Pathways for Innovation Development of Digital Textbooks in Higher Education in China

With the rapid growth of information technology, digital textbooks, as a crucial component of education digitalization, are gradually emerging as a key tool for teaching in higher education institutions. They transcend the limitations of traditional textbooks, providing a broader scope and a wealth of resources for teaching. Digital textbooks present knowledge through diverse formats, including multimedia content and interactive sessions, thereby enhancing student’s engagement and interest in learning. Furthermore, they can be updated at any time to keep abreast of the development in various disciplines and to meet the needs of the times, ensuring that students can access the latest and accurate information. In addition, digital textbooks can help promote educational equity by making quality educational resources accessible to a broader range of students. As Yang (2024) points out, integrating artificial intelligence (AI)-related courses into teaching can cultivate students’ computational thinking, data analysis, and algorithmic application skills, as well as their sense of innovation and a spirit of exploration through solving practical problems. At the same time, AI technology and Big Data can be utilized to analyze students’ learning data and provide customized learning paths and resources. Therefore, it is evident that digital textbooks in higher education play a vital and irreplaceable role in improving teaching quality and cultivating innovative talent.

By introducing the efforts and progress made by Higher Education Press (HEP) in the development of digital textbooks and resources, as well as the specific actions and initiatives in applying AI to develop digital textbooks, strengthening copyright management and protection, and pushing forward the implementation of standards for digital textbooks, this paper discusses the current status, challenges, and future directions of developing digital textbooks in higher education.