Course Materials & GenAI: Exploring AI-Enhanced Textbooks

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When I think about the impact on GenAI on books, it’s not hard to get a bit overwhelmed; already there are challenges to what constitutes authorship, how books are used to train GenAI and the copyright implications of all of this. Will books even exist in ten years? In five? 

It’s no surprise that as the Manager of the Course Materials department at Dellelce Family Bookstore on campus, that I think about books all the time (it’s pretty much the job description!), but the way GenAI can both impact and integrate into textbooks and course materials is at the forefront of this sector recently. When instructors are creating a new course, or updating one that runs each year, previously, we look at if the course is moving from an in-person to blended format, or how to engage students better during class time. As we’re using more technology in our classes, being mindful of how students experience individualized learning while also engaging in critical thinking is important now more than ever. What can we do to incentivize students to engage in their course? Even in their course materials: how do we get them to open a book, and actually read it? 

Because such an important part of a course’s development includes how course materials integrate into a class, we need to consider if a textbook is appropriate at all and if we can meet learning outcomes with the use of supplementary materials. With publishers offering both print and digital versions of their textbooks, there are even more moving pieces these days; instead of what chapter to assign to read this week, we’re now looking at including courseware tools with quizzes, videos, audio, links, open educational resources, library resources, and assignments, all now available within the textbook itself. What used to be such a small decision is a multifaceted and an increasingly complex one. Factors such as cost, time to integrate new technology and the book format compared to the course’s delivery method all impact what could work in terms of which textbook may or may not be best. 

To add even more to the mix (because there isn’t enough already!), publishers are bringing in their own GenAI-driven content as additional resources or as part of the book itself. In some cases, GenAI can help update pre-authored texts, so the AI is more on the development and redevelopment end of the materials. AI can make sure digital content is continuously relevant without the need to purchase new editions. For instructors, AI has potential in integrating with assessment, such as courseware assignments, pre-grading tests or to show where students are commonly asking questions or struggling as they are engaging with the material. This is potentially useful to aggregate data, to see student responses, and to adjust content delivery accordingly.  

For students though, textbooks are already offering learners “living” resources, by now integrating videos, quizzes and simulations. These resources are also adapting to how students interact with them, tailoring content to their needs (Dearani, 4). Interactive e-textbooks have benefits such as “flexibility, accessibility and attractiveness [which can] motivate students to become more active and inquisitive readers” (Ergene, 510). Even without being a part of the textbook directly, GenAI tools like ChatGPT are used outside and alongside of textbook online environments to aid student learning and can even compliment textbook content to help free up class time to engage in higher-level learning activities (Ergene 537).  

However, all of this changes as GenAI is now directly integrated into textbooks. This is where we’re seeing the creation of new learning environments altogether, as these AI tools are increasingly available on the student side, providing additional learning resources that are customized to how students interact with the textbook or courseware materials. For example, if their in-text quiz scores are not high enough, the book itself guides them back to the reading to review the content to improve their understanding. Students can ask questions, in different languages, and receive instant feedback. GenAI can even help students create and modify learning plans that align to the textbook’s material or the syllabus. Here, we still need to be mindful of if publishers’ motivations come from monetizing AI or seeing the potential need to help control its use within the classroom. 

Initial studies are showing that students are satisfied with elements of these features, such as search functions, pop-up explanations, and overall assisting with putting new ideas together (Koć‑Januchta, 14). But these resources are also seen as having too much content to remember and some AI features not in-depth enough (Koć‑Januchta, 15). More independent research still needs to be done in this new area, to see if and how GenAI-enhanced textbooks impact students’ learning outcomes and how to balance helpful tools with information overload.  

Understanding how and if these new “textbooks” increase learning outcome success is only the first step, since if and how online resources store student data and use it to update the text itself may be on the horizon; how your students today interact with their learning materials could potentially impact how your students next year learn as well. Privacy and intellectual property concerns needs to be at the forefront as these conversations, and complexities, progress. 

But all that said, we can’t ignore the accessibility of digital compared to traditional print texts nor can we ignore subject-specific learning needs. For example, even though Shakespeare’s plays are freely available online, it matters to students’ learning that they have the exact edition their instructor is reading from, and that this physical book comes to class so everyone can write notes in the margins together. The act of thinking versus critical thinking varies so much by discipline, as in this example, the physical book is needed for close reading and engagement to align with the instructor’s pedagogy. Some research shows that students in general prefer learning from print books for course materials (Matthews) and print is one of the most accessible formats to interact with screen readers and scanning pens. For more information on all aspects of accessibility in course material selection, please see the Recommendations for Accessible Course Materials, as supported by Accessible Education, Western Libraries, Dellelce Family Bookstore and the Centre for Teaching and Learning.  

If we've been able to get Shakespeare's books online for free as ebooks for years, but people keep buying the printed books, we may not see AI rock the industry as much as it potentially could. So then, maybe GenAI may not lead to fewer books, but more … in ten years … or five.   

The Challenge

Take a look at some of the websites a few publishers have available that highlight their integrated GenAI textbook features: 

McGraw Hill 
Macmillan 
Pearson 

Thinking about these AI-integrated textbooks: 

  • How aware were you that your textbook may already be using GenAI? What surprised you if you didn’t know? 
  • How could different student populations benefit or struggle with this type of resource? 
  • How could these technologies be implemented in an in-person class? What about in an online or hybrid class?

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References

  • Dearani J.A. & Mavroudis C. (2025). The Emerging Influence of Artificial Intelligence on Traditional Medical Textbooks. Annals of Thoracic Surgery, no pagination. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.athoracsur.2025.01.018 
  • Koc-Januchta, Marta M., Schonborn, Konrad J., Roehrig, Casey, Chaudhri, Vinay K., Tibell, Lena A. E. & Heller, H. Craig. (2022). "Connecting Concepts Helps Put Main Ideas Together": Cognitive Load and Usability in Learning Biology with an AI-Enriched Textbook. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 19. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s41239-021-00317-3.
  • Ozkan Ergene & Busra Caylan Ergene. (2025). AI ChatBots' Solutions to Mathematical Problems in Interactive E-Textbooks: Affordances and Constraints from the Eyes of Students and Teachers. Education and Information Technologies, 30(1), 509. Retrieved from https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-13121-z. 
  • Matthews, J., & Johnson, A. (2024). What Students Want: Electronic v. Print Books in the Academic Library. College & Research Libraries News, 85(5), 190. doi:https://doi.org/10.5860/crln.85.5.190 

Disclosure

No Gen AI was used in the production of this challenge.

Your Challenger: Rachel Sandieson