CourseSmart bills itself as the largest etextbook provider in the world. This is from their press release:
To better serve students this fall, CourseSmart has launched a new website, specifically designed to help students easily find and instantly access their assigned eTextbooks.
Additionally, CourseSmart’s release of “eTextbooks for the iPad 2.0,” an optimized application that takes full advantage of the iPad’s advanced functionality, provides students with the ultimate mobile solution to access all of the most popular, in-demand textbooks and course materials, anytime-anywhere. To highlight these exciting developments, CourseSmart is announcing that they will be giving away an iPad every day during the back-to-school season.
“The iPad is a game-changing device for the educational market and will provide a unique opportunity for students to access their core learning resources and integrate the extraordinary digital benefits of Apple’s large-form tablet device,” said Sean Devine, CEO of CourseSmart. “Our ability to provide students with access to their eTextbooks from any web-enabled device is an unmatched mobile solution that perfectly caters to the increasing demand of today’s on-the-go, digital-savvy students.”
Students will also immediately benefit from the advanced search and ecommerce capabilities of CourseSmart’s new site, designed to help students find and access their assigned course material in less time. CourseSmart.com is also better integrating with students’ social media environment, introducing Facebook Connect as part of the new site and launching a new social media program to ensure students find the best options for purchasing their assigned course materials.
More info here, including their iPad-a-day giveaway program.
Will be interesting to see how MBS’s Xplana “social learning” e-textbook/course platform competes against the new-and-improved CourseSmart. At first glance, Xplana seems to have a better social interface and better social features. As opposed to “integrating” with a social media environment, ala CourseSmart, Xplana actually IS a social media environment that also has extensions to the outside world.