Math Awareness Month: Future of Prediction

April: the month of showers, flowers, and.. math awareness? 

That's right! April is Math Awareness Month. Each year the Joint Policy Board of Mathematics sponsors a Math Awareness Month, and chooses a different theme to accompany each April. This year, the theme is The Future of Prediction, and the Center of Math is taking a look at the future of textbooks! 

In order to predict the future, it helps to understand the past and present. In order to do this, we will look at trends in the textbook industry.

According to Northeastern University's online resources, a significant amount of students suffer due to unreasonable textbook prices. To be more exact, 48% said that the cost of books has impacted which classes they chose to take. Around 65% did not buy a required text because of the price and 94% of students who skipped buying a text worried that their grade would be impacted.

According to Former U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, projections put the U.S. textbook market at nearly half digital by 2017. "This is the last generation of students who will carry backpacks to school," writes Zachary Walker, a special educator and technology consultant writing for SmartBrief, Inc. on Education.

A survey conducted by the Pearson Foundation found that 63% of college students and 69% of high school students believe that traditional textbooks will be phased out in the next five years. A little more than 50% of college students also expressed a preference for digital textbooks over printed ones for class. 

Two Center of Math employees, interviewed various Northeastern University students on the future of digital textbooks. Most students agreed that digital textbooks are the future. As we are now in the digital age, students expressed how a digital option would make much more sense for them. Affordability, convenience and simply an aptitude and expectation that most resources should be accessible online are all factors pushing students away from print textbooks. More to come with a video highlighting students' thoughts and feelings toward digital textbooks. 

Along with the students' responses, the statistics below speak for themselves, showing the gradual increase of digital textbook use and popularity.

Make the right choice and Adopt Affordable with the Center of Math. Try our digital textbooks at only $9.95. As students, you will save a significant amount of money while acquiring an excellent digital product. Check out our store here. 

As faculty, you have the opportunity to request a free faculty copy

Sources:
Rivero, Victor. "Digital textbooks: show me the future! Etextbooks, ebooks, e-readers, other e-tools, and more." Internet@Schools May-June 2013: 12+. Academic OneFile. Web. 6 Apr. 2016.

http://libraries.state.ma.us.ezproxy.neu.edu/login?gwurl=http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.neu.edu/ps/i.do? id=GALE%7CA329067889&v=2.1&u=mlin_b_northest&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=01ff9f34a0adba1b52472230914f08b4 http://digital.nsta.org/article/Helping+Students+Save%3A+Assigning+Textbooks+Early+Can+Save+Money+and+Enhance+Learning/1986952/254738/article.htmlhttp://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/24/death-of-the-textbook-and-the-50-pound-bookbag.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/04/college-textbook-prices-increase_n_2409153.html

http://www.statista.com/statistics/273404/us-students-attitudes-towards-tablets-and-digital-textbooks/