Classrooms Come Alive with Interactive Textbook Platforms

The K-12 educational environment is changing at a rapid pace, for the better.

Thanks to the constant upgrades and innovations in the tech industry, classrooms are feeling the positive effects and are able to elevate the learning environment for students to a whole new level.

Computers are in most classrooms these days and the amount of students with access to tablets, computers and smartphones has never been higher, and is growing each year. With these technological upgrades, students are afforded the opportunity to learn online some of the time in a blended class and have unprecedented access to information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. "Amazing things are happening in education right now, " says Mike Sullivan Teacher and Co-Founder of Noyo, an interactive language software company. "Once a fire is ignited and a student has a burning desire to learn more in a subject, they now have constant access with no one to hold them back."

According to Ariel Diaz, Founder, and CEO of BOUNDLESS, "textbooks are the curriculum of the past and we're {Boundless} working to build the curriculum of the future." Interactive textbooks that can be custom-designed by educational publishing gurus such as iD8-Triple SSS Media Development, LLC. Boundless offers a unique opportunity for all those engaged in the educational environment: students, teachers, parents and publishers alike. "Technology will only improve over time, but the old textbook in hard copy form can only age. New platforms will only get better,” says Sullivan, who cannot imagine ever paying $100 for a textbook again and which will probably be outdated by the time it hits the classroom.

These new interactive textbook platforms will not only offer unlimited access to learning for students of all ages at a fraction of the price, but they also make it easier for teachers to focus learning goals on the needs of each specific student. Parents win too because the classroom can come home with their child and offer extra tutorials and assistance in problem areas that students may not get during the class day.

Educational media companies like iD8-Triple SSS Media Development benefit as well because these interactive textbook platforms allow for top-notch customer service. Books are no longer created with the hope that they will be purchased; they are created through a very streamlined process and delivered through specific projects at the request of a client, minimizing duplication of products and reducing costs.

The only drawback to these new interactive textbook platforms is that “it is hard to support everything out there,” and keep pace with the constant changes and advancements.

Guest Blogger: Daphne Butas
Daphne is a seasoned writer and former teacher who specializes in developing educational content for use in books, manuals, testing materials and online resources. She lives with her husband and 3 children in Falls Church, VA and thinks that motherhood has been the greatest and hardest educational experience of her life.

Reflecting on 10 Years in Business Serving the Educational Market Space

Mid-October marks the 10-year anniversary of iD8-TripleSSS Media Development, LLC. Although we officially came together only 2 years ago, we worked in partnership for many years leading up to our official merger. Thus, our 10-year anniversary feels like “our” anniversary. While we celebrate our 10-years in business, we also look back at the industry evolution and ours since we started in publishing and since we became a service provider.

When we began our educational publishing careers in the mid and late 80’s, we were lucky if we had access to a computer. Manuscripts were mailed as hard copy, sometimes with large floppy discs included. Those employees who knew how to work with Wang discs were eagerly sought out. If someone simply dropped an unnumbered manuscript a crisis could ensue trying to piece it back together without the benefit of a back-up copy.

Before a decade had passed, everyone had email, ftp sites, Blackberries, and had gotten rid of such things as X-Acto knives-an old necessity in publishing. And with the amount of new skills and services required, the publishers began to use quality outside vendors. With that mind, our company was born in 2002—serving these wonderful educational publishing companies by providing research, development, and writing services for this last decade.

We have been very lucky the last few years, and we never take that for granted. We were wise (or lucky) enough to recognize that no matter what the educational media might become, there will always be a need for excellent content. We therefore focused our efforts on building up the writing side of the business. Our collective experience as a student and an instructor in online courseware environments gave us the confidence to translate those skills into courseware development for clients. Together, we were able to explore web opportunities early on initiate what has now become the heart of our business-digital content development. We are now digital content providers and courseware creators to well-known publishing groups and several start-ups in the app and open source world.

Please make no mistake--iD8-TripleSSS Media Development’s growth could not have happened without the excellent freelancers that have worked with us through thick and thin as well as loyal clients that have been with us the entire 10 years thus far. To say we are grateful for their hard work and loyalty would be an understatement. As we grow as a company and continue to learn we hope you share our excitement about publishing and education. This is the best time to be in our industry; monumental shifts are re-defining every aspect of our business and with these changes are opportunities.

Marion and Susan