Discovery Studio

Discovery Studio is your source for up-to-date information focused on issues and information in the higher education space. It contains an online repository of various informational documents authored by experienced Pearson staff and includes white papers, case studies and other timely educational articles. Additionally, Discovery Studio provides quick and easy access to other important research, reports, articles, and resources related to education technology and online teaching and learning.

Pearson White Papers

We are working to provide you with a reading library and share the thinking of some of the best minds in education. While we continue to build, please take the opportunity to read the following:

College Readiness
College readiness involves multiple factors that contribute to the intellectual, emotional, informational, and financial wherewithal required to attend and succeed in higher education. For the purposes of this paper, our focus will be on one piece of this complex subject: math. However, there are many factors associated with a person's readiness for higher education, from literacy to 21st-century skills that span the entire curriculum of high school preparation and higher education. Read More

Vision in Action: How Pearson Custom Publishing Works in Higher Education Instruction
Custom publishing is about more than just changing textbooks. It's how instructors at institutions across the nation are taking control. Custom publishing enables instructors to design instructional and learning materials that accommodate what traditional textbooks cannot: exactly what and how individual instructors want to teach, how much it will cost, and whether instructors want to supplement their teaching with technology solutions. Read More

Three Ways to Engage Online Learners
Online learning environments, especially commercial Learning Management Systems (LMS), provide numerous tools to establish interactions by which students can learn from one another and expand their knowledge base together. After defining just what is meant by "student engagement," this paper presents 3 practical ways to engage online students to enhance the learning process and reduce attrition rates. Read More

Pearson Case Studies

Rio Salado College
When most publishers talk about customer service,partnership, or working together toward common goals, what they're usually saying is that if they've done itbefore and it worked to their advantage, then they'll consider doing it again. No risk taking. No creativeproblem solving. No thinking outside the box. Pearson isn't most publishers. To prove it, Pearson has partneredwith one of higher education's most innovative institutions: Rio Salado College. Read More

Louisiana Community and Technical College System
In partnership with Pearson, LCTCS expanded that vision. In January 2009, LCTCS unveiled LCTCSOnline, one of the first initiatives in the country to offer customized online access to college, a one-stop choice of courses from any of the system's campuses, and access to course work through the BlackBerry Curve.. Read More

Colorado Community Colleges Online
In a groundbreaking partnership with Colorado Community Colleges Online(CCCOnline), a distance-learning organization comprising 13 institutions of the Colorado Community College system, Pearson has agreed to provide digital textbooks throughout the program for a reduced and far more affordable fee per semester per student. Read More

Florida State College at Jacksonville
Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ), formerly Florida Community College at Jacksonville, is one of the largest higher education institutions on Florida's First Coast. Established in 1965, FSCJ has grown from an initial enrollment of 2,500 to more than 80,000. Read More

Northeastern University
Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a private research university located in the heart of Boston. It offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees from six undergraduate colleges, eight graduate schools, and two part-time divisions. Read More

Quinsigamond Community College
QCC is committed to providing its students with as many learning opportunities as possible. By offering an online alternative to the Criminal Justice program, the school is able to meet the needs of those students who must juggle their educational goals with the cost of gasoline and transportation, work schedules, and family demands. Read More

Pearson eCollege Supports the Iowa Community College Online Consortium's Reporting Strategy
The Iowa Community College Online Consortium (ICCOC) developed a reporting strategy to identify at-risk students early. The ICCOC's strategy leveraged Pearson eCollege's program reporting suite, providing key indicators of student performance and patterns for success. Read More

Pearson eCollege's Software as a Service Solution Helps Rutgers Grow Their Online Learning Program
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, needed an eLearning solution which would grow along with their program. The tools of the system needed to adjust to an increased number of enrollments, without creating extra costs or system downtime. Pearson eCollege's Software as a Service solution was able to meet these needs. Read More

"Making the Grade, Version 2.0: A Report on the Success of MyMathLab in Higher Education Math Instruction"
MyMathLab (MML) is an innovative series of text-specific online courses designed to work hand in hand with Pearson Addison-Wesley and Pearson Prentice Hall mathematics and statistics textbooks. MML is a revolutionary new way of teaching and learning. It's about measurable outcomes. And it works. Institutions across the country are reporting pass-rate increases of 30 to 40 percent and at less cost to the institution than traditional courses. Read More

Papers Related to Education Technology and Online Teaching and Learning

"Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practice in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies"
Published by the Department of Education in May 2009, this meta-analysis found that "on average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction." Read More

"Online Learning as a Strategic Asset, Volume I: A Resource for Campus Leaders: A Report on the Online Education Benchmarking Study Conducted by the APLU Sloan National Commission On Online Learning"
Published by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in august 2009, this reports on a Online Learning Benchmarking Study that was designed to "illuminate how public institutions develop and implement key organizational strategies, processes, and procedures that contribute to successful and robust online learning initiatives. Read More

"Online Learning as a Strategic Asset, Volume II: The Paradox of Faculty Voices: Views and Experiences with Online Learning: Results of a National Faculty Survey, Part of the Online Education Benchmarking Study Conducted by the APLU Sloan National Commission on Online Learning"
Published by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and Babson Survey Research Group in August 2009, this report is based on responses from more than 10,700 faculty and 69 colleges and universities to a survey of faculty experiences, attitudes, and beliefs toward online learning. Read More

"In the Age of SaaS: Platform Choices for eLearning"
The choice for most institutions is not whether to join the eLearning movement, but the best way to do it. This paper explores where the market is heading with eLearning tools and provides a contextual timeline of technology service delivery, including the traditional "do it yourself" method and the newer, more efficient "stick to our core competency and let someone else do it" approach. Read More