Exploring Student and Teacher’s Perception of E-textbooks in a Primary School

The potential of technology in digital society offers multiple possibilities for learning. E-books constitute one of the technologies to which great attention has to be paid. This article presents a case study on the perceptions held by a teacher and his students on the use of E-textbooks in a primary education classroom. It examines students’ meaningmaking practices and the perceptions that teachers and students have towards their engagement in learning activities in this context. In the analysis of the data generated, the classroom is considered a multimodal learning space, where virtual, physical and cognitive environments overlap, allowing students to negotiate meaning across multiple contexts and reflect upon it. Results show that e-textbook users’ perceptions greatly depend on the institutional culture in which they are embedded. While the adoption of E-textbooks does not necessarily mean a transition from traditional textbooks to E-textbooks, students and teachers may develop a more demanding range of criteria which must be met by e-textbook providers. By doing this, e-books become a real alternative to free internet resources. Although E-textbooks favor a communicatively active style of learning, there are still real challenges to be overcome by publishers so that E-textbooks do not become the next forgotten fad