Academic materials turn to technology

Canadian roundtable organized by SU gathers students and publishers to discuss technology’s impact on education

University students and professionals in the publishing industry gathered for the Canadian Roundtable on Academic Materials (CRAM) last week to discuss changes in technology and the resulting impact on university education.

Presentations were held on Feb. 9-10 in an online conference set up to discuss new technological advances, along with the strategies that should be taken in the classroom to accommodate new innovations. The event included lectures by representatives from education companies like Pearson Canada, McGraw-Hill Canada and Gale Cengage.

Delegates from the Students’ Union and U of A Libraries were also present to discuss the educational and political climate of Canada.

Each day wrapped up with a meeting that involved setting strategies for the future of university education. For many publication companies, this includes vast changes to the way they provide publications to post-secondary schools.

A presentation given by Pearson Canada’s representative, Marlene Olsavsky, outlined the company’s plan to take advantage of technology’s new ability to shape education.

“Technology is allowing us to make our products more flexible and allows us to distribute them in a number of ways,” Olsavsky said, citing the company’s decision to allow access to their publications on computers and smartphones.

The new technological age saves students the costly fees of buying textbooks, along with offering them a new level of ease, according to Olsavsky. Although this may be less profitable for Pearson, Olsavsky said that students accessing these materials at their own convenience is the company’s main priority.

“We don’t want to be defined by the products that we’re selling, but by the experience we give our users,” Olsavsky said. 

This was a view shared by multiple education publishing companies. McGraw-Hill Canada representative Jeff MacLean echoed Olsavsky’s talk, making note of the company’s aim to use technology to ensure eased access to publications for affordable prices.

“We realize that technology allows us to present our material to more students, and allows more interactions,” MacLean said. “We want to make sure that, as a company, we’re giving you exactly what you need in different formats. There are a lot of different options out there.”

Stephen Abram, Gale Cengage’s vice-president of strategic partnerships and markets, outlined the different formats in which media publications can be distributed. Abram cited smartphones, notebooks, and eReaders as some of the many formats that students can now use to access their course material. 

“Every different piece of portable technology delivers some sort of new innovation,” Abram said. “Some are better to use in the airport, and some are better to use in a classroom. Every gadget has a strength or weakness when using it.

“We’re seeing huge shifts in computer and technology skills, and social and learning behaviours attached to those devices.”

As well as outlining the changes in the classroom brought on by technology, CRAM focused on adapting this technology to each student. 

“It’s rare that a user only chooses one device to use, but it’s even rarer for a classroom to be uniform in that decision,” Abram said.

Emerson Csorba, Students’ Union vice-president (academic) and organizer of the event, said he was generally satisfied with the turnout. 

“On day one, we saw anywhere from 30 to 50 people participate in the discussions, which is a fair bit,” Csorba said. “On day two, the turnout dropped to about 15 people per session, which was to be expected, since the day was Alberta-focused.

“We initiated valuable conversations with some of the largest publishing companies in Canada, recorded speeches from some renowned speakers and came away with a more informed perspective about (important) issues,” Csorba added.

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