McGraw-Hill and Wipro to develop mConnect — an affordable mobile learning platform — to reduce skills gap in emerging markets — from McGraw-Hill.com
Excerpt:
“Through advances in mobile learning, McGraw-Hill and Wipro have an unprecedented opportunity to deliver high-quality, low-cost education to students and workers in rural areas and cities with limited access to resources,” said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies, who made the announcement in Davos. “In a country with more than 700 million cell phones, mobile learning will help level the playing field for education in India in ways never before possible. The success of our pilots in India will serve as a powerful example of how business, schools and governments around the world can harness the power of mobile learning to give more people the skills to succeed in the global Knowledge Economy.”
To “appify” old media, we need a new approach — from gigaom.com
The publishing industry is keeping its formerly inky fingers crossed that mobile devices, including the seemingly ubiquitous iPad, will save its behind. With the mobile market still in its infancy, it’s a tad early to be calling definitive trends, but there is one interesting tendency underway that may endure long-term — and that is the “appification” of media content.
This “appification” is being driven by one question — what is it that the audience wants? And the answer resoundingly is this: don’t just replicate the brand, give us something different.
From DSC:
A global push continues to be evident in some of the things that Pearson has been up to in the last year:
100+ online resources that are transforming education — from Mashable
How e-Learning is flowering — by Amit Garg at the Upside Learning blog
http://chapter01.wormworldsaga.com/
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Also see:
From DSC:
First of all, my thanks to Mr. Joseph Byerwalter for this resource/link. I haven’t read this story; however I was intrigued by the user interface design here and it made me think of some related items/topics here:
I would have loved to see some more multimedia integrated into Daniel Lieske’s fabulous artwork — sound effects/audio/music and/or the capability of hearing the author read the story. Also, perhaps some interactivity may or may not add something here. In any case, this is a piece of the type of thing that I believe we will see much more of on devices like the iPad — as well as on Internet-connected televisions:
Incredibly-powerful, interactive, multimedia-based
methods of relaying one’s story or message.
Also, such endeavors open up a slew of potential future opportunities for our students (artists, musicians, sound engineers, writers, programmers, interface designers, user experience experts, etc.) — as well as chances to practice their creativity today.
Textbook publishers and rich media — from Higher Education Management Group
The competitive landscape of textbook publishing has changed and it’s not going to get easier for the traditional parties. However, I think it’s possible for the industry to regain the advantage that made them such a strong presence for decades in education. To do this, publishers will need to determine how – given the new market conditions – their competencies, brand and infrastructure can produce a competitive advantage – and to ensure that this new market position meets the needs of the new higher education market. Easier said than done, right? But the funny thing is that this new strategy will mean the publishers return to what made them the great presence in the first place. Let me attempt to unpack this before I get anymore abstract.
6 action tips to speed up your book production — from The Book Designer
Also see:
5 e-book trends that will change the future of publishing — from Mashable’s Business Section by Philip Ruppel
(Philip Ruppel is the President of McGraw-Hill Professional, a leading global publisher of print and electronic content and services for the business, scientific, technical, and medical communities)
1. Enhanced E-Books Are Coming and Will Only Get Better
2. The Device War Is Nearly Over
3. The $9.99 E-Book Won’t Last Forever
4. The Contextual Upsell Will be a Business Model to Watch
5. Publishers Will Be More Important Than Ever
Alibris launches marketplace for books, movies and music — from ProgrammableWeb.com by Romin Irani
Alibris, an online marketplace that brings together Indepenent sellers of popular, collectible and bargain books, music and movies has launched a Developer Network. The company is inviting developers to use its API to not only build applications but earn commissions via its affiliate program. The Alibris API exposes most of its data like current books, music and movies on sale, item information, seller information and item/seller reviews.
Publisher rewrites the book on degrees — from timeshighereducation.co.uk by Hannah Fearn
Publishing giant Pearson has announced details of its plans to offer degrees in a range of vocational subjects from 2012.
From DSC:
I remember giving a presentation over at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) a few years ago for a Blackboard Users Conference. In that presentation, I remember asking how long would it be before publishers started offering their own degrees…? They have the Subject Matter Experts (SME’s), they have the graphic designers, web designers, the programmers, the project managers, etc. That is, they already have the table set in terms of content creation.
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If anyone thinks this isn’t a game-changing environment within higher education, I challenge you to explain to me how you can still cling to — and adequately support — that perspective.
— from Touch User Interface
