Time for Class: Lessons for the Future of Digital Courseware in Higher Education

A three-part publication series on digital courseware in higher education

Pressure is mounting in the postsecondary education ecosystem to improve the quality of teaching and learning, while increasing accessibility and affordability for students. It is widely accepted that educational outcomes are better when instruction is personalized to students’ needs and objectives and effective personalized learning has historically been achieved in a face-to-face context that is instructor-intensive. However, this model does not fit today’s demand for more flexible learning experiences for millions of students.

Digital courseware has the potential to alleviate the pressures building through the delivery of scalable, personalized instruction; however, the category as a whole has not delivered on its promise. In order to better understand the current state of the courseware market, Tyton Partners, with support from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, completed a comprehensive scan of the postsecondary digital courseware landscape in the summer of 2014. This scan included a national survey of over 2,700 faculty and administrators and the review and analysis of over 120 products to develop a product taxonomy designed to help institutions and education professionals navigate the diverse and complex courseware market.