To remain competitive (and, in some cases, just stay afloat!) educational publishers are reinventing themselves and jumping onboard the digital learning movement. In the college students, millions of students are struggling to afford textbooks which often cost upward of $1000 per year. To continue to cater to current and future generations of students, publishing companies are forced to pursue ongoing innovation. Both digital publishing incubators and startups have realized the potential market of digital learning material. The following 5 noteworthy names are helping to breathe life back into the publishing field.
Founded in 2011 in Silicon Valley, Imagine K-12 is one of the most noteworthy incubators in edtech. The incubator offers startups up to $20K, a 90 day stay in their offices, and priceless advice and connections in exchange for a 6% stake. The goal of Imagine K-12 is simple: to help new and aspiring educational startups to reach their full potential and inspiring continued innovation. Successes of Imagine K-12 include GoalBook and Class Dojo.
Le Labo de l’Edition (the Publishing Laboratory) is a digital publishing incubator based in Paris. Le Labo is unique in that it’s developed by and funded by the city of Paris itself, aiming towards educational collaboration and partnership. The goal of the incubation program is to assist traditional publishers to evolve in response to the shift to digital publishing. Le Labo connects members of publishing community to develop a continued strategy for growth and development of the organization.
Vastly popular learning site, Chegg, has let students rent and buy textbooks of all kinds since 2005. The company claims to service college students on over 7,000 US campuses. The Santa Clara, California-based company also offers virtual tutoring, step-by-step solutions to tricky textbook assignments, and a 21-day risk-free return policy. Their apps also enable students to search by book or chapter to use only the section they need and to scan QR codes to find content.
In 2014, Ingram Content Group acquired CourseSmart, a popular eBook provider. With this move, two major digital textbook players were united. The combined e-textbook platform now includes academic content from more than 500 educational publishing companies. Millions of students and educators rely on VitalSource for online textbooks. Claiming to offer over 90% of higher education textbook titles at 40% off, it’s no wonder VitalSource has achieved publishing fame! With MyEcontentFactory, you can generate an ePub3 VitalSource compliant in a few clicks.
A US EdTech startup, Nearpod mixes VR and AR technology with typical lesson plans. It provides learning resources like 360 degree videos and photos, plus an app similar to PowerPoint to supplement them. Students can access content through connected iPads and mobile devices and syncs in real time. Initially receiving over $9 million in funding, Nearpod has promise as another startup working on the tech-friendly future of education.
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