New Challenges and Opportunities in Educational Publishing

[Approximate Reading Time : 4 mins]

In the past, digital resources were seen as more of a bonus feature of the educational publishing process. They were an extra benefit to be used along with paper copies of materials. This has changed with technological innovations in recent years, and both publishers and those looking to publish have needed to adapt to keep up with changing expectations.

Remaining adaptive to the needs of today’s students requires a more multifaceted approach to educational publishing. Modern learning materials are expected to be developed in a way that caters to learners of all kinds. The ever-increasing impact of technology in education has not skipped over the publishing side of things. Educational content must now go beyond standard textbook formats to be effective across platforms including mobile devices as well as computers. Up-to-date content also needs to be more streamlined and include more interactivity than traditional materials.

Changing Business Models

As with all branches of publishing, educational publishing has seen a distinct drop in the sale of printed materials. While this may initially be a cause of concern, it can also be a driving force for publishers reaching for new opportunities in digital mediums.

One well-known issue for the marketing of textbooks and other learning materials has historically been competition from used book sales. Publishing materials online provides new opportunities to mitigate this issue by selling single-use access to content in the form of purchasable codes or usernames. Some publishers have even begun to allow for the purchase of access to multiple materials in programs specially owned and operated by the educational publishing company itself. For example, students may purchase a subscription to a textbook site to access material for multiple classes in one place rather than buying separate eBooks and other materials for every class.

Keeping Up With the Competition

All of these changes and expectations of what audiences and educators expect from educational content present new challenges during all steps of the publication process. For education publishing operations to survive in the digital age, they need to think outside of the traditional confines of printed content paired with digitized “extras” to create more integrated, web-friendly content.

Some of the most successful publishers in the industry have taken digitization a step further, not only creating their content online but gathering all of it into a single platform. The ability to purchase all-inclusive access to multiple resources, including textbooks as well as interactive materials, is appealing to students and a potentially lucrative trend for publishers that may continue to pave the way for future business models. Amnet can help educational publishers navigate the challenges and opportunities of modern technology.