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Leverage your strengths for success Digital publishing allows educational publishers to operate far differently. Where before, textbooks were developed, researched, adopted, printed and physically distributed to schools, now publishers have the ability to continually update, revise and immediately provide the most current information to teachers and students through a variety of digital distribution channels. Yet, this does not mean we should simply open the floodgates and inundate the market with digital content. Publishers that are thriving in the new digital marketplace have a focused business plan in tune with the behavior of their customers. The report recently published by the Gilbane Group, “Digital Platforms and Technologies for Publishers: Implementations Beyond eBook,” contains profiles of several digital publishing visionaries and case studies of publishers that have developed successful business plans for the new digital marketplace. Let’s look at how Scholastic Education and Follett Digital Resources have teamed up to develop award-winning digital educational products. CASE STUDY Background As part of Follett Corporation and benefiting from more than 135 years of industry innovations and leadership, Follett Digital Resources helps publishers to efficiently and cost-effectively create, manage and deploy relevant instructional technology products. The company’s flagship product, Lycea Digital Platform, provides publishers with a powerful, flexible solution for creating, managing and delivering enhanced digital content. The eBooks distribution system allows publishers to reach more than 60,000 school and public library customers and FDR’s professional service solutions help publishing customers successfully navigate the transition from print to digital. The Challenge Meeting the Challenge
D. Midian Kurland, Ph.D., vice-president of technology and development for Scholastic Education, is very happy with the decision that his team made when selecting Follett Digital Resources and with Follett’s performance during the course of completing more than 80 projects. The Follett acquisition of Interactive Constructs went very well and all parties have benefited from Follett’s ability to provide increased financial and human resources. Follett Digital Resources has proven to be an excellent partner. The company maintained a dedicated team since the beginning of the contract, and the timeliness of its deliveries has been outstanding. All products are built upon the Lycea Digital Platform, which has continued to improve and evolve. The current release, version 4.0 includes an improved user interface, making it easier for publishers to maximize their content and time by creating multiple products from one content source. Products built on the Lycea Digital Platform are optimized for educational environments and consistently perform in Windows, Macintosh, and Linux environments. The professional services team brings a deep understanding of the education market along with extensive experience in working with school systems. This is important because many school systems want a publisher’s learning products to exchange data with the school’s overall information systems. |
Explore what educators want in digital materials from the perspective of two respected educational technology leaders.
Want to view more case studies? Download the entire Business Case Study section of the Gilbane report here. |
