McGraw-Hill's SmartBook

Last week, McGraw-Hill unveiled a new series of e-books known as SmartBooks. These digital college textbooks will adapt to student learning needs and act as tutors, changing the content of the e-book the more information it gathers from the user.

When I heard about this, it reminded me of the GMAT, which I took when applying to business schools. The test was a standard multiple choice test (think shading in the bubbles with your #2 pencils), except I took it at a computer terminal. As I answered each question, the test changed. For instance, every correct answer prompted the computer to bring up a more difficult question next, and every incorrect answer brought an easier one; as the difficulty increased, so did the possibly points. I knew about this ahead of time, as our instructors advised us that the earliest questions set the tone for the rest of the test. This helps the computer get a more accurate assessment of a user's grasp of a topic instead of just letting him blindly fill in bubbles before time runs out. 

A product like this, which will be available on multiple devices, gives a taste of where educational publishing can go with electronic publishing. Interactive books means personalized learning for every level, which is great for teachers and publishers trying to sell to every niche market. 

This is interesting news coming out of McGraw-Hill, especially since they're selling off their textbook division to private equity firm Apollo Global Management this year. Of course, one of the reasons they've cited for this is the instability of educational publishing from the ebook shakeup.