INDUSTRY

Courseload, CourseSmart, McGraw-Hill Education and Over 50 Publishers Involved

EDUCAUSE and Internet2 have announced that Courseload, CourseSmart, McGraw-Hill Education and more than 50 publishers are participating in a pilot in Fall 2013 to further provide campuses nationwide an opportunity to explore, evaluate, and advance the transition from traditional media models, including textbooks, to electronic platforms. Colleges and universities interested in participating should attend a webinar at 3 p.m. Monday, March 4, must apply by March 8 and submit their signed contract by April 30, 2013.

The fall 2013 pilot is the latest in a series of efforts. Like its predecessors, the pilots have two principal goals:

• To continue to advance the higher education community’s understanding of online materials and what is necessary for them to attain and surpass the effectiveness, accessibility, economy, and other relevant outcomes associated with traditional textbooks, and
• To explore innovative business models, terms, and conditions that make access to digital educational materials more flexible, economical, efficient, and simple for institutions and publishers alike.

"As we move into the next evaluation opportunity for campuses, we are seeing not only increased interest from publishers and platforms to experiment with new offerings, but also requests from new players to work with Internet2 and EDUCAUSE communities to participate in service design discussions,” said Shelton Waggener, Internet2 senior vice president. “Questions we are asking include, What will the evolving landscape look like in the e-content space? How can designs that previously focused on working with the publishing author or faculty member add institutional and student needs into the e-content design? How can cloud based services interoperate with campus systems and students unique device needs?”

“The fall 2013 offering includes all new experimental platforms direct from McGraw Hill, a new version of software from Courseload that has new features and reflects continued progress on Courseload’s public commitment to accessibility, and a CourseSmart pilot that tests new business models," said Rodney Petersen, managing director, EDUCAUSE Washington office.

“The genius of the EDUCAUSE and Internet2 E-Content pilots is in providing an easy way for institutions to experiment with solutions for digital course materials that best suit their objectives,” said Mickey Levitan, chief executive officer, Courseload. “Courseload is pleased to support trials that can help inform institutional strategic choices about how best to leverage digital course materials to improve affordability and educational outcomes. Given the rapid move to digital in music, video and recreational reading, there is broad agreement that higher education is not far behind. With much input from students, faculty and administrators, Courseload has systematically removed barriers that have slowed the move to digital, enabling institutions to more readily consider a solution that can work campus-wide.”

“CourseSmart is pleased to continue our success with Internet2 and EDUCAUSE by participating in the fall pilot,” said Sean Devine, chief executive officer, CourseSmart. “Last year we partnered to increase the use, affordability and accessibility of digital course materials with our CourseSmart Subscription Pack, which allowed students to save money, reduce book load and conveniently access their books digitally in one place. This year, we’ve added an additional component to the pilot that will allow faculty, instructors and staff to participate in the Faculty Instant Access program, which provides free, unlimited and universal access to the CourseSmart catalog through integration with the institution’s learning management system. “

“McGraw-Hill is excited to partner with Internet2 and EDUCAUSE to offer a pilot option that will deliver cutting-edge adaptive learning tools that take full advantage of the digital learning environment to enhance teaching and learning,” said Tom Malek, vice president, McGraw-Hill Higher Education Learning Solutions. “We’re looking forward to working closely with a select group of institutions and faculty that are interested in assessing the impact of these digital-first tools on teaching and learning.”

For more details about the EDUCAUSE-Internet2 Fall 2013 pilot, visit www.internet2.edu/netplus/econtent.