Digital textbooks, as the product of deep publishing integration, serve as an important lever for the digital transformation of education. Existing research seldom systematically addresses the relationship between deep publishing integration and digital textbook publishing or provides strategic development insights. Taking the extension and “re-definition” of the concept of digital textbooks within the context of deep publishing integration as the starting point, this paper discusses their inherent coupling logic, developmental challenges, and practical strategies, aiming to provide references for the deep integration of educational publishing and the digital transformation of education.

The research process consists of three parts: First, tracing the evolution of digital textbook media, it proposes a definition of “digital textbooks” in the context of deep publishing integration and explores the coupling mechanism between the two; Second, from the perspective of “content-process-ecology” and combined with case studies, it examines the “new challenges” in the development of digital textbooks from the perspective of deep publishing integration; Finally, it proposes a new approach for the development of digital textbooks.

The study argues that in the context of deep publishing integration, digital textbooks are the “integrated” educational resources and service system. They are compiled according to curriculum standards and publishing norms, mirroring physical textbooks while leveraging the internet, big data, and other digital technologies. They employ rich media expressions like video, audio, animation, and virtual reality, and utilize digital application modules to serve talent cultivation goals and facilitate interactive informatized teaching between teachers and students. The coupling between deep publishing integration and digital textbooks unfolds across four dimensions: “standards-objectives-technology-functionality”. Currently, digital textbook development faces challenges including immature content production and review mechanisms, limited compatibility between traditional models and new technologies, and a crisis of subjectivity among publishing enterprises amid the paradigm shift in education, all of which require urgent resolution.

Addressing these challenges, the paper proposes a new approach for digital textbook development in the context of deep publishing integration: ① Prioritizing standards and norms, with technology access stimulating endogenous developmental momentum; ② Adjusting collaborative mindsets and models to develop an “integrated” distribution platform; ③ Clarifying the positioning and functions of multiple stakeholders to co-build a new ecosystem of digital textbooks.