In recent years, college instructors have begun to abandon traditional approaches to instruction, which merely transfer knowledge from faculty to students, for cutting-edge strategies, which allow students to construct their own learning. This change in instructional strategy has also brought about a change in the tools which are used for instruction. As students gain more control over their learning, they also want to have more control over the tools that guide their learning. In many ways, the traditional textbook is no longer satisfying the needs of today’s students. Consequently, students and faculty members are beginning to look for an alternative. Digital textbooks provide promise, but will they replace their print counterparts? The following article attempts to answer this question by exploring the evolution of textbooks from medieval times to the present day. The authors suggest that digital textbooks have a promising future in higher education.