Previous to the 21st century and the ushering in of the information era, when e-learning tools like learning management systems were a mere speck of a thought, all instructional material was paper-based and its authors were subject to the will of the publishing industry.
An instructor may have added a few supplementary materials involving audio or video tools.
Of course, paper-based material and publishing houses still exist.
And the notion of organizing and developing instructional material either to sell or for in-house use continues to inspire many people with skill and knowledge in a particular field.
But the traditional methods of creating instructional material, which involve the destruction of forests and wasting of money, are neither simple nor sustainable.
Textbook price levels have risen to dizzying new heights, although authors do not see most of the profits. According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, textbook prices have outpaced inflation 2-to-1 in the past two decades.
Numbers aside, the effects on students of higher education are obvious. Particularly for those students who pay for their own textbook, tuition, housing, food, and other expenses, the outlandish price of textbooks is especially damaging.
When all of these factors of the downturn of the textbook industry are combined, the picture is clear for paper-based instructional material developers--and it's not pretty.
More and more subject matter experts are taking their learning content online. Using learning management systems (LMS) and other elearning tools, content developers have a broad range of tools to make their content truly their own. Some of these tools are podcast recording, video, animation, screen and audio recording, and simple migration tools. Courseware creators can integrate Web 2.0 tools to provide learners with a collaborative space to communicate with each other and with instructors.
Unlike textbook writing, when you create learning content using a known elearning platform, you retain full ownership of and power over the fate of your learning content.
Of course, preparing learning content still requires time and patience; just like preparing a semester's worth of lesson plans, the content doesn't fly directly from an expert's head onto his or her computer. But the actual uploading and putting out on the market is quite simple, and depending on the LMS provider, free of charge.
