This article is cross-posted from edtechtimes.com, where I currently serve as editor-in-chief.

Texas A&M business school professors know whether you’ve been doing your e-reading homework or not.  Along with eight other colleges, Texas A&M is testing CourseSmart technology which organizes digital textbook usage data by class so that each professor has comparative data at his or her fingertips.  Professors are now able to tell whether students have actually read e-textbook chapters as assigned, or if they are cramming at the last minute.

From the New York Times article, student reactions ranged from feeling “caught” to complaining about “software bugs” that didn’t accurately track all the times the textbook was open.  (According to CourseSmart, they are not aware of any such software bugs.)  Other students are concerned that by not using the tools provided with the e-textbooks, they will garner low engagement scores and create a negative perception about their study habits.

CourseSmart’s CEO, Sean Devine, sees the data collection as the beginning of further analysis. From the article, Devine says, “We’ll ultimately show how the student traverses the book.  There’s a correlation and causality between engagement and success.”

Read the New York Times article.

More articles about CourseSmart from EdTech Times:

CourseSmart Launches CourseSmart Analytics Beta, November 12, 2012

CourseSmart Releases A New Reader, March 16, 2012