Frank has a great post over on Geekwire that does a great job of explaining why Dumbo Drops of tech don’t work in schools. The question he didn’t completely address is why do people keep making this mistake? One explanation is that a massive initiative that “attacks” a “problem” is…
Education publishers have taken a lot of fire in the last few years – many believe that we are too big, too powerful, and that things would be better if teachers just wrote their own materials or used free stuff. So why do we continue to exist? Are publishers a…
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…
Quick – what percentage of your iTunes library is produced by amateurs? For that matter how many books on your eReader of choice are self-published works? If you are like most people the answer to both questions is “slim to none.” The point is that quality matters in any medium.…
My last post, Apple’s iPad Textbooks Cost 5x More Than Print, touched a live wire. The majority of comments were positive. The general tone was support for iPads in the classroom (a position I share) but an appreciation for the realistic view of what it will cost to implement the…
For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There’s a battle outside And it’s ragin’ It’ll shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are-a-changin’ Bob Dylan Recently PCI’s Executive Team went offsite for a day to reflect on the state of the market…
The role of textbooks in a rapidly digitizing world is an open question. The publishing industry needs to develop a new paradigm for commercially produced instructional materials or it faces extinction. Will they be replaced by digital learning packs of atomized content? Will Professors self-publish whatever materials they need? Will…
What is the best way to break into education publishing? If you are young and starting out what launching pads set you up well for a career in the world of instructional materials and software? I’m bullish in the industry and think we are in one of the most creative…
Education spending patterns have been abnormal for several years. Publishing used to follow very predictable patterns – no more. Between the Great Recession and ARRA Stimulus funds we have been living in an era of seesaw budgets for three years. Since education spending lags the general economy by up to…
When textbooks go fully digital what will schools buy? Will they buy individual lessons, units of 2-3 weeks length, or full curriculum that span a year the way they do today? This is the $5 billion question facing our industry. Mike Shatzkin has an excellent post on this topic over…