Encyclopaedia Britannica textbooks and an online study module will hit Indian schools from April 2010 in four subjects - computer science, mathematics, environmental studies and general knowledge

Over the last two decades, online assessment software has gone from a pet experiment for computer-savvy professors on a couple of campuses to a must-have for textbook publishers who wish to stay competitive.

The climbing cost of college textbooks has been the subject of congressional hearings and legislative efforts in almost three dozen states. A federal law that takes effect in July is aimed at controlling textbook costs. It requires publishers to tell professors the price of textbooks when they choose books for classes, and it ends the practice of bundling

Readers can modify content on the Web, so why not in books?

In a series of recent experiments reported by USA Today, college students at Princeton University, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business used a Kindle DX instead of hard copy text books. Surprisingly, 85% of students choose traditional textbooks over e-readers.

Looking to address the problems posed by high textbook prices, the used textbook market and the threat of digital piracy, Macmillan is launching, Dynamic Books, a new digital publishing platform and line of interactive digital textbooks that can be freely customized by professors, downloaded or accessed online or purchased in print-on-demand print editions.

If the iPad doesn't succeed as a consumer electronics device--its initial target market--it may find a successful second career as an electronic textbook reader.

Inkling will port their existing tomes onto Apple’s iPad as interactive, socialized objects. Then, they’ll create all-new learning modules — interactive, social, and mobile. Funded with about $1M in seed money led by Ram Shiram and Mitch Kapor, Inkling is working with McGraw-Hill, Pearson and other top textbook makers.

In an interview with CNBC, McGraw-Hill's CEO confirms that their textbooks will be on the Apple Tablet and it will be an iPhone OS based machine.

The maker of the iPhone is discussing ways to include McGraw-Hill and Hachette e-book titles on its tablet, due to be introduced Jan. 27