EduHub@GA

What is my vision for content over the next five years and how that content can be delivered?

Year 1 vision:  Content publishers immediately begin spending most of their production dollars in re-inventing the content to be delivered from factual level texts to interactive, online collaborative tools.  Current products are sold not in packages but in an 'a la carte' style so that LEAs can purchase only those items needed – such as the electronic version of a textbook plus the test generation tool.

Year 2 vision: Content publishers debut common cartridges for all textbook series and the push is towards moving all content to digital format.  Major publishing houses band together to support a public service campaign educating parents on the move to digital content.  The PSA tag line is “this isn't  your granddaddy's school any more!”

Year 3 vision: The adoption cycle begins, publishing houses are offering digital content packaged with an alignment not just to state standards but also to state pacing guides/frameworks.  With this debut, the idea of starting on page 1 in the textbook and working to the end of the book is gone forever.

Year 4 vision:  Publishers produce inquiry-based digital learning units requiring students to create, produce, and explore using interactive digital content from primary sources. 

Year 5 vision: Content publishers provide tools and technologies to support online collaboration on a global scale thus revolutionizing their role in education.

What barriers do you see that could hinder that vision from becoming reality?

Leaders at the major publishers have to start changing RIGHT NOW or else these ideas cannot become a reality. 

The publishing cycle is tool long and too much money is invested for publishers to just let something in current development “die on the vine” so it is important to begin the change process.

The entire educational community must engage in an education campaign to help parents, taxpayers, business community members and all stakeholders understand the reasons for change.

I'm very excited by what I see happening from McGraw-Hill's Center for Digital Innovation.   Their product, Cinch Mathematics, is the closest thing I've seen to achieving the migration beyond PDF copies of textbooks.

What's your vision?  What path would you recommend publishers take to get out of the paper textbook business?  What will be serve the needs of your students?