Pearson Signals Major Shift From Print by Making All Textbook Updates ‘Digital First’ – Ed Surge
The biggest education company in the world is moving away from a production model that has been one of the main drivers in the rising cost of textbooks.
Today, Pearson announced it will adopt a “digital first” approach to updating its higher ed course materials, meaning that any revisions or changes to textbook content will happen first in the digital version. This new development process goes into effect next year, when “we will have a substantial number of titles that we will apply this new model to,” says Pearson CEO John Fallon. Eventually, all of the publisher’s 1,500 higher ed titles will follow suit over the next couple of years.
“Our product development will now be digital first, not print-led,” states Fallon. “Revisions and updates can now be made in real-time.”
This marks a significant departure from the traditional textbook product development cycle, in which titles are updated and reprinted about every two to three years. These changes usually incorporate new findings in a field of study, or reflect recent events.