Murphy, a sophomore at Monsignor Bonner High School, is one of several hundred local sixth- through 12th-grade students using Beyond Books, an online service based in Conshohocken that provides computerized textbooks and subject Web links.

The service gives students access to daily updated information on science, social studies, language arts, mathematics, art history and computer science, according to Jim Cassano, chief executive officer of Beyond Books (www.beyondbooks.com).

"This is a very engaging form of providing information that encourages students to explore a topic," Cassano said.

"For example, a student studying the Civil War can link to a site with an audio of ex-slaves speaking about their lives. This ability prompts students to want to learn more than the basic facts."

Beyond Books is used by more than 700,000 students at schools nationwide. Locally, those public, private and parochial schools include Bonner, Bishop McDevitt in Wyncote, Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Eisenhower Middle School in Norristown, Malvern Preparatory School, Upland Country Day School in Kennett Square, Upper Merion High School, and New Hope Solebury High School. Some schools use the service to supplement textbooks.

At Bonner, Beyond Books has replaced the in-school textbook for physical science, biology, ninth- and 10th-grade English, American history and American government classes.

All Beyond Books material meets state curriculum standards and is reviewed by a panel of educators. Schools pay about $4 per student per subject, compared with the average hardbound book priced at about $50.

Each person using the service receives an individual log-in identification number; the work of an entire class can be viewed by the teacher. Beyond Books is designed to work on any computer with a 28.8 or greater modem. Students can access the service from a computer at home, in a public library, or at school; work can be printed or sent to a teacher via e-mail.

Charles Gallagher, head of Bonner's science department, said that in previous years teachers at the all-male Philadelphia Archdiocesan high school searched the World Wide Web to find link sites that matched the hardbound textbook curriculum.

Beyond Books provides this matching link, and more.

"Students studying mitosis read a chapter online and answer homework questions by opening a Word file. They can view the interaction of cells in motion, rather than through a book overlay or a video filmstrip," Gallagher said. "A traditional textbook is out of date before it is printed."

The online service allows students of different abilities to work at their own skill level and presents information formatted for a variety of learning styles. It provides research sources for student papers and PowerPoint presentations.

Bonner students using Beyond Books receive a traditional textbook for home use, but Murphy and his classmates prefer online.

"It's a better way to learn because it gives graphics that makes the facts easier to remember," Murphy said. "And not carrying a 400-page book is easier on my back."

Online curriculums could make backpacks obsolete.

"I don't think we will be using textbooks in three years," Gallagher said. "More and more it will be online."