Online Testing Has Become Big Business

Online testing and assessment is a growing business for software vendors and publishers. The Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) reported digital assessment products brought in $2.5 billion in revenue in the 2012-13 school year.

The report, The U.S. Education Technology Market: PreK-12, estimated that the amount spent on software and content in the U.S. for preK-12 education was up $480 million to $8.38 billion, according to a report in The Journal. The SIIA researchers noted that 39% of the revenues were used on content, with language arts and math listed as the largest academic areas covered by the content.

The study also found that revenue for online courses grew 320% percent when compared to the 2011-12 school year.

“The rapid growth of testing and assessment will slow but remain an important area of investment in school districts and states,” said John Richards, president of CS4Ed. “Digital assessments and interest in personalized learning contribute to this growing market.”

Cameras Used to Study Lecture Attendance

Harvard University raised a few eyebrows when reports surfaced about its use of secret cameras in select classrooms to study student attendance habits. Some questioned the ethics of the research, while others thought the results were rather predictable.

For instance, an average of 60% of students showed up for any of the 10 lecture courses that were filmed, but more showed up on Wednesdays than on Fridays. Lecture attendance also declined over the semester.

A course’s grading policy and students’ motivation for enrolling were the two factors most likely to get them to class. The three courses with the highest attendance had a grading policy that required students to be there and more than 50% of the students who enrolled in those three did so to fill a requirement.

The official reason for the study was to find out how engaged students were in classes using a lecture format, according to a report in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Harvard was also trying to find new ways to make lectures more interactive.

Cellphone Usage Linked to Lower Grades

The old adage that statistics can prove almost anything appears to be true when it comes to college students and mobile devices. While a Wakefield Research project last summer found that students would be more likely to study if content could be accessed from their smartphone, a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln found that 90% of the students in his study were distracted by their device, using it in class for something other than schoolwork.

Now, medical researchers at Kent State University, Kent, OH, have linked cellphone usage to lower grades and diminished levels of happiness. The study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, surveyed more than 500 students, comparing how much time they spent on their phones to their cumulative grade-point averages.

The analysis found that the more students used their cellphones, the lower their GPA and the higher their anxiety. The researchers added that they could not show for certain that cellphone usage led to poorer grades and higher stress, but that it was worth noting because college students are also the most likely to adopt the technology.

“While it is plausible that spending a lot of time calling and texting affects academic performance, it could equally be argued that these results suggest students who are more anxious, perform less well in class, and are more unhappy are more likely to use cellphones,” wrote Catherine Paddock, for Medical News Today.

Report: Students Moving to Digital

While some studies suggest students are still happy with printed textbooks, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) has found the movement to digital content is gaining steam.

In its latest installment of the ongoing study Student Attitudes Toward Content in Higher Education, BISG reports a 12% drop in student preference for print over digital text, from 72% preferring print in November 2011 to 60% late last year. At the same time, student satisfaction with digital textbooks slipped from 30% in the 2011 survey to 26% in the newest report.

“Simply transferring a print textbook to a digital format doesn’t work with this crowd,” said Angela Bole, deputy executive director of BISG, in a release. “This is a market that’s tremendously dynamic and changing rapidly. It’s essential to watch it closely.”

The study also found that only half of the students in the survey were willing to buy the latest version of their assigned textbook, while rental as the preferred option has increased from 8% of respondents in 2011 to 13% in 2012. In addition, the use of tablet computers to read digital textbooks grew to 37% of responding students in 2012, while the use of laptop computers fell to 72%.

BISG Presents Data on Higher Ed Textbook Market

Here are some recent statistics that came out the Book Study Industry Group (BISG) Making Information Pay in Higher Education conference last week. 

Overall, the higher education textbook market saw a decrease of 2.5%, the first decline in six years.  It was noted that the recent numbers did not capture some of the e-commerce companies.

Kelly Gallagher from Bowker reported that about 5% to 7% of the e-textbook market is digital, versus the 15% to 20% that many major trade publishers reported.  Gary

Shapiro from Follet Higher Education Group reported that sales of e-books are less than 5% of its revenue but this is misleading because it does not account for digital sold in a bundle which makes up 25% of its textbook revenue.  Follett also saw growth in interactive digital textbook at around 5% and expects that segment to grow the most in the future.  Cafescribe, Follett’s online textbook business estimated to be at $400 million is the 56^th largest e-commerce in the U.S.

Kent Freeman from VitalSource Technologies, Inc. reported on data they collected which found that e-textbooks are available for a course 23% of the time, 53% sometimes, 9% rarely, and not available 14% of the time.

Some of the stats reported here and others presented at the meeting reinforce that the availability and impact of digital is growing.  It also points to "PDF equivalents" being less attractive and that the future will be more the "native digital" -- course materials that are part of an integrated learning solution with interactive components that enhance student learning skills or outcomes.  The true volume of digital being sold, often as part of a package, suggests growing penetration of technology-based course materials solutions. 

New Mobile Shopping Stats

A new report says more time is spent shopping on tablets than smartphones and PC users.  According to Interactive Advertising Bureau UK, 72 percent of tablet owners use their devices weekly to shop.  The average time spent on shopping on tablets was 4.4 hours compared to 2.2 hours for smartphones and 2.9 hours for PC users.

The survey shows that when people buy physical items, 78% respondents use a PC, 63% use a tablet and 39% use a smartphone.  When purchasing a ticket or service 55% use a tablet, 47% use a PC, and 44% use a smartphone.  Other results from the study include:

o   69% of consumers used a tablet to purchase digital downloads, 43% for PC, 44% for smartphones

o   38% use smartphones in the store with 55% conducting search about a product while in the store

o   49% did a price comparison check

o   27% use the smartphone to find shops in their area

o   24% scanned product for more info

o   20% used an app for more product info

The report’s research director says,

 “The research clearly demonstrates the importance of a cross device digital marketing strategy. The more connected devices consumers own, the more their behaviors change and the more complex their purchasing habits become. Those brands and retailers that can best accommodate this changing dynamic will be best placed to generate new sales and capitalize on consumers’ desire to use their smartphone for research and purchase more in the future.”

   

The study was conducted using the general consumers college students but it gives us some indication where the trend is headed.   This study means that the next generation of students on campuses will expect and want more services that they can access remotely.

1/3 of US Adults Own an Ereader or Tablet

According to this study the number of adults who own either a tablet or an Ereader jumped to 29% in January from 18% in December 2011.  The ownership of devices doubled from 10% to 19% just between mid-December and early January.  This article states since there was no new Apple products during that period and assumes that a large share of the growth can be attributed to Amazon’s Kindle and B&N’s Nook.

E-books Continues Growth

USA Today’s Best Selling Books data reports that for 42 of the top 50 titles, the e-book editions were the most popular format according to sales data from December 26 to January 1.  For e-books, “the two weeks after Christmas is what the two weeks before Halloween is to pumpkins,” says Michael Norris, an analyst with Simba Information.   Norris predicts, after the post-holiday surge, e-books will see more sales in “short bursts and slow trickles” the rest of the year.

In the article, Russ Grandinetti, VP at Amazon says it print and digital sales are both up, but “digital is growing significantly faster.”  He also says, “For anyone who cares about books, it’s never been a better time to be a reader.  The choices have never been greater- what to read, when to read it, and how to integrate books into you daily life.”

Digital Books Reached $3.2 Billion in 2011

Juniper Research reports that digital books in 2011 earned about $3.2 billion in revenue and is expected to triple to $9.7 billion by 2016 according. 

“Readers are showing increasing loyalty to digital book and the e-book market is developing very fast, with consumer attitudes and behaviors changing over course of months, rather than years.” says Angela Bole of Book Industry Study Group.

But it doesn’t spell the demise print publishing.  Some analysts believe print for newspapers will become extinct and magazines need to figure out the balance between print and digital.

7 out of 10 Students Don't Buy Textbooks

In the November 29th article by Campus Technology, University of California, Riverside’s recent annual survey, “Undergraduate Experience Survey,” finds that seven out 10 students do not buy textbooks, instead they prefer to rent them, rely on faculty provided materials, or do without them completely.  According to the survey, 73% of students who respond to the survey postpone the purchase and 74% of students chose to skip buying them altogether.   The university’s Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Steven Brint, commissioned a report on the survey in order to show faculty that “students’ behavior with respect to textbook purchasing may be different than they think.”  “Ultimately, the survey results suggest that not all students are doing the required reading for their courses,” says Brint.

If this statistic is the same at other institutions, then perhaps the greatest competitor to textbook sales is actually the choice not to buy at all. 

Growth of Digital Instructional Materials

Simba Information, a market research firm for the media and publishing industry, report that the multimedia materials in higher education, in the U.S., will grow 48.4% by the end of 2011, topping at $1billion.

According to the press release, “multimedia materials include a range of content, tools and services from homework assignments and assessments to downloadable lectures, website access for students, e-textbooks and teaching aids for instructors.”

Kathy Mickey, an analyst at Simba says, “Although textbooks remain the largest revenue stream for publishers, the multimedia materials segment is where they can expect to compete against the used and rental textbook sellers.”  Mickey also adds that “Pearson so far has reported the highest percentage of revenue from products tied to digital solutions and services, nearing half of their global education revenue.”

Study Finds eBooks Revenues Will Reach $9.7billion by 2016

MarketWatch’s recent press release highlighted a report from Juniper Research that predicts eBooks revenue will reach to $9.7 billion by 2016, an increase from $3.2 billion in 2011.  The report also suggest that the 30% of all eBook downloads will occur through tablet devices by 2016.  The upsurge is the result of ongoing growth in the dedicated eReader market as well as increase sales of tablet devices.

Is there anyone out there who still think digital books (or course materials) will not matter to booksellers or college stores by 2015?  If you are a retailer, what is your digital strategy?

E-Book Consumers Loyal to E-Books

Book Industry Study Group’s recent on-going survey on Consumer Attitudes Toward E-Book Reading indicates consumers are showing increase devotion and approval of digital books.  According to BISG’s press release, “The e-book market is developing very fast, with consumer attitudes and behaviors changing over the course of months, rather than years,” said Angela Bole, BISG's Deputy Executive Director.  The press release also quotes Kelly Gallagher, Vice President of Publishing Services at Bowker who says,  “As e-books become the primary reading format for many consumers in the coming months and years, it will be essential for the publishing community to understand consumers’ individual preferences and desires in order to connect with them."

The press release reports that almost “50% of print book consumer who have also acquired an e-book in the past 18 months would wait up to three months for the e-book version of a book from a favorite author, rather than immediately read it in print.  A year ago, only 38% said they would wait this long.”

Here are the results taken directly from the press release:

·         “Power Buyers are spending more.  More than 46% of those who say they acquire e-books at least weekly (considered “Power Buyers” in this survey) report that they have increased their dollars spent for books in all formats, compared with 30.4% of all survey respondents. This statistic is important because Power Buyers have proven to be a bellwether of overall consumer behavior by three to six months.”

·         “Amazon momentum continues. Amazon.com continues to be the preferred source for e-book acquisition (holding steady at 70%) and e-book information (44%). Barnes & Noble comes in second at 26%, with Apple in third.  One to watch: libraries, which are on the upswing as a preferred source for e-book acquisition.”

  

·         “Satisfaction with e-reading devices is high. Seventy-five percent (75%) of respondents reported they are satisfied with their e-reading device, including more than 38% of respondents who reported being “very satisfied.” Less than 5% said they felt their e-reading device was not a good value for the money.”

·         “Many barriers to e-book reading are falling. Survey results indicate that concerns about e-book availability are diminishing.  And although the cost of e-reading devices remains a reported concern, the single most popular answer to the question of what hinders respondents from reading more e-books was “nothing” at 33% (up from 17.6% a year ago).”

Study Suggests "App Gap"

Common Sense Media surveyed parents of U.S. kids ages zero to eight conducted to understand children's patterns of use for TV, reading, music, computers, video games, and mobile digital media.  Among the report’s key findings suggests that there is an “App Gap” occurring perhaps contributing to the digital divide.  Some of the data include the following:

·   14% of lower-income parents have downloaded new media apps for their kids to use, compared to 47% of upper-income parents.

·   Among lower-income children, 27% of parent have a smart phone, compared to 57%  for higher-income children.

·   2% of lower-income children have a tablet device such as an iPad at home, compared to 17% of higher-income children.

·   38% of lower-income parents say they don’t even know what an app is, compared to just 3% of higher-income parents.

Academic eBook Survey by UC Libraries

University of California Libraries recently released an interesting survey report entitled “ UC Libraries Academic e-Book Usage Survey.”  The survey’s intent was to evaluate UC academic community’s experience utilizing one of their e-book collections.  The primary objectives of the survey were to determine general preference for print books as compared to e-books, how  respondents interact with e-books, and barriers to e-book adoption and use.

The frequency of use of academic e-books were highest among postdoctoral researchers (68%) and graduate students (67%), followed by faculty and lecturers (57%), and then undergraduate students (55%).  Among disciplines, the physical sciences and engineering reported the highest rate of academic e-book usage (68%), followed by arts and humanities (57%), life and health sciences (57%), social sciences (54%), and then Business and law (47%).

In terms of format, this study is reflective of other recent studies that illustrate a shift in print versus electronic preferences.  The survey found that 49% of respondents prefer print books, 34% prefer e-books, and 17% had no preference.  By discipline, business and law reported the highest preference for e-books at (54%), followed by life and health sciences (44%), physical sciences and engineering (32%), social sciences (31%), and then arts and humanities (17%).   Postdoctoral researchers reported the highest preference for e-books over print books at (49%), followed by graduate students (35%), faculty and lecturers (33%), and undergraduate students (27%).  Perhaps surprising to some, undergraduate students expressed the highest preference for print books over digital (53%), but even in this case the numbers reflect a significant shift in preference as compared to other studies just a year ago. 

Other survey findings reported related to specific e-book functionalities:

·    Search functions within and across e-book content is acknowledged as the primary advantage of e-books.

·    Annotating and highlighting within the e-book environment is perceived as vital to the majority of respondents who use academic e-books.

·    Downloading the entire e-book to a device for later use is a highly valued feature.

·    e-Book readers, such as the Kindle, and mobile devices, such as the iPhone, offer significant advantage over the personal computer.

The survey also reported several other interesting findings related to the relationship between an e-book and its print counterpart:

·    Borrowing or purchasing a print copy of an e-book is not uncommon.

·    Undergraduate students express the strongest desire for a corresponding print copy of an academic e-book for borrowing from a UC library, with 66% rating it as important.

·    41% of respondents said that access to a “print-on-demand” copy of an e-book is an important feature.

The study provides a number of interesting insights into digital adoption in higher education from a different perspective.  The data corroborates other information out there related to how we understand current campus attitudes towards ebooks.  At the same time, it reinforces the beginning of a shift in preference from predominately print to decidedly digital.  This is a trend we will continue to monitor as it may be among the first signals that we are passing the knee of the curve for digital books on campuses. 

 

Abilene Christian University's Mobile Education Report Released

Abilene Christian University recently released its mobile education initiative report 2010-2011 that highlights its research projects and surveys on mobile learning on their campus.  In its fourth year of the initiative using iPads, IPhones and IPods, Abilene has attracted national attention during their Connected Open House that brought in people from many other schools.   They recently broke ground on three mobile research centers with a large grant from AT&T.  

"Our efforts are increasingly breaking down the walls of the classroom, removing barriers so teachers and students can engage more fully with and take their learning more easily into the world around them.  We're discovering that the power of mobility comes not only from the ability to access information, but also from the ability to create it, and the creative opportunities during this third year of our initiative have been staggering." says the Director of Educational Innovation Bill Rankin

According to the report, in a survey of 149 faculty members, 89% of faculty members bring mobile devices to class while 84% regularly use the devices in class and half of faculty report using the devices in every class.  Meanwhile, more than 80% of students responded that mobility device usage has improved collaboration in their academic experience, improved communication with teachers, and provided them with increased control of their learning environment.

Bookstore Sales Up in August

As a follow-up to the last story, Publisher's Weekly also reported bookstore sales jumped 11.8% in August, to $2.44 billion.  The PW report theorized that it is due to strong sales and other items through college bookstores (associated with back-to-school Rush) and going-out-of-business sales at Borders. Additionally, sales through the first eight months of the year rose 2.1%, to $10.47 billion and sales for the entire retail market were up 8.7% in August and 8.0% in the eight-month.

E-Commerce and e-Books Continue Market Share Growth

The following data was reported in Publisher's Weekly using Bowker’s PubTrack Consumer service.

• Bookstore chains lost 3.6% market share down from 30.6% in  2Q 2010 to 27.3% 2Q 2011.  (Borders’s closing drove the decline in market share.
• E-tailers grabbed 37.0% of all spending in the quarter, up from 35.3% in the first period and almost 10 percentage points higher than the 27.6% share e-tailers had in the second quarter of 2010.
• Independent bookstores picked up half a percentage point between the second quarter of 2010 and 2011, although compared to the first quarter of 2011 their share fell from 6.2% to 5.0%.
• e-books’ share of units rose from 3.2% to 13.7%.
• Hardcover’s share of market share falling from 33.3% in last year’s second quarter to 28.6%, but holding even with this year’s first quarter.

This data should tell brick and mortar and book retailers that the battle for market share is on, if they did not know that already.  Online retailers are capturing sales, further emphasizing the importance of traditional booksellers to provide access to sales online.  Note too the fairly significant gain in ebook market share in the past year from 3.2% of units to 13.7% of units -- a significant jump in a short time period.  This may account for much of the gain in sales by e-tailers.  Interesting numbers to ponder -- and yet another example of why market share matters.

Study finds Rise in College Student’s Purchasing Power

re:fuel released its 11^th annual College Explorer survey, according to Marketwatch.

The recent findings shows that the more than 20 million new college students’ spending power set a new record with $417 billion dollars, a 14% jump from last year’s study.  Overall discretionary spending for this population was $76 billion.  The article acknowledges that part of the growth in spending power is due to rising tuition costs and higher education costs.  Here are some other notable findings of the study discussed in the article.

Food is a major discrectionary spending area.  Discretionary spending on food increased by 39% since last year's study and accounts for almost half (46%) of college students' total discretionary budget.  Of the $35.2 billion reported towards food spending - $20 billion is being spent on groceries, $12 billion in restaurants and $3 billion in convenience stores.  Nearly all students (90%) report visiting a grocery store in a typical month, and they do so more than once per week (4.7 times a month).  These numbers suggest that food is a potential growth category for college stores.

On the technology front, students report that on average they now own six digital devices and spend a cumulative 11.4 hours per day using technology. Cell phones are quickly being replaced by smart phones.  Cell phone ownership decreased from 84% of students in 2010 to just over half (55%) in 2011.  Smartphone ownership  jumped more than 61% in the same time period.  In 2010, just one quarter of students (26%) reported owning a smart phone device, and that figure rose to 42% in 2011.  20% of students expecting to purchase a smartphone  in the year ahead. This places it ahead of other coveted items like laptops (17%) and tablet computers (11%).

Related to social media, a full 88% of students are Facebook users and 25% use Twitter, a slightly higher engagement over last year.   53% have followed or "liked" a brand on Facebook, and only 16% have done so on Twitter. Students who say they "friended" a brand in order to be the first to know about company news dropped from 48% last year to 40% in the current survey. Forty-eight percent (48%) of students have followed a brand's social networking page to take advantage of special offers and just 22% regularly read a brand's page for updates. Of note, more than 44% of students reported actively avoiding ads on social media sites, placing them among the most avoided media types.

The survey reports on several other statistics as well and the full report is worth reading.

Community College Student Survey on Use of Technology on Campus

The Lone Star College System conducted a student-driven survey of more than 6,000 students from 36 two-year colleges on the impact of technology on their academic performance.   According to one article, 78 percent of students responded said that their grades and learning are improved when technology is used consistently and effectively.  Campus Technology articles’ main take a ways are: 1. Schools should not implement technology for the sake of technology; 2. When  technology is deployed that the technology is working properly; and (3) That faculty needs to know how to use the technology and they should actually use it.