Proximity of Equations, Text, and Figures in Civil Engineering E-Textbooks Paul W. Richards Brigham Young University Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Electronic Textbooks Are Being Pushed

Are Electronic Textbooks As Effective as Printed? Daniel, D. B., and Woody, W. D. (2013). "E-textbooks at What Cost? Performance and Use of Electronic vs. Print Texts." Computers & Education, 62(0), No significant difference in learning Electronic formats take longer to read

How Are Engineering Textbooks Different? Hibbeler, R.C. Engineering Mechanics: Statics Myers, D.G. Psychology. Seventh Ed.

Proximity

How Does Proximity Impact Learning? Mayer, R.E., et al., A Generative Theory of Textbook Design: Using Annotated Illustrations to Foster Meaningful Learning of Science Text. Educational Technology Research and Development, (1): p

What Happens to Proximity in Engineering E-Textbooks? Printed Spread Even Page Odd Page Now not proximate Odd Page

Textbooks Used for Study

Results for Printed Books Proximity of Referenced Objects (%) AuthorSame PageFacing PageSame Spread Segui McCormac Geschwindner Salmon and Johnson All These results can be used to infer proximity in PDF versions viewed one page, rather than one spread, at a time. Flowable-text versions have much lower proximity with some approaching 0%.

Returning to the Ideal “… page after page of Leonardo’s manuscripts have a gentle but thorough integration of text and figure, a quality rarely seen in modern work.” Edward Tufte

Conclusions and Recommendations Proximity matters in scientific texts. Electronic textbooks have poor proximity (50% or worse). Current-generation e-textbooks in science and engineering should not be pushed.