Akademos Launches Textbook Adoption Tool, an Online Portal for Selecting the Best Textbooks Based on Quality and Value

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“There is a clear need for innovative solutions that help bring down the costs of textbooks for college students,” said Dean Florez, former California State Senator and president and CEO of the Twenty Million Minds Foundation.

Norwalk, CT (PRWEB) April 18, 2012

Akademos, Inc., a leading provider of integrated online bookstores and marketplaces for educational institutions, announced today that it has launched the Akademos Textbook Adoption Tool, which is the most comprehensive online portal for faculty to choose textbooks based on quality and value.

With the cost of textbooks skyrocketing and many students choosing to forgo their book purchases, the Akademos Textbook Adoption Tool aims to reduce textbook costs by allowing faculty to access and compare textbooks across 3,600 subjects and 2 million books.

“For the first time, faculty have access to the most comprehensive library of course materials sourced from both traditional publishers and open source providers,” said Brian Jacobs, founder and president of Akademos. “Our aim is to provide the right platform for faculty to easily discover the best course materials for better learning outcomes.”

“There is a clear need for innovative solutions that help bring down the costs of textbooks for college students,” said Dean Florez, former California State Senator and president and CEO of the Twenty Million Minds Foundation. “It is imperative that we eliminate the unnecessary hurdles to educational content affordability. The Akademos Textbook Adoption Tool is an example of a new platform that helps achieve this by allowing faculty to choose the right content based on cost and quality.”

Following are some key features of the Akademos Textbook Adoption Tool:

•     Easy Discovery: With over 3,600 subjects and more than 2 million books, the Akademos Textbook Adoption Tool provides for easy discovery and comparison of course materials. The Akademos Comparison WheelSM allows faculty to find their courses, view relevant textbooks by school adoptions, and even “follow” textbooks for later adoption—providing the ability to better discover learning materials for future classes.
•     More Affordable, Higher Quality Materials: Thanks to the Akademos AI, a proprietary affordability algorithm that rates more than 2 million textbooks, faculty can sort materials by affordability while they also evaluate textbook quality. Faculty can compare quality and costs together in a direct, side-by-side matrix.
•     Comprehensive Library of New Learning Materials: For the first time, faculty can search for traditional textbooks from both large and small publishers, including digital and eBooks, as well as new Open Educational Resource (OER) textbooks and content. This unbiased resource allows educators to examine innovative new products in the context of conventional learning materials and consider how they meet their instructional needs.
•     Faculty Peer Reviews: Unlike sites like Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble, the Akademos Textbook Adoption Tool offers peer reviews from faculty. This will provide a foundation for faculty and administrators to make the right decisions when it comes to choosing textbooks and other course materials.

“Professors and instructors seek an unbiased way to assess textbook quality and fit, thus professor reviews of textbooks and ancillary materials they have used are key,” said John Squires, CEO of Akademos. “Faculty feedback also suggests that discovering more affordable textbooks is a challenge because non-commercial materials such as OER texts are difficult to find and compare. What we think professors really want to know is, ‘How do I find the highest quality textbook with the best affordability, which fits my coursework and my students’ needs?’”

The Akademos Textbook Adoption Tool is launching on April 18, 2012 with a webinar featuring a number of speakers from the higher education sector, as well as a full demonstration of the new offering. You can register for the webinar here.

In addition, the Akademos Textbook Adoption Tool is complimentary for faculty, and can be accessed here: http://www.adoption.akademos.com

About Akademos
Akademos offers a turnkey virtual bookstore and marketplace. Its advanced technology, comprehensive supply-chain solution, and commitment to responsive personal service make it a leader in providing affordable course materials and digital learning tools for schools. Students can choose new, used, marketplace, rental, and eBooks while schools can reduce costs and enjoy greater operating efficiency. Akademos delivers the right course materials, at an affordable price, on time. Learn more at http://www.Akademos.com and http://www.textbookx.com/

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