General Information 1. What is South University Digital Bookshelf? South University Digital Bookshelf is an advanced electronic textbook reader that allows storage of digital assets within individual online classrooms. You will be able to access your electronic texts directly from your online classroom, and you will have the option to download texts to your computer for offline access. 2. What are the advantages of using South University Digital Bookshelf? We are confident you will appreciate the numerous benefits this innovative tool provides, including: Easy, intuitive access Digital Bookshelf is available via Web browser anytime, anywhere. All course materials are linked directly from your online classroom. A rich set of learning features Digital Bookshelf takes online learning to the next level, providing advanced note-taking and highlighting features, a sophisticated search engine, customizable settings, various organizational tools, and more. Immediate availability Textbook content is available to you as soon as you access it. You won t have to wait for delivery or deal with back-orders. Environmentally friendly Because it s paperless, Digital Bookshelf consumes fewer resources than traditional textbooks, which must be printed, packaged, and shipped. By implementing this greener alternative, we're doing our part for the environment. 3. Can I access the digital text before classes begin? Yes. You will be able to access digital text through your online classroom(s) when you have access to the course in the current session. 4. Will Digital Bookshelf be used for every online course? Most courses will utilize South University Digital Bookshelf. (See the Digital Text vs. Traditional Textbooks section for more information about courses that don t use Digital Bookshelf.) Digital Text vs. Traditional Textbooks 1. Will all courses utilize Digital Bookshelf? Not yet. We are continuing to work with our publishers to convert all textbooks used in South University courses. This information is located on the Campus Common under My Academics. From this drop-down menu, select Digital Bookshelf. Once there, under the Resources section, click to open the Course List. Here you will find a list showing what texts will be available in digital format versus traditional. 2. What if I m in a class that uses traditional books instead of Digital Bookshelf? You will need to purchase your books for these courses. You should go to MBS, the online bookstore, and to purchase these books. Go to http://bookstore.mbsdirect.net/southu.htm 1
3. Can I still purchase printed copies of my textbooks for courses that use Digital Bookshelf? Printed textbooks will still be available through the online bookstore, MBS. However, you are not required to purchase printed copies of your digital texts. If you choose to purchase a printed copy of a textbook that is available through Digital Bookshelf, you must do so at your own expense. Costs and Financial Aid Implications There is no cost for digital textbooks, outside of tuition. This is effective Winter 2011. Technical Considerations 1. How do I gain access to my digital texts? Digital texts will be immediately available to you upon logging into your online classrooms. The digital texts will be available in the Readings and Assignments sections of the online classrooms. 2. This is my first course. How do I get started? In your online classroom, click on the readings, and then click on the chapter link. You will arrive at a screen where you will be prompted to create a South University Digital Bookshelf account. You should be sure to note the email and password that you enter as you will need this information when you are ready to download the Digital Bookshelf software. 3. Is any special software needed to access the texts? Yes only if you wish to download your texts to your personal computer. In this case, you will need to download the Digital Bookshelf program software. The Digital Bookshelf software provides enhanced functionality and access to texts without an internet connection (after download). Go to http://vitalsource.com/downloads to access the software. Once there, you will choose your platform (PC or Mac) and click the digital text icon to download the Digital Bookshelf application. Then, follow the prompts to complete the download process. The software can be downloaded to two personal computers at the same time. 4. Will I be able to access the text at any time? As long as you have an active Internet connection, you will be able to access your texts in your online classrooms or via the Bookshelf Online (http://digitalbookshelf.southuniversity.edu). In addition, once you download the Digital Bookshelf software and your digital texts, you will have access to the downloaded content for five years. 5. When will I be able to download the digital text to my laptop or desktop? You can technically download the software and your digital texts at any time after class begins. If you download your texts prior to the 16 th day of class, you will only be downloading the temporary license, which will require updating on or after day 16. 6. Am I able to keep the digital text? Each book will be available for up to five years. You will need to remain in a course beyond day 16 of the session in order to gain access to the five-year license 2
7. Can I download digital texts to more than one computer? Yes. You will be able to download the Digital Bookshelf software and digital texts onto two computers at one time. If you have utilized all the available downloads, and your computer crashes, you can contact Technical Support to allow the software download to a new computer. 8. I want to download the software and can t remember the password I used when I created my account. What should I do? Contact Technical Support to have your password reset. 9. I am getting a message that says Expiring (next 30 days) when I access my digital text. What does this mean? There are two licenses generated via the link in the online classroom. The first license is only temporary and is generated from the start of the term until 15 days into the term. The second license is the full license, and is only available on day 16 into the term, and after that. The temporary license is designed to expire. This accommodates the add/drop period. If you download the digital text to the Digital Bookshelf on your computer during the temporary license period, you WILL see a message that indicates your license is set to expire. To rectify this, simply go back into the online classroom on day 16 of the term and click on the digital text link again. This will generate the full license and associate it with your account. Then, return to the Bookshelf on your desktop, select Account from the top toolbar, and click Update Book List. This will restore the textbook on your desktop. Highlights and notes will also be restored. Note: The Expiring (next 30 days) warning in no way prevents you from accessing your digital text, uninterrupted, via the online classroom. 10. How do I update my book list? You should use the following process to update your book list: First, go into the online classroom and click on a link to access your digital text online. This must be completed AFTER the temporary license has expired (on day 15). Only after the temporary license has expired will the full license become available. Then, returning to the Digital Bookshelf application on their desktop From the top toolbar in the Digital Bookshelf application, select "Account." From the drop-down options provided, select "Update Book List." The system will then attempt to contact the server and update access to the license. As long as you have accessed the Digital Bookshelf via the online classroom, you should be presented with a window that indicates you have new book(s) to download. These are actually the same book(s) for the class, but now with a five-year license for accessing them. 3
NOTE: If you have multiple digital texts for a class, we suggest clicking on the links for all texts via the online classroom before proceeding with this process outlined above. This will ensure to update the licenses for all books at the same time, versus having to complete the process multiple times. 11. I am in the South University Digital Bookshelf software I downloaded to my desktop, but I can t see any of my books. Several things can cause this to occur (with recommended solutions below) When you downloaded the software, you created a second Digital Bookshelf account, versus logging in to your existing account (that was created via the online classroom). o Call Technical Support in order to have these two accounts merged. You downloaded the software, but have not yet accessed the digital text link in the online classroom (and therefore, do not have the license associated with your account). o Go to the online classroom, click on the digital text link, and at the screen where you would normally create your account, instead login to your account (filling out the form in the same way, just using pre-existing account information). This will associate the license with your account. Once this transaction is successful, you can return to the desktop software and, if not automatically presented with the option to download the book, can go to Account and choose Update Book List. You may automatically be prompted to do this. It is possible that the temporary license for the book has expired, and the full license has not been updated to the account yet. o Go to the online classroom and click on the digital text link. This will ensure the full license for the digital text is on your account. Next, return to the Digital Bookshelf on your desktop. By clicking on the Account menu and selecting Update Book List, the access to the digital text will be restored. 12. I created highlights and notes on the digital text online that are not showing up on my desktop version. What should I do? The second time you open your Digital Bookshelf from your desktop, you will be presented with a pop-up screen that asks, Would you like to enable syncing? Clicking on the Enable Syncing option will synchronize the desktop version of the text with the online version. If you are not presented with the pop-up window or if you wish to change your syncing options, you should complete the following: Select Edit from the toolbar in the Digital Bookshelf application on your desktop. Choose Preferences from the options provided. Select the Syncing option. On the Syncing screen check (or uncheck) the box next to Sync highlighters between all my computers. NOTE: Syncing requires an active Internet connection. 13. Can I print my digital text? We encourage you to be as green as possible and limit the amount of printing you do. Printing out your digital text means you lose all the functionality the technology offers. If printing is necessary, there are several options. From the downloaded version of the Bookshelf, which you can only access on a personal computer, you can print a chapter at a time. Each chapter can be printed only once. Simply click on the chapter in the table of contents (left-side navigation bar, Contents tab) that you would like to print. Then, go to File on the top toolbar and select Print. The chapter pages will automatically be inserted into the page range fields. Click Continue to choose your printer and proceed. 4
From the online version of the Bookshelf, which you can access anywhere you can access the internet, you can only print one page at a time essentially the web page view at the time. Use the internet browser s print functionality to print from the online version of the book. 14. I have a disability that prevents me from using digital text. What can I do? Digital texts are inherently versatile and can be used by students in a variety of situations. Requests for accommodations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Please be aware that South University provides reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities in accordance to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Students should contact our Disability Services team to discuss options for accessing texts by calling 1-888-444-3404, x33000 or sending email to suods@southuniversity.edu. 5