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EYE ON THE INDUSTRY
Future Trends Supplementals Should Watch
By Charlene Gaynor
CEO, The Association of Educational Publishers
For years, experts have predicted revolutionary changes in
education brought about by factors such as teacher retirement,
the No Child Left Behind Act, one-to-one computing, and digital
delivery of educational content. In many cases these changes
have already begun to take place, but in some instances, developments
have yet to be seen.
This article is the third in a series authored by AEP's Chief
Executive Officer Charlene Gaynor outlining future trends that
promise to have the greatest impact on publishers of educational
materials. In this installment, Gaynor discusses the impact
that new technologies may have on delivering curriculum.
Schools without walls
At the 2005 Educational
Publishing Summit, Chester Finn of the Fordham Foundation predicted
a separation of learning from buildings known as schools. With a growing portion of education being
delivered electronically, Finn said he sees future "classrooms" in
which teachers lead lessons from across the country. While
this model may seem decades away, it is clear that the "e-learning
revolution" - or more specifically the use of digital curricula
delivered on PCs, laptops, handheld or other electronic devices
- is well underway. It seems like every week we hear a new
story about a school or district that is not just using technology
in the classroom, but incorporating it into every day curricula. The
Vail, Arizona, School District attracted national headlines last
year when it became the first district in the U.S. to entirely
replace textbooks with laptops. More recently, policymakers
in Michigan announced a proposal that would make participation
in some form of online instruction a high school graduation requirement.
In order to remain relevant, companies must start thinking in
terms of content instead of print versus software, and continue
to develop new business models that better accommodate this type
of publishing. For example, in order to serve teachers of
the future, publishers may need to offer a single chapter rather
than an entire textbook, or a digital file of a worksheet that
students can download from home instead of a workbook.
Home schooling
Home schooling has been cited by
many as one of the fastest-growing trends in the American education
system. According to a 2001
Census Bureau report, as many as two million American children
were schooled at home that year, with that number growing at an
estimated 15 to 20 percent per year. This growth began over
a decade ago, when states began to do away with laws requiring
parents of home-schooled children to complete teaching certification
programs, but has really begun to take off with the advent of the
information age.
While they may not have been raised with a computer in their homes,
the current generation of parents is far more computer literate
than their parents were, and the next generation will be even more
well-versed in technology. Thus, the increased availability
of information provided by the Internet, the prevalence of online
courses and distance learning, and the development of websites
that offer advice and curriculum programs are key factors in propelling
home schooling into the mainstream as a viable education option.
As parents of home-schooled students increase in number, publishers
can cater to their needs by developing content suited to one-to-one
learning environments and offering it as part of home schooling
curriculum packages or piecemeal through online catalogs.
In the next and final article in the "Future Trends" series,
Gaynor will discuss new business models and issues impacting the
educational publishing profession.
Questions, ideas, or
in need of more information? Please contact Stacey
Pusey at 302-295-8349.
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"Textbooks
dumped in favor of laptops"
--eSchool News
"Michigan
floats online learning requirement"
--eSchool News
"Town
Hall Panelists Say NCLB's Role Will Not Diminish"
--AEP Online
For more information on home schooling trends, see the Census
Bureau Report, "Home
Schooling in the United States: Trends and Characteristics"
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