The Xplanation

Welcome to The Xplanation reports page. Here, you will find links to our quarterly reports as well as to other topical studies we release throughout the year.

Digital Textbooks Reaching the Tipping Point in Higher Education — A Revised Five-Year Projection — The tipping point for digital textbooks is defined as that point on the industry/product continuum at which current financial variables and market factors make the eventual dominance of digital over print an inevitable outcome within 5-7 years. It is our argument in this report that the Higher Education textbook industry in the U.S. is now at that tipping point. In support of this argument, we will discuss both the current status of the Higher Education textbook market as well as the primary market/financial factors influencing its evolution. Over the next 5 years, digital textbook sales in the United States will surpass 25% of combined new textbook sales for the Higher Education and Career Education markets. Moreover, we expect digital to be the dominant form factor in Higher Education textbooks inside of 7 years.

Digital Textbook Sales in U.S. Higher Education — A Five-Year Projection — This study looks ta projected increases in digital textbook sales int he United States over the next five years. “Over the next five years, digital textbook sales in the United States will surpass 18% of combined new textbook sales for the Higher Education and Career Education markets. This increase will boost revenues for digital textbooks to more than $1 billion and necessitate a general overhaul of traditional textbook production processes. The growth will also create avenues for new content publishers to enter the textbook market, lead to fundamental shifts in purchasing patterns around learning materials, and expedite the formal adoption of open educational resources to augment premium digital content.”

The Past, Present, and Future of Higher Education Publishing — This presentation is a follow-up to our study on the future of e-textbooks published in April. In that report, we identified a number of factors that impact the continued growth of the e-textbook market. Our continued research and news tracking shows that all of those factors continue to trend in favor of our original projections. The number of available e-textbook titles is increasing, market sensitivity to price is driving important changes, online learning is growing rapidly, and tablet and other technology innovations are having a dramatic impact.

Statistical Trends | First Quarter Report, 2010 — This report/presentation provides a narrative overview of statistical information we have reviewed in our research at The Xplanation over the first quarter of 2010. This research is tracked against our Educational Technology Trends 2010, and becomes part of our ongoing analysis of key trends in the education, technology, and publishing landscapes.

Statistical Trends | Third Quarter Report, 2010 (Next is Now) — This report/presentation provides a narrative overview of statistical information we have reviewed in our research at The Xplanation over the third quarter of 2010. This research is tracked against our Educational Technology Trends 2010, and becomes part of our ongoing analysis of key trends in the education, technology, and publishing landscapes.