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CourseSmart

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CourseSmart, a privately held company headquartered in San Mateo, California, was a provider of eTextbooks and digital course materials founded in 2007. CourseSmart was acquired by Ingram Content Group subsidiary VitalSource Technologies in early 2014, and was integrated into the parent company under the VitalSource name in late 2015.

Company history

Launch and growth

CourseSmart was founded in 2007 by publishers in higher education including Bedford, Cengage Learning, Freeman & Worth Publishing Group (Macmillan), McGraw-Hill Education, John Wiley & Sons, and Pearson.[1]

In August 2009 CourseSmart launched an iPhone app,[2] followed by iPad app in fall September 2010,[3] and an Android app in April 2011.[4] By September 2011, its eTextbooks catalogue had more than 20,000 digital titles, and purchased books could be printed at no extra charge.[5]

Acquisition by VitalSource Bookshelf

CourseSmart was acquired by Ingram Content Group subsidiary VitalSource Technologies Inc., in early 2014.[6][7] Initially, VitalSource eTextbooks could not be read on the CourseSmart eTextbook platform and vice-versa, and both platforms operated separately with no crossover. In November 2015, CourseSmart users were directed to download their eTextbooks via the VitalSource Bookshelf platform and were advised that some of their CourseSmart eTextbooks, along with their associated highlights and notes, would be migrated to Bookshelf. Until then, CourseSmart Mobile Reader users were required to maintain both the CourseSmart Mobile Reader and Bookshelf apps on their devices, or to read their books in their browsers.[8]

Not all CourseSmart texts were migrated to VitalSource Bookshelf. As VitalSource explains: "There are some titles that the publisher has decided are not available. You may still request these, but the publisher may decide not to let you have this, or may require further information from you in order to allow access."[9]

VitalSource Bookshelf, unlike CourseSmart, allows users to download eTextbooks to multiple devices at any given time, such as two computers and two mobile devices.[10] Also unlike the CourseSmart Mobile Reader, which provided the option to cache eTextbooks for offine reading via Chrome, Firefox, or Safari browser,[11] Bookshelf does not give users an option to read eTextbooks offline via their browser.

User access

CourseSmart-hosted content can only be printed in 10-page increments. The total number of pages that can be printed and/or copied and pasted is limited to a percent of the total number of pages in the eBook. Ebook access is limited to a specific duration of time, typically six months, depending on the eBook, and an eBook can be accessed offline by only a single device at a time.[12] Users may check out a maximum of five e-Textbooks for offline access at any given time.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Overview". CourseSmart.
  2. ^ "eTextbooks for College Students Now Available on App Store". PR Newswire. August 11, 2009. Archived from the original (press release) on January 6, 2013.
  3. ^ "Downloads for CourseSmart's New 'eTextbooks for the iPad' App Increase More than Fivefold" (press release). PR Newswire. September 8, 2010. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Nagel, David (April 20, 2011). "CourseSmart Launches E-Textbook App for Android". Campus Technology. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  5. ^ Vora, Shivani (September 2011). "Hot New Market: Electronic Textbooks". Inc. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  6. ^ "Ingram Buys CourseSmart Mar 03, 2014". Publishers Weekly. March 3, 2014. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  7. ^ Kelly, Rhea (March 3, 2014). "Vital Source Acquires CourseSmart". Campus Technology. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  8. ^ "Bookshelf Support: Getting Started: Legal". VitalSource. Retrieved January 2016. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  9. ^ "Migrated CourseSmart Instructors FAQ". VitalSource. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved January 2016. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ "Settings>>Manage devices: VitalSource Bookshelf Application allows you to have 2 computers and 2 mobile devices activated at any given time". Vitalsource.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "Learn More". CourseSmart. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  12. ^ "Terms of Service". CourseSmart.
  13. ^ "Learn More". CourseSmart. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
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