The company was started in 1998 as an outgrowth of the founders' involvement in a nonprofit organization that developed web sites focused on colonial history and the Philadelphia area. Jonathan Schmalzbach, senior educational producer and one of the founders of New Forum, says that they had numerous requests from teachers to provide more information and similar material. “We could see that there was a need and a niche for this type of material. It was also clear that the medium of the Internet was not only the perfect delivery mechanism, but also the perfect medium to augment learning in classrooms," Schmalzbach says. The web can deliver a multiplicity of resources, but the challenge is getting teachers and students to those resources in a way that really addresses the schools' needs.

It's About Information

Beyond Books is an online source of educational information that parallels state and national curriculum standards. The online curriculum is designed as a resource for teachers and students that make it easy to use the web in support of the curriculum. More than 25 programs are available for students in grades 6-12 in social studies, language arts and literature, science, math, world languages, and elective areas such as art history, music and technology.

From the beginning, Beyond Books has believed that the web is about information, not about bells and whistles. If they can bring in audio and visuals that address learning meaningfully, they do so. But, the focus is on high interest and interactivity.

In developing a course, they consult the National Standards and talk with teachers about what interests students and where they struggle. The content is then written by award-winning teachers from across the country, many of whom are previously published authors. Content is written for the Net and uses the Internet's capabilities in a meaningful way. It's not like traditional textbook materials repurposed from their original print format, Schmalzbach points out.

Beyond Books uses four or five consistent layouts to present content, so that students know just what to expect. For example, an orange box always leads to a writing activity. Games, quizzes, polls, audio clips and demonstrations are built in throughout the program pages. Links to relevant sites are selected to appeal to different types of learners and to allow students at all levels to apply and expand what they have learned. "Our goal," Schmalzbach says, "is to hook students into caring about what they are reading and learning."

Challenges

Schmalzbach says their biggest challenge has been getting teacher buy in. Right now, Schmalzbach says they are reaching the early adopters. The challenge is to find ways to integrate this resource into all classrooms. The programs can be used daily but when a teacher is accustomed to relying on the 'usual' mode of teaching introducing it into the mix is a challenge.

Schmalzbach says that Beyond Books is easy to use in the classroom and teachers don't have to do it all at once. "Initially, they continue to use their textbooks, but our resources encompass all the information in the textbook and go well beyond," he says.

"We don't go in saying this can replace your textbooks, but it does happen," says Geoffrey Drayton, vice president marketing and sales for Beyond Books. He reports that one of their clients decided not to purchase science textbooks this year in favor of Beyond Books, saving $40,000. Drayton says they have seen a number of such cases, where the program is bought as a supplement and migrates to become the primary instructional resource.

Drayton says that the traditional textbook adoption process is also an obstacle. For example, some states require content to be held constant over the period of the adoption. Beyond Books updates its content weekly and sometimes daily.

However, Beyond Books programs are adopted in Florida and South Carolina. Essentially the states are creating a new category, allowing schools to use materials other than a textbook as a "primary resource."

Schmalzbach says that they believe they provide very good coverage of the knowledge base and that they are working diligently to do as well with process-based skills. They are increasing their emphasis on higher order skills and meaningful authentic tasks. This also makes better use of the medium.

The Price Is Right

Drayton says that Beyond Books is a tremendous value for the schools, which spend many thousands of dollars on textbooks. Their pricing is per student per program, so schools can buy just the coverage they need, at prices ranging from $2 to $8. However, if a high school were to opt to buy all 25 programs, they would pay $17.50 per student. This would get them coverage of 60% of their core curriculum. In addition, teachers and students can access the content from any Internet-connected computer, allowing home use. It doesn't take too long to begin to do the math.

The money saved on curriculum materials can then be used to further build up the schools' infrastructure, helping schools move closer to one-to-one computing. This is what is happening in the Henrico County (VA) Public Schools, where the district has purchased Beyond Books to provide content for its laptop initiative. All high schoolers in the district have been provided with Apple iBooks and have access to the Beyond Books curriculum.

Asked about access, Drayton says that Beyond Books works in one-to-one, one to many, and even one computer classrooms. He also says that laptop prices, in volume, have now dropped to affordable levels. Internet access may be more problematic outside the school setting, but there are options. In Henrico, for example, the district is acting as an ISP to provide low-cost access to those students unable to afford commercial services.

Drayton says that the speed at which this market is developing is phenomenal. He believes they are breaking out of the early adopter group into the mainstream of education. In five years he expects the majority of schools will be using digital curriculum tools as the primary learning resource in classrooms.

Contact: Jonathan Schmalzbach 610-832-0230 x104