Lopeziana Manila

Where Will Digitization Take Us? We Don’t Know for Sure, But We’re Heading There Fast

“I SEE THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION BEING IN TOOLS THAT ALLOW PEOPLE TO ORGANIZE CONTENT IN A WAY THAT’S MEANINGFUL AND PRODUCTIVE FOR THEM.”

There are some very stunning statistics out on the recent and escalating impact of the demand for digital content on the publishing industry.

According to the Association of American Publishers and the Book Industry Study Group, by 2010, ebooks represented 6.2% of the total unit market share with nearly 112 million units sold, compared to only nine million units sold in 2008. The dramatic growth in digital products is even more impressive when you look at the revenue figures, which grew from $1.88 billion in 2008 to $3.38 billion in 2010, which means that people are increasingly willing to pay for electronic content. Meanwhile, according to the same source, sales of printed books have been declining every year. In the education market, for example, there is steady and growing adoption of all digital formats, including digital databases, e-books, digital curriculum supplements, and mobile applications. This is coming at the expense of printed publications. In the K-12 segment, from 2008 to 2010, printed book revenue was down 13.7%, while revenue from digital formats was up 45%.

This trend represents a true paradigm shift in how we generate and consume information, and it means a significant change in the kinds of tools that we have available for learning and teaching.

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