| Allyn & Bacon, a division of Pearson Education (http://www.pearsoned.com),
and WizeUp Digital Textbooks have announced an initiative to electronically
publish, sell, and distribute digital textbooks in education and social
sciences for the higher-education market. Although there have been a number
of initiatives to develop digital content for business, technology, and
other "hard" sciences, according to the companies, this initiative marks
the first major effort in the "soft" sciences in which Allyn & Bacon
claims to be the market leader.
Initial trials of the program conducted this past fall with professors—such
as Richard Jackson at Boston College, who uses Allyn & Bacon’s Exceptional
Learners: Introduction to Special Education by Daniel P. Hallahan and
James M. Kauffman—proved to be successful. "I’m predicting in 5 years that
all curriculum resources will be available digitally," Jackson said.
According to the announcement, WizeUp has developed an advanced technology
in the e-publishing marketplace with highly sophisticated features and
functions. WizeUp Digital Textbooks ensure the pedagogical integrity of
the books as developed by the publishers. The Digital Textbooks follow
the printed version page-by-page, graphic-by-graphic while bringing the
power of interactive technology and the Internet to students. WizeUp Digital
Textbooks, which are available via Internet download or on the Web, include
features such as powerful search capabilities, in-context note-taking and
notes-management tools, custom hyperlinking, bookmarking, and electronic
highlighting capabilities.
"Our alliance with WizeUp demonstrates our commitment to developing
e-learning solutions for the higher-education marketplace—in particular
for the soft sciences," said Sandi Kirshner, Allyn & Bacon’s president.
"These products will make an immediate impact in technology-based learning
environments, where digital textbooks will expand the classroom and offer
students a powerful and efficient learning solution."
Allyn & Bacon and WizeUp report they have developed innovative pricing
packages designed to capture market share in technology-based academic
environments, including distance learning, laptop universities, and other
educational-technology-based student populations. "Students will enrich
their learning experience with the powerful combination of Allyn &
Bacon’s highly recognized content and WizeUp’s e-learning tools. This will
allow students to meet their academic goals and gain an edge in our increasingly
competitive society," said Stephen Jordan, WizeUp’s vice president of publishing.
Source: WizeUp Digital Textbooks, New York, 212/324-1300; http://www.wizeup.com. |
