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This blog is dedicated to the topics of Course materials, Innovation, and Technology in Education. it is intended as an information source for the college store industry, or anyone interested in how course materials are changing. Suggestions for discussion topics or news stories are welcome.

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Thursday, February 11, 2016

ConTEXT Looks at New Era of Textbooks

College textbook formats and how students acquire their reading materials have changed considerably in the past decade, as the report Mapping the Learning Content Ecosystem has documented. What these changes mean and how they affect the foreseeable future for faculty, students, publishers, and sellers of content will be explored at Campus Market Expo 2016 (CAMEX), March 4-8 in Houston, TX.

ConTEXT, a mini-conference within CAMEX focusing on textbooks and technology, will take a look at new strategies and best practices, from digital formats and open educational resources to adaptive learning products and text-with-tuition models. Speakers will include Andy Hines, assistant professor and coordinator of the Foresight Program at the University of Houston, who will discuss how to make sense of the shifting course materials landscape.

“Thinking about students, how will the changes in their lives and needs influence higher education and approaches to learning?” Hines wrote in a recent article for The College Store magazine. “These changes may ultimately redefine the notion of what a course material is, as coursework spills over into work, play, relationships, and even participation in civic life.”

The ConTEXT track will feature 15 educational sessions related to course materials. The ConTEXT educational program is underwritten by the NACS Foundation, with support from Follett.

In addition, two showcases—custom/digital content solutions on March 4 and adaptive learning products on March 5—will give an overview of new products and services for academic content and how they benefit students and faculty. Among the participating suppliers are LAD Custom Publishing, RedShelf, XanEdu, Cengage Learning, Elsevier-Health Sciences, Pearson Education, and Wiley.

CAMEX attendees will also be able to learn more at the ConTEXT Pavilion during the trade show (March 6-8). Most of the exhibiting companies involved in course content and materials will be located in the vicinity of the pavilion and many will be demonstrating products in the ConTEXT Presentation Theater.