EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADAPTATION

Accommodating the Demand for Digital Content

Abstract:

The Covid-19 pandemic had a huge impact on global education systems, and governments, publishers and schools all had to quickly react and adapt their operations in order to still deliver the standards expected of face-to-face learning, even during national lockdowns. The article examines how educational publishers and online learning providers adopted different techniques to reach their consumers and ensure that the necessary materials were available for both teachers and students during the pandemic. Accessibility became key to ensuring that people could access content from home or from school, particularly regarding digital content becoming critical for teaching processes when the sector shifted from face-to-face learning to online delivery in 2020. The different adaptations had their own problems to solve and, as a result, many of these methods are still in use two years on from the start of the pandemic. These problems include the lack of online access for ‘disadvantaged pupils’ which has been tackled by the government. The article also considers the way E-books and audiobooks have come into play with regards to digital content adaptations and providing new points of access for consumers. These formats are now becoming more popular within education, and they may represent yet another change

for the sector to adapt to.

Keywords:

Covid-19, Pandemic Response, Educational Publishing, UK Education, Literacy, E-books, Audiobooks, Online Learning, Hybrid Learning, Digital Publishing, Digital Devices, Digital Technology

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Introduction

As one of the largest publishing sectors, educational publishing has always accepted the monumental duty of providing reading and learning materials for both those in education, and those who teach them. Over the years, educational publishers have faced many new challenges due to social change and technological advances. One such challenge has been the increased use of electronic devices, such as laptops and smartboards, in schools, and the corresponding desire for new technology in the home. Educational publishers have had to review their approaches to meet the requirements and standards of the new learning methods which have been implemented as teaching processes have advanced. A particularly notable technological innovation was the introduction of digital formats, such as audio and

E-books, which have revolutionised the way consumers access content. They have also had to adapt to social changes, such as the new asynchronous learning style applied during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the creation of new resources to keep up with exam grading and curriculum changes. It is evident that every publishing sector has had to adjust certain aspects of their role within the industry, but the ways educational publishers have faced these different changes, both social and technological, has enhanced reader experience and thus helped to advance the quality of learning and the developmental opportunities that people have been able to experience.

Covid-19 and the Need for Online Resources

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic meant that all schools and higher education institutions across the UK had to adopt online learning methods in order to continue teaching their pupils at a standard they were used to. The changes that needed to be made meant that people were taking on new responsibilities and were learning skills they never imagined would be relevant to their profession. For example, teachers had to undergo training on how to deliver material online, which significantly improved their ability to engage more effectively with their students. However, because it was the only option when the social distancing rules were first implemented in March 2020, there was limited time in which to provide the training, as it was a swift turnaround for schools to get back to teaching as consistently as possible. The training that the teachers had access to allowed them the opportunity to adjust to online learning which, upon reflection, proved to be an effective, flexible way of learning.

According to a paper by Turning to Technology, in 2020 89% of teachers globally felt that the

‘experience made them better teachers’ which subsequently meant that students had a better understanding of their subjects. Teachers and students were also introduced to programmes like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, rapidly adjusting to the new processes, and swiftly accepting this ‘new normal’ for the majority of 2020-21.

While the experience may have enhanced their existing skills, this shift to online learning was not entirely beneficial for everyone involved, as ‘government and regional authorities in many countries [had to intervene] to provide children with Wi-Fi routers or dongles so that they could learn at home when schools were closed’ (Turning to Technology, 2021). It is stated on the UK government website that a disadvantaged pupil can be described as someone who has ‘no digital devices in their household’ (Gov.uk, 2021). Additionally, 52% of parents who took part in a survey report for Ofsted ‘suggested that a child in their household was struggling to continue their education while at home’ (Ibid, 2021). However, ‘only [10%] of these parents identified that a lack of devices was the reason for struggling’ (Ibid, 2021). This demonstrates that, although adjusting to new technology was certainly a challenge for the education sector, there were other areas of difficulty in online learning which was affecting students.

In a report by The Children’s Commissioner, it was estimated that ‘9% of families in the UK did not have a laptop, desktop or tablet in the home’ (The Children’s Commissioner, 2020). The contrast between the support that teachers were provided with to improve their delivery of online lessons on programmes like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and the initial difficulty of disadvantaged pupils not being able to easily access the internet, demonstrated the need for different material to be provided by publishers. The stance that the government took to help disadvantaged pupils, and the training that teachers were provided, would have had an impact on the educational publishing sector’s response. Publishers would also have had to adapt to the new blended learning style and accommodate it by making key content available to all parties. This crucial process of adaptation, that began in 2020, is arguably the largest change that has been made to the way that learning resources are delivered to large groups of people, including both students and educators.

How Have Educational Publishers Responded?

Educational publishers started creating online content to ensure that teachers and students had materials readily available so that they could continue their teaching and educations. CGP have done this by creating a dedicated section on their website for students from Key Stages 1-4. This includes materials such as revision guides and copies of textbooks at discounted prices, (dependent on whether the buyer is a student or an educational provider). However, just as in the case of schools introducing online learning, this is not necessarily beneficial to everyone. These materials are still only accessible to those with internet access and for students who can afford to buy the materials themselves. In addition to this, a 2020 Ofcom report found that ‘it was estimated that between 1-million and 1.8-million children do not have access to a laptop desktop or tablet’ (BBC News, 2021). The digital divide continues to prevent the equal access of educational materials. A purely online approach is not beneficial for students or educational publishers, as there is no way for products to be discovered or distributed to their audience during these situations, such as national lockdowns. This was helped by publishers such as CGP providing both physical and digital copies of their materials.

Competition From Online Education Providers

One online education provider, Twinkl, has created free online access to learning materials which perhaps poses an issue for educational publishers in the sense that there is more free content. This would therefore take away the need for educational publisher to be producing as much content as they do. The fact that students and teachers are turning to these platforms for free and convenient content suggests that the demand for digital content for schools has been in high demand, especially, since the start of the pandemic. On their website, Twinkl advertise that: ‘You can access 40,000 FREE resources when you sign up for an account’, which is a huge incentive for teachers, as it enables them to access free content in order to better teach their students. The appeal of free content means that people are more likely to turn to these online providers, rather than sourcing their materials from educational publishers. This therefore causes a decline in digital content being purchased directly from publishers. If publisher resources remain in lower demand, they may eventually lose the incentive to produce them, which can increase the opportunity for the online providers to fill that gap in the market.

Government Intervention

The government has helped to provide online access for disadvantaged students, and 1,836,930 devices have been delivered and dispatched since the start of the Government scheme in 2021 (Gov.uk, 2022). This would imply that educational publisher’s digital sales would have increased. For example, in the Turning to Technology report it was stated that in 2019 ‘digital only [accounted] for 8% of educational book sales’ which, therefore, meant that it accounted for ‘70% of the total invoiced value of combined academic & professional book and journal sales’ (Joyson, 2020). However, in an article outlining the sales of the publishing sector in 2020, the educational publishing digital sales had increased by 8% (Anderson, 2021). This demonstrates the increase in demand for digital content during the first year of the pandemic and outlines the importance for educational publishers to provide digital resources. The way that online and digital sales have increased, including E-book and audiobook sales, demonstrates the necessity for educational publishers to adapt to this new way of consuming content. It also exhibits the way in which societal changes have impacted on the way educational content is made available for students resulting in a shift in the way that content is accessed by students and teachers.

The Use of Audio and E-books to Aid Learning

Another way in which publishers have had to adapt to digital content is the increased use of E-books and audiobooks. Overdrive have stated that ‘38,000 schools in seventy-one countries – an increase of 80% over last year – allow students to borrow and read their school’s E-books and audiobooks through the Sora student reading app’ (Overdrive, 2020). In 2020, ‘the top six trade publishers recorded a total 15.5% rise in E-book sales’ which exhibits the new role that digital books played during the Covid-19 pandemic (Books + Publishing, 2021). As previously mentioned, the digital aspect of educational publishing only accounted for 8% of sales, whereas in a Publishing Perspectives article it is stated that, in 2020, digital sales were ’up 12% to £3-billion’ (Anderson, 2021). The increase of digital sales in 2020 demonstrates the new trend of E-books and audiobooks possibly becoming an increasingly popular method for consumers to access content. With the increased demand for ‘high-quality educational materials in the form of downloadable and web-based applications’, the Covid-19 pandemic provided a prime opportunity for publishers to solidify their place in the digital market. While digital sales were not particularly high in 2019, 2020 provoked a shift in both the creation and consumption of digital material (Ribbonfish, 2016).

E-books are increasingly being used as a format to engage children as young as 3-years-old in order to help them learn. In an interview with BBC News reporter, Marc Ashdown, Irene Picton of the National Literacy Trust, stated: ‘‘‘I’d describe E-books as a tool in the toolbox for anybody who knows a child who doesn’t seem to like reading very much”’ (Ashdown, 2016). The implication that an E-book can be a source of education, especially coming from this highly credible and well-positioned source, suggests that the use of digital formats can be beneficial to teaching. This suggests that educational publishers may need to continue adapting to the idea that digital may become a format more frequently used in education.

Conclusion

Educational publishers have had to adjust to many social and technological changes and therefore it has meant that the way that they deliver their content has had to be updated and altered in order to fit the current demand. In doing so, they have had to face challenges from free online content providers, have had to make accessible content in conjunction with the introduction of asynchronous learning, which has subsequently led to the development of multiple options supporting online teaching and providing educational resources for both teachers and students alike. The way they have approached these challenges by creating audiobook and E-book content, along with online learning materials has demonstrated their ability to adapt to a heightening demand for online content throughout a global pandemic over the past few years.

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Bibliography

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