This paper will present an overview of global trends in textbook research from 2011. It will build upon the previous overview presented in South Korea in 2011, by the former President of IARTEM, Professor Susanne Knudsen. This paper will present an overview of recent research on textbooks and education media from the following sources:- published in the IARTEM eJournal and other journals publishing research on textbooks and educational media; and presented at the 11th and 12th International association for research on textbooks and educational media (IARTEM) conferences;- resulting from the publication of the TIMSS 2011 report in December 2012 which explores the relationship between student acheivement and different types of teaching and learning materials;- initiatives by IARTEM to promote discussion of the critical role of teaching and learning materials in the classroom and the development of some principles or standards to evaluate the use of teaching and learning materials like textbooks in the classroom;- analysis of the 2011 TIMSS results; and- new research methodologies based on eye tracking to investigate textbook and media use. The paper will also provide a theoretical construct to explain the use of different types of learning resources, for example both digital and print in the same classrooms and schools by the same teachers the paper will then conclude by arguing that we need further research on the nature