By zyBooks Engineering Team Introduction Students are scoring perfectly on homework, then failing exams when they can’t use AI. They’re submitting polished problem sets without understanding the underlying engineering concepts. When you ask them to explain their approach, they can’t because they didn’t actually work through the problems themselves. Just as engineering programs eventually accepted […]
Teaching introductory programming at a community college isn’t just challenging—it’s a uniquely complex balancing act.
Here are five challenges that community college CS instructors face every day.
by Frank Marsaglia, Dan Goodman, and Dr. Babak Shoraka, zyBooks IT authors Your student completes a VLAN configuration lab following step-by-step instructions and gets 100%. The student can list the VLAN benefits: security, performance, management. Then comes the job interview: “Tell me when you’d recommend VLANs for a small business.” The Framework: A Three-Component Learning […]
By Dr. Nikitha Sambamurthy, Dr. Adrian Rodriguez, Dr. Yasaman Adibi, and Dr. Gregory Mason Introduction MATLAB ranks among the top three requested programming skills in engineering job postings. Analysis of over 130,000 postings presented at the 2022 ASEE Conference confirms its continued relevance across biomedical, chemical, electrical, and mechanical engineering positions. Yet instructors teaching MATLAB […]
In November 2025, the zyBooks engineering team led a peer-to-peer workshop on Moving from Misconceptions to Intuition – Strategies for Teaching Probability & Statistics. This session covered common misconceptions (like equal probability bias and sample size misunderstandings) and research-backed strategies to address them; and hands-on activities and real-world applications that build intuitive understanding. The team […]
zyBook Workshop Jump to content you would like to see (click the 3 lines in the tool bar)
Teaching programming is challenging enough without the added complexity of managing group work. zyBooks has introduced a powerful feature in zyLabs that makes collaborative coding as seamless as individual work.
In October 2025, the zyBooks content team led a peer-to-peer Materials Science Workshop that explored two critical areas: addressing common student misconceptions and implementing collaborative learning strategies. The discussion highlighted how students often struggle with crystallography, phase diagrams, mechanical properties, and more—not because these concepts are inherently difficult, but because of specific, identifiable misconceptions. The […]
By Dr. Ryan Barlow and Dr. Greg Mason Introduction You’ve seen it countless times: students solve manufacturing calculations flawlessly on exams, then design parts that are impossible to produce. They determine the correct extrusion pressure but can’t explain why material flows the way it does. They ace tolerance problems but specify features that would triple […]
zyBook Workshop Jump to content you would like to see (click the 3 lines in the tool bar)
zyBook Workshop Jump to content you would like to see (click the 3 lines in the tool bar)
When 50 engineering instructors gathered for our September 24, 2025 zyBooks workshop, we focused on a problem that costs us weeks of class time every semester: students who can solve thermodynamics and fluid mechanics problems perfectly but can’t explain what their answers mean.
zyBooks has taken a responsible approach that includes content and tools. See how we are empowering students and instructors with content and tools.
By Dr. Yasaman Adibi and Dr. Mohsen Sarraf Introduction: Addressing the Complexity of Modern Electrical Engineering Education Teaching electrical engineering presents unique pedagogical challenges that have only intensified as the field has evolved. Students must simultaneously master abstract theoretical concepts, apply sophisticated mathematics, and connect both to practical applications—all while developing the problem-solving intuition essential […]
zyBooks stands alone among major educational publishers in conducting peer-reviewed research on our platform’s effectiveness. While competitors rely on testimonials and marketing claims, we submit our findings to rigorous academic scrutiny through peer- reviewed conference proceedings and journal articles. Recent studies demonstrate measurable improvements in the factors that matter most for student success: engagement, learning […]
Practical strategies for improving student success with interactive learning The Evidence for Interactive Learning Peer-reviewed research in engineering courses using zyBooks has documented statistically significant improvements when activities are assigned for grades. A study of engineering courses found that the percentage of students receiving A’s, B’s, and C’s increased from 45% to 57%. While these […]
Explore why even strong programming students face challenges with data structures concepts and how to improve success rates using zyBooks.
See the Data Structures choices with zyBooks, so you can choose the optimal content to meet your course objectives and students’ needs.
A seven-semester study presented at ASEE 2025 provides new data on interactive homework effectiveness in engineering courses. Dr. Yasaman Adibi, Dr. Adrian Rodriguez, and colleagues tracked 345 students across similar course conditions, varying only whether interactive textbook activities were assigned for points or recommended and not assigned for points. Key findings: The research addresses a […]
What if a simple change to your homework structure could reduce failing grades by 22% and boost student engagement by 500%? New research from a major public university reveals how zyBooks are transforming engineering education outcomes. Read the research here. Key Research Findings A new ASEE conference paper tracking 345 engineering students across seven semesters […]
In part two of this video panel discussion, zyBooks experts dig into cognitive load, research, and how students can manage their mental effort.
Here at zyBooks, we’re getting more questions about cheating than ever before. In this post, we share strategies you can use in your classroom right now that have been shown to substantially reduce cheating.
In this video panel discussion, zyBooks experts dig into cognitive load and share best practices to manage it in your classroom.
No credentials in information technology are more crucial than CompTIA certifications. Here’s how to help your students best prepare for them.
To mark International Women in Engineering Day, we brought together an esteemed group of our engineering colleagues to talk about their own professional journeys, the challenges they and other women face in the field, and how to inspire more girls and women to become engineers.
Researchers at DeVry University wanted to find out if zyBooks could overcome challenges they saw with traditional textbooks. So how did zyBooks stack up against print textbooks?
zyBooks is at the forefront of developing – and implementing – innovations to help students with visual impairments succeed in STEM. Innovations all educators should adopt. To learn more, we spoke with three engineering and science content experts who are leading the accessibility charge at zyBooks.
We’re excited to announce that zyBooks’ Advanced zyLabs beta release is now available for developing instructor-created content.
Traditional print textbooks can present significant challenges for students with visual impairments, particularly in fields such as mechanical engineering where visual elements are critical to understanding the material.
F. Vahid 2023
You likely saw the New York Times article on explosive Computer Science growth and difficulties departments are facing. Several of us professors grew tired of publishers underutilizing the web and instead pushing their textbooks (some with clunky web enhancements) — with big price increases to boot.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Hadley Dreibelbis, Finn Partners Hadley.Dreibelbis@finnpartners.com 202-518-6496 ZYBOOKS USES U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION GRANT TO FUND UNMET NEEDS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION zyBooks receives $200,000 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Award Los Gatos, California, June 6, 2018 – With a growing workforce demand for computer science skills, it is more necessary than […]
Emma Ward has her eyes fixed on a career in life science research. The University of Illinois at Chicago student talked to numerous faculty while investigating graduate school options. As she gathered advice in laying out her path towards her goal, one problem stood out to her: there was a need for programming skills in […]
When thinking about a college major, John Pham was most interested in art and robotics. So, when it came time to declare a major at the University of California, Riverside, he felt most drawn to mechanical engineering, well aware of the challenges that lay ahead. John’s first experience in coding happened at Citrus Hack, the […]
zyBook authors understand that content delivery can evolve as we better understand our students. One area of concern for us is student frustration. Certainly, we want students to wrestle with our content, but we don’t want them to struggle so much that they give up in frustration. Authors use our student activity report to help […]
Here’s a video of our Friday morning commute courtesy of Sarah, our Product Support Manager!
In a previous post, we shared some responses from our zyBooks colleagues to the question “Why do you work at zyBooks?” We went around the office (and the virtual office around the country) to capture some more of what drives our company.
We’ve enjoyed a wonderful 2017 with all of you. In fact, this year zyBooks has impacted more students and instructors than ever! For 2018, we’re looking forward to serving even more customers and offering more products that increase student confidence and make instructors’ jobs more enjoyable. We’ll have some exciting news for you very soon regarding the latest platform updates, so please stay tuned!
Even to the most seasoned instructor, when 450 students take their seats on the first day of class, the landscape can feel intimidating. Confident achievers sit down in the lecture hall beside curious learners and annoyed students. Some arrive with years of coding experience, whereas others are just starting out. How can an instructor possibly […]
We spend a significant portion of our lives at work. For some, work is just a necessary evil to pay for life’s pleasures. For others, work is a passion and part of one’s complete lifestyle. In this post, staff at zyBooks respond to the question “Why do you work at zyBooks?”
One of the more challenging courses to teach in an engineering discipline is computer programming. Focusing only on algorithms and programming blocks leaves little time to build a connection to daily engineering problems. On the other hand, teaching based on problem solving does not allow for a deeper comprehension of algorithm development. “Finding the right […]
Dr. Sandy Irani is a longtime Professor of Computer Science at UC Irvine. And like any good professor, she constantly looks for ways to improve the classroom experience. But over the years, Dr. Irani has kept running into the same issue; the classic textbook for her Discrete Mathematics course (considered the “standard” across universities) was […]
I teach Discrete Mathematics at UC Irvine. Although many professors shy away from teaching lower division courses, I really enjoy reaching students early in their undergraduate careers. In addition to teaching a subject that I love, I also have a chance to impact students’ academic work habits based on my experiences. Looking back, while I […]
Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and zyBooks, an online interactive textbook provider, today announced the launch of a web-based interactive version of the market-leading textbook Computer Organization and Design, Fifth Edition (David A. Patterson & John L. Hennessy, 2013). Read more ››
This week, zyBooks, a Los Gatos-based company co-founded by UCR professor Frank Vahid, received a $4 million infusion of cash from a combination of sources. Bialla Venture Partners in Sausalito put down $2 million. The rest came from other investors and a grant from the National Science Foundation. Read more ››
zyBooks, the leading provider of interactive digital learning products for the rapidly growing higher education STEM (Science, Technology Engineering & Math) market, announced a $4 million investment round led by Bialla Venture Partners, LLC. In conjunction with the funding, managing member of Bialla Venture Partners, David Uri, will join the company’s Board of Directors.
The year was 1979, the screen was black and the text was orange. This was the year Dr. Nelly Cardinale purchased her first computer, an Apple II. It came with four textbooks on programming and nothing else. “If you wanted to do anything on the computer back then, you had to do it yourself,” Cardinale […]
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, animations are worth 5,000—at least, that’s one of the principles underlying interactive online textbook replacements zyBooks. Another principle: Students should interact and engage with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning as if they’re in dialogue with their education. Read more ››
To help students succeed in college STEM courses, UC Riverside computer scientist Frank Vahid created zyBooks — interactive STEM learning material native for the web.
One UA associate professor has put a modern spin on an old classic — the textbook — by using zyBooks in his electrical and computer engineering courses. Read more ››
Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, has contracted with online interactive textbook provider, zyBooks, to create a web-based interactive edition of the market-leading Computer Organization and Design, Fifth Edition (David A. Patterson & John L. Hennessy, 2013) textbook Read the full press release
It’s difficult to keep students engaged — and awake — when assigning them readings from long and often dull textbooks. Two researchers wanted to change that.
Wendy Hankes has taught high school classes for 24 years and is an expert at picking up new things fast. But when the principal of Big Spring High School in Pennsylvania asked her to teach a brand new Intro to Java course the next school year, even Ms. Hankes was overwhelmed. “I was going to […]
Company focused on building interactive textbooks is already reaching more than 50,000 students at 200 universities and colleges Read more ››
A company formed by professors and computing professionals to help college students succeed in STEM courses seems to have struck a chord, with over 200 universities and 60,000 student users in just two year. Yet unlike many recent efforts towards free materials such as Khan Academy, MOOCs, and OpenStax, this company unabashedly charges a subscription fee.
My journey to zyBooks started with one person: my graduate advisor at UCR, Frank Vahid. Frank had been one of my undergraduate professors, and I had been particularly struck by his unique philosophy towards teaching. I knew I wanted to work with Frank during my graduate studies because of this, because I agreed — the […]
When Professor Frank Vahid created textbooks for online use, he didn’t just transfer text into pixels. He created a new way of learning.
I’d like to start with a quick introduction. My name is Roman Lysecky. By day (and often nights and weekends) I’m an Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona. I am also a co-author of the Programming in C, Programming in Java, and Programming in C++ zyBooks, as well as […]
Having been involved in university teaching and publishing for 25 years, and authored three textbooks for two major publishers, I’ve learned this: Most textbooks aren’t written for students. They are written for instructors. That’s because instructors make the adoption decisions. At zyBooks, from day one we insisted that zyBooks are to be written for students. That means: […]
Sometimes in the midst of all the great tech that surrounds us, it can be easy to forget that the cool websites, great apps, and can’t-live-without devices that you use daily are designed and built by teams of people. I’d like to introduce one of our core teams at zyBooks, our product development team. That’s me on […]
Zyante, the company that produces zyBooks, has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program Phase II grant by the National Science Foundation. The award, in the Education Application category, is the result of a rigorously competitive application process and is indicative of the innovative work being done on zyBooks. Fewer than 10% of […]
Would you send your child to a piano instructor who teaches by playing in front of 50 students, testing and grading them every few weeks, and moving on? Probably not. Except for those with an initial knack or extra-strong commitment, most students would quit. Yet that’s how most colleges teach science, technology, engineering, and math […]
Students learn in a variety of ways — they listen, read, create, speak, share, engage, ask, get assessed, receive feedback, get mentored, and eventually maybe become a mentor themselves. Some need to read less and listen more, others need to “do” first then read. Some need to ask, others need to share, others need to […]
I clearly recollect my Circuits and Systems class in a freshman class of 45 students, where every 3rd period was a time for the professor to walk amongst us as we solved problems and raised our hands for help. Learning happens by doing, and we had an opportunity to do just that with the help of our professor. […]
Former UC Davis assistant professor Smita Bakshi is now the owner of Zyante, a company that creates interactive, online resources intended to replace textbooks. Read more ››
Schedule a demo to get a walkthrough of zyBooks with a classroom learning solutions expert, or try an evaluation copy on your own.