• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.13 no.10
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• pp.594-603
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• 2013

In this study, we analyzed the needs of open university students for e-textbooks by conducting focus group interviews (FGIs) and surveys in order to develop an e-textbook that is suited to their needs. The FGIs revealed that readability and portability of e-textbooks were the most important features for students. The surveys showed that of the 276 respondents who participated in the study, only a small number owned smartpads; however, a sizeable number of students intended on purchasing the device in the future. In addition, students' smartpad utilization, time spent reading e-books, and time allotted for studying as opposed to leisure and commercial use of social network services on the smartpad were examined. Students attached importance to the portability, weight, and price of the e-textbook; moreover, they considered the device's ability to support interaction in a variety of ways and rich multimedia resources to be an advantage. Finally, students also felt that e-textbooks should be less expensive than print textbooks; however, they were willing to pay a higher price, depending on the quality of the content.