\/p>\n

While the content was delivered asynchronously, there were twice-weekly Review and Q&A sessions in which students could bring up any questions and problems and in which the lecturer would review some of the key concepts introduced in the online lessons.<\/p>\n

In the document below I review what the elements of this resource are. I will also present some student feedback and usage information. The student feedback presented here leads me to conclude that the future of blended learning can look quite different to the past. Having been forced to re-think last year\u2019s delivery has provided me with a significant leap in understanding how content can be delivered asynchronously. As a result I will continue to use asynchronous content delivery even when social distancing restrictions will no longer force our hand. Importantly, and perhaps surprisingly, student feedback seems to support such a conclusion.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”The Online Textbook (1,2,3)” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n

The Online Textbook<\/h2>\n
\"Weekly<\/a>

Figure 1. Tie-in of Mobius Lessons into VLE. (Click for full image)<\/p><\/div>\n

The online textbook is incorporated into a virtual learning environment (LMS) – here Blackboard. The VLE has weekly sub-pages from which the weekly lessons are linked, as indicated in Figure 1.<\/p>\n

In the weekly folders students find links to the respective chapters in the online textbook (the image is merely there to draw some attention to the lessons). A lesson contains the material which would have, traditionally, been covered in a 2 hour lecture.<\/p>\n

When clicking on these links students find themselves on a new page which contains the lesson\u2019s (clickable) structure and the content (see Figure 2).<\/p>\n

As any standard website (or VLE) the text on these pages can include videos (linked or embedded). An example can be seen in Figure 3.<\/p>\n

\"Mobius<\/a>

Figure 2. Tie-in of Mobius Lessons into VLE<\/p><\/div>

\"A<\/a>

Figure 3. Embedding of online video<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

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[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”The Online Textbook (4)” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n

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\"Questions<\/a>

Figure 4. Question embedded in online text<\/p><\/div>\n

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The amount of video content in a lesson is actually quite modest (app. 10 to 25 minutes per lesson).<\/p>\n

So far, all could be achieved with standard websites or in fact with some VLEs directly. The element which makes this an interactive textbook are illustrated in Figures 4 and 5.<\/p>\n

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[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”The Online Textbook (5)” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n

\"Multiple<\/a>

Figure 5. Question embedded in online text<\/p><\/div>\n

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These questions can be graded and the summary grades across all the questions of a lesson can be copied to the VLE in order to show alongside other assessments (formative or summative).<\/p>\n

In the context of this unit these grades are purely used to give formative feedback and students are allowed to answer multiple times.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”The Online Textbook (pre youtube text)” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n

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The reason for including the quizzes into the text is to allow students the opportunity to frequently check their understanding. In principle a question is included after every (testable) bite of information or technique. In addition to these questions students also have weekly quizzes available in which questions test skills and knowledge from across the entire lesson (a week\u2019s material).<\/p>\n

A short video with a walk-through a lesson is available from\u00a0in this YouTube clip (7:43min)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_video _builder_version=”3.17.6″ src=”https:\/\/youtu.be\/9Jlr7SIcHPM” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Usage Statistics” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n

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Usage Statistics<\/h2>\n
\"A<\/a>

Figure 6. Lesson usage statistics<\/p><\/div>\n

Let\u2019s look at some usage statistics for these lessons. For the 12 Week Semester there were 9 weeks with new content and hence there were 9 lessons.<\/p>\n

From Figure 6 you can see that, on average, students opened a lesson 21 times, so on average every lesson was looked at by a student more than two times. You can see four clear peaks in the usage statistics. These peaks coincide with the three (10% each) assessments during the term and the final exam in January 2021.<\/p>\n

Recall that around 975 students were enrolled in the unit. The \u201cDistinct Users\u201d line in the above graph indicates that in assessment weeks everyone engaged with the lessons.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Figure 7. Lesson usage pattern. 0 – Sunday, 1 – Monday, \u2026 6 – Saturday. The timeslots indicated in red contained the weekly Review and Q&A sessions to the entire class.<\/p><\/div>\n

But even in non-assessment weeks (during term time – weeks beginning 5 Oct to 14 Dec) at least 50% of students do engage with the lessons.<\/p>\n

From Figure 7 you can see that the weekly Review and Q&A sessions (time slots highlighted in red), in which the lecturer reviewed some of the important concepts covered in the lessons and responded to student questions (mainly raised through the discussion board but also questions raised live in the session), made students engage with the material most on these days.<\/p>\n

You can also see, from the 24h engagement that many students studied abroad.<\/p>\n

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[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Student feedback & Quantitative evaluation (fig 8-14)” _builder_version=”3.17.6″]<\/p>\n

Student feedback<\/h2>\n

Two sources of student feedback are summarised here. A survey dedicated to soliciting views on the online textbook was send out to students (May 2021) and their numerical responses are summarised in the next subsection. The open text responses are then analysised, paired up with the open text responses from the standard unit survey (January 2021) and summarised.<\/p>\n

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Quantitative evaluation<\/h2>\n
\"A<\/a>

Figure 8. Indication of when students interacted with the material presented in Mobius Lessons.<\/p><\/div>\n

At the conclusion of the module students were asked to complete a standard unit survey in which many commented on the usefulness of the lessons.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the academic year (in May 2021) and after the same cohort of students studies on the follow-on Advanced Statistics course unit in which the content was mainly delivered through pre-recorded online videos, an additional questionnaire was send out to students which asked specific questions regarding the use of lessons as content delivery vehicles.<\/p>\n

Of the 975 students enrolled in the course unit 105 responded (11%). It is impossible to claim that this is a representative sample of the student cohort.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Figure 9. Format choice for Mobius Lessons.<\/p><\/div>\n

First students were asked if and if so when they used the lessons.<\/p>\n

Almost 60% of students indicated that they did use the lesson in the week in which it was presented in the VLE. Less than 10% indicated that they only used the lessons before the exam or not at all. These numbers seem quite consistent with the usage statistics shown in Figure 6. This is important as significant discrepancies between these statistics would indicate that the survey sample is certainly not representative of the student population on this unit. Note that the absence of a discrepancy here does not establish that the sample is representative. With the data available such a judgement is impossible to make.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Figure 10. Number of videos in lessons.<\/p><\/div>\n

As you can see from Figure 1 we also provided a pdf version of the lessons. This would allow students to download the material and access it offline, but does not have any interactive elements. We asked students whether they used the online or pdf versions.<\/p>\n

Students were asked about the amount of videos (typically between 10 and 25 minutes per lesson) was appropriate.<\/p>\n

It was pleasing to see that students felt that it was appropriate to present the content in predominantly text form, only supplemented by videos.<\/p>\n

We also checked whether the amount of questions was appropriate. It is difficult to describe the number of questions. But perhaps it is useful to describe the principle used in the design of these lessons. Questions were included frequently, after small chunks of contents. In principle questions were included after whenever the new content by itself, or in combination with earlier content allowed the formulation of sensible questions.<\/p>\n

In order to get a feel whether the content was explained in sufficient detail we asked students about the amount of detail provided in the lessons.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Figure 11. Number of questions build into lessons.<\/p><\/div>

\"A<\/a>

Figure 12. Difficulty of lesson content.<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

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\"A<\/a>

Figure 13. Lesson contribution<\/p><\/div>\n

Finally we asked students: \u201cOverall I would rate the contribution the lessons made to my learning as follows\u201d where students could provide answers between 1 and 5 (best contribution).<\/p>\n

Clearly, the vast majority of students responding to the survey felt that the lessons contributed well to their learning.<\/p>\n

Having in mind that in the future content could again be delivered by traditional lectures, we asked students how, in future, they would prefer the content to be delivered. Students were given the following options:<\/p>\n