Amazon Signs Major Book Deal with New York City Schools
Amazon has recently signed a multi-million dollar deal, which will see the global online marketplace provide e-books to New York City Schools. Higher Ways Publishing reviews.
Educational tool
American e-book distributor Overdrive recently conducted a study which showed that the majority of US schools use digital content. Specifically, 80% of the 2,000 US school and district level administrators polled by Overdrive, said that digital textbooks or e-books are now used as educational materials.
Explaining this trend Kahle Charles, the Executive Director of Curriculum at St. Vrain Valley Schools in Longmont, Colorado, commented within the research: “We believe the paradigm of instruction needs to change… Devices bring more knowledge to students’ fingertips than the teacher can give, so the traditional lecture model is no longer applicable. We want content that will engage students and the ability to introduce flipped classrooms with content that students can access at any time, at any place.”
Amazon’s deal
According to Digital Book World, a publishing sector portal, Amazon has decided to capitalise on this emerging educational trend. The company has just signed a US$30 million (m) deal to supply New York City public schools with e-books, with the programme going into effect next year.
Reporting on his story, The Wall Street Journal writes that the deal was greenlighted by New York’s Panel for Education Policy. In partnership with the Department of Education, the deal will last three years but could be extended another by two years if successful, allowing Amazon to earn a staggering $64.5m for supplying e-books to New York City schools.
Commitment to excellence
Specifically, this initiative will see Amazon provide access to its e-book catalogue to over one million New York City students. The company will not supply pupils with e-readers such as the newly-released Kindle Oasis. Rather, New York City schools will buy files via an internal marketplace which Amazon will develop, with the files then being available to students through school e-reading devices.
Commenting on this deal, Amazon said in an official statement: “This partnership is illustrative of Amazon Education’s overall commitment to making connected classrooms a reality by helping students and educators with the transition to digital learning. We look forward to working closely with the New York City Department of Education to serve the educational needs of their students.”
Using digital content for educational purposes comes with a range of benefits. With this approach, teachers can individualise learning programmes to students’ specific requirements, allowing them to ensure pupils learn more effectively. By signing this deal with Amazon, New York City has ensured that its pupils can access a database compiled by one of the most prolific digital book sellers on earth. Consequently, they have potentially provided said pupils with a wealth of new learning opportunities over the next three, possibly even five years.
About Higher Ways Publishing
Established in 2003 by Hayim Oshky and Mike Walden, Higher Ways Publishing helps authors and publishers transform brilliant ideas into commercial success. Headquartered in Tel Aviv Israel and California, they are a market leader in digital and hard-cover publishing for the health, fitness and relationship industries. Higher Ways Publishing have assisted many authors in expanding their online presence in the growing digital marketing world.
