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In her work as a professor of international studies, Dr. Kubalkova has experienced a generational shift in how this current crop of students hopes to be taught and how they process information in an always-online age. As a result, she has created this new model of textbook, a video textbook, that contains all the curriculum and knowledge of a traditional textbook but structured and presented using self-created video content and attention-confirming quizzes. Using this new format, students can study and familiarize themselves with lecture topics using videos that can be paused, viewed, and reviewed on-demand and accessed at their convenience. Those who process information through auditory or visual means will have an easier time processing each lesson as well. This book signals a new era for academia that meets its students on terms that will help them become successful in their chosen fields.
While this particular book and its accompanying video curriculum focus on the author's academic and professorial field of international relations, it also serves as a blueprint that can eventually rethink the very medium of textbooks itself. This book stands at an intersection, hoping to introduce new and fresh ideas in a vertical that can be characterized as resistant to change, and so aims to familiarize and welcome those using it to warm up to the idea and see how it impacts their learning experience. There are many parallels to the online wealth of information and the world in the aftermath of the printing press, and eye-catching historical timelines and charts are included to make this point even more strongly. While some professors or fields may still rely heavily on printed textbooks, and others opt for a more middle-ground synergy, this book and online curriculum give readers a glimpse of education's next evolution.