Over the past two years, the growth of digital content has hit an all-time high, considering the backdrop of the global pandemic.
The remarkable transition from print to digital publishing has taken the education industry by storm. Major educational publishers like Pearson have adopted a digital-first strategy. Here’s why print-based educational publishers are stepping into, cyber world.
Print vs. Digital Publishing: What Led to the Digital Revolution in Education?
As we know, print publishing has many limitations. These have always been a source of concern for publishers.
Educational publishers often incur huge losses due to the second-hand book market. To avoid these losses, they usually introduce new editions that are supported by educational institutes, who make them mandatory. As a result, students end up paying a hefty amount for these new printed textbooks.
Another major disadvantage of printing content is that in case there’s a mistake in the original content or if an update is required, the entire content has to be re-printed. This makes print publishing an expensive and time-consuming process.
In comparison, digital publishing not only offers more flexibility but is also available at a much lower cost. Unlike the pay-per-piece method adopted for printed materials, online publishing usually requires one to pay a minimal monthly fee or a lump-sum cost per publication.
Additionally, there are many book publishing software available that help in creating immersive and highly engaging content. This makes online book publishing affordable and less time-consuming.
And that’s just the beginning. There are several other reasons for the success of online publishing in education.
Let’s take a look at these.
Why Choose Digital Publishing in Education?
Being a sustainable business choice, digital publishing has been a welcome solution in education especially over the past two years. Here are some significant reasons behind its increasing popularity.
1. Access to User Behavior & Content Performance
Publishing through digital devices makes it easy to analyze what type of content drew the most engagement and in turn, assess the return on investment. Additionally, one can track and evaluate their distribution patterns in real-time.
Further, while a book publishing software can be used to create quality content, a training management system (TMS) can be used for maintaining records, administration, selling eBooks, and getting students to sign up for online courses.
2. A Wider Reach
Distribution of educational content becomes practically limitless and much easier via an online publishing platform.
The best part is that one can reach out to users across borders without producing more study material at additional costs. This enables educational content creators and publishing companies to increase their reach and of course their earnings.
3. Ease of Storage & Management
Hundreds of eBooks can be stored on a single digital device, regardless of geographic location. With online publishing it becomes quite simple to manage and store eBooks while consuming less than half the space needed for a single physical book.
Saving on storage space is a benefit for both students and publishers.
4. Additional Costs Saved
The cost of purchasing a printed book usually includes the cost of printing, transportation, publishing, cover creation, distribution, and various other all and sundry charges.But when it comes to eBooks, many of these costs are eliminated.
The decreased transport, warehouse, and printing expenses also enable publishers to significantly bring down their overall production costs. Students have the option to either buy or rent affordable eBooks at a fair price. Shifting online is thus a profitable move for both students and publishers.
5. Generates More Income
Sharing eBooks is extremely simple. Users can easily endorse a publication amongst their social circles. This helps in spreading awareness about an eBook, without spending on marketing costs.
Educational institutes can also buy digital libraries that comprise several video-based learning materials for a seamless learning experience. These libraries can be customized to suit a student’s learning needs better.
6. It’s Eco-Friendly
A large number of trees are used to manufacture hard copy books that are sold each year. By choosing to be online, one can help protect the environment and save paper.
In fact, with online book publishing, it is estimated that the educational industry itself can save around 34 billion sheets of paper being used in schools each year!
7. Save a Significant Amount of Time
Creating a traditional textbook can take up a lot of time. The book has to go through several layers of production including– editors, agents, and publishers.
However, with an online publishing platform, the middlemen in the process can be eliminated and eBooks can be shared with students almost immediately.
Efficient web-based digital publishing tools also enable creators to constantly edit or update their content to better suit their students. As everything can be accomplished completely in the cloud, this saves a lot of production time.
Make the Shift from Print to Digital Content Today
With tremendous technological advancements, educational publishers are no longer relying only on traditional publishing methods. Most choose a hybrid system of publishing. For digital publishing to be successful, the tool one chooses should be able to create, enhance and deliver an exceptional educational experience.
One such tool available is KITABOO. By embedding multimedia and interactive features KITABOO helps you create engaging eBooks that are compatible with several devices, including tablets, PCs, or smartphones. KITABOO allows reading on various operating platforms like iPhone/iPad (iOS), Android Devices, HTML5, and Windows. Additionally, it offers DRM protection of content and offline access.
The content metrics within the KITABOO platform are just a few clicks away and help analyze and improve the engagement level of students.
Best of all though, is that eBooks can be delivered to teachers and students through a completely white-labeled reader app, helping you build your brand.
KITABOO makes publishing easy & effective. It has over a decade of experience in education with a focus on K12 digital content.
To begin your journey into cyber world, write to us at KITABOO@hurix.com.
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Kitaboo is a cloud-based content platform to create-publish & securely distribute interactive mobile-ready ebooks.
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