Last Tuesday the Secretary of Education said “I think we should be moving from print to digital absolutely as fast as we can over the next couple of years. Textbooks should be obsolete.” He was clear that he sees the digital transformation in schools as a “critical game changer” for…
At ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia this week we were blessed with gorgeous summer weather, hot but not oppressive days and cool evenings perfect for a city walk. The show was hot too, well attended and and well run. So it may seem like an odd time to declare that this…
When educators choose new classroom materials their first challenge is to sift through dozens of options and narrow the search down to four to five options. In other words before they say “yes” to one solution they need to find reasons to say “no” to a host of other options.…
How do you find a job in education publishing or technology? Recently I was asked for my thoughts on entering our industry by a mid-twenties alum of my high school. In the course of the conversation I found myself getting re-excited by all the great prospects in our industry. It…
Guest blogger Mike Baum of Sophia Consulting shares his insights on ISTE 2010. By Mike Baum In the old Road Runner cartoons, there’s always a point where the slavering coyote, relentlessly and enthusiastically pursuing his dinner, runs off a cliff. But he hangs in mid-air momentarily, falling only when he…
My take away from the first day of the Association of Education Publisher’s Content in Context Conference (#ciccon): educators have always needed Education Publishers, but they have never particularly wanted them. What are you doing at your company to remain necessary in the digital age?
EdNet 2009 starts this Sunday in Chicago. This is one of the three most important events of the year* for networking and professional development in the education industry. I’ve been attending since the early 90’s with only a couple of absences. Nelson Heller, EdNet’s founder, has also been a friend…
Are you Twitter curious? For the past few months I’ve been on the fence about Twitter – lurking but minimally engaged. Like all new technologies as people play with it they are discovering what it is best for. Recently I’ve watched as my friend Charlene Blohm has begun leveraging it…
Education technology bloggers have been a busy lot with NECC 08, end of school year, and lots of new products to play with. Here are just a smattering of some of my favorite posts from the past few weeks. Enjoy. John Rice flagged an article showing that putting games in…
In a conversation with Randy Pennington he pointed out that in my post textbooks vs. education technology – clash of paradigms I alluded to the financial paradigms but didn’t address them directly. Theres more… Textbook Publishers – Their financial model depends on winning large adoption contracts that yeild a high…