The Beginning and End of a Web Native Textbook for Material and Energy Balances

Textbooks are experiencing a 21^st century makeover. The utility of the textbook has diminished for the digital natives populating higher education today.  The concept behind Fundamentals in Material and Energy Balances (FMEB) was to have students interact with the electronic book.  While textbooks focus on the lowest levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, namely remembering and understanding, engineers need the higher levels skills of applying and analyzing to earn an accredited undergraduate degree. The Scaffolded Tool for Active Reading(STAR) © was an online only format for delivery engineering course material.  FMEB was available during the end of 2014 and early 2015 and was used for the Spring 2015 semester with over 180 students. Features of the “book” will be briefly covered while survey data on the students’ usage and comfort level with the new format will complete the talk. The talk will discuss the reasons why the book is not available anymore and the state of e-publishing.