Prospective college students who are considering enrolling in online college degree programs may soon be able to earn their degrees more easily as new technology emerges.

While most online schools already offer students the opportunity to complete lectures and coursework around their own schedules, some new devices could make higher education more readily accessible.

Kansan.com reports that digital textbooks, which are already available through publishers such as McGraw-Hill and Pearson Higher Education, may grow in popularity as more students require flexible learning options.

Moreover, portable reading devices such as Amazon's Kindle and Apple's iPad could enable students to complete their studies while they travel. Producers of these devices say that electronic books could make their studies more efficient, as some of them allow readers to make notes, access a dictionary and search the text.

Although it will not be released until next March, publishers have already begun discussing ideas for e-books in the iPad, PC World reports. Digital textbooks on the device could include videos, interactive quizzes as well as recording and note-taking capabilities, which could prove beneficial to students in both classroom-based and online college courses.