Has GenAI (And Gen Alpha) Killed the Textbook?

Kevin Corcoran, Assistant Vice Provost, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida, Rebecca McNulty, Instructional Designer, Center for Distributed Learning, University of Central Florida

Kevin Corcoran is Assistant Vice Provost and Rebecca McNulty is the Instructional Designer in the Center for Distributed Learning at the University of Central Florida. Together, they advance responsive online learning through digital leadership, personalized adaptive course design, faculty development, open educational practices and the responsible use of emerging technologies, including AI.

Textbooks are a legacy of the Gutenberg era—a format that has remained fundamentally unchanged for more than 500 years, built for a world where information moved slowly and learning materials were fixed when they were printed. For centuries, this static model shaped how knowledge was packaged and consumed, even as the pace of discovery accelerated. Generative AI has introduced the first meaningful shift, enabling materials that update instantly, adapt to individual learners and evolve in response to changing contexts.

Generation Alpha expects environments where information shifts constantly and interaction shapes the learning experience, leaving traditional print struggling to support their needs. Open education offers a path that aligns with these expectations, creating space for materials to be revised, expanded and adapted as knowledge evolves, while providing a level of personalization that print was never designed to support.

The Problem with Textbooks

1. Passive Learning Limits Engagement

Textbooks encourage consumption rather than creation. They provide static information for students to absorb, leaving little room for interaction or inquiry. Gen Alpha, however, thrives on interactivity: simulations, multimedia and hands-on collaboration. For these learners, turning a page slows curiosity instead of supporting exploration.

2. Generic Content Lacks Relevance

Printed materials, intended for broad markets, often fail to account for local realities, cultures and current issues that shape students’ lives. AIsupported resources can respond to this gap by drawing on local data, timely information and culturally grounded references. Instead of relying on a single standardized narrative, educators can present material that resonates with learners’ lived experiences and the questions they bring to the classroom.

3. Static Print Quickly Becomes Obsolete

By the time a textbook reaches learners, parts of it are often already outdated. Fields such as technology, science and social policy move too quickly for printed resources to keep up. Teachers routinely supplement chapters with newer research and examples because a textbook captures only a moment in time. Keeping instruction current requires continual updating and interpretation, work that extends far beyond what a single published text can offer.

4. One Size Fits None

Traditional textbooks present a fixed sequence of material, assuming all learners move at the same pace. In reality, students bring varied backgrounds and levels of readiness. AIenabled tools can adjust explanations and support as learners progress, allowing instruction to respond to individual needs rather than forcing everyone down a single path.

5. High Costs Create Barriers

Traditional textbooks can be expensive to purchase, update and replace, creating financial pressures for both students and institutions. Closed, restrictive licensing limits access to current editions and prevents timely updates. More flexible, openly licensed resources can ease this burden and allow educators to assemble materials that better support their learners.

When Print Cannot Keep Up

GenAI serves as a tool to help educators revise, update and strengthen materials over time. Its value depends on human judgment and connection, as teachers, peers and communities guide learners to interpret information and apply it in real contexts. AI does not replace human expertise; it expands opportunities for students to take an active role.

“Static print cannot keep pace with the level of relevance or interaction today’s learners expect.”

Used thoughtfully, AI can facilitate more interactive and adaptive learning. It can help educators respond to questions in real time, offer alternate explanations when concepts are unclear and produce resources that reflect the range of learners in a room. These tools support multilingual learning, identify where students may need more practice and create space for deeper discussion. Open practices strengthen this work by ensuring that the materials educators create and refine with AI can be shared, adapted and improved across classrooms and communities.

Why Change Now?

The role of the textbook is shifting as students engage with knowledge in new and more dynamic ways. Generation Alpha wants to explore and test ideas, applying learning to real problems in their lives and communities. Static print cannot keep pace with that level of relevance or interaction.

With guidance, GenAI makes room for learning environments that are more dynamic and participatory. These environments draw on evolving knowledge and multiple modalities, from text and media to simulation and creation, while allowing learning to develop alongside the learner with expanded reach and impact.

What comes next is an evolution of learning materials toward a flexible, openly shared framework where resources remain current, contextual, globally accessible and shaped through collaborative practice.

Learning That Grows with Students

The next step is clear: educators, institutions and creators must begin transitioning from closed, fixed textbooks to open, AI-supported materials that evolve alongside learners. GenAI updates, personalizes and expands resources in real time; open licensing provides the structure that allows this work to be reused, improved and shared.

Together, openness and AI shift learning materials from static artifacts to flexible resources—creating pathways to more accessible and relevant education for all students.

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