Vital Source Collaborates with Metrodigi to Enable Production of Interactive Content
Orlando, FL (PRWEB) October 01, 2014 -- Vital Source Technologies, Inc., Ingram Content Group’s leading digital textbook solution, and Metrodigi®, the leading global cloud-based content creation software company, today announced a collaboration at EDUCAUSE 2014, taking place this week in Orlando, FL. This collaboration provides educational publishers with a powerful end-to-end solution for the production and distribution of customizable, interactive digital products. As a result, publishers will be able to develop robust interactive content more efficiently and affordably, and students will be able to access highly interactive and visual course materials across a wide range of devices through the VitalSource Bookshelf® eReader and distribution platform.
Metrodigi’s cloud-based content creation platform, Chaucer®, empowers publishers to efficiently create, manage, and publish highly interactive digital content. Traditionally, the high cost of development has deterred many publishers from producing interactive learning materials. However, with intuitive prototyping tools, interactive widget wizards, and smart book structuring algorithms as well as support for a wide variety of e-book formats, including the industry standard EPUB 3.0, Chaucer dramatically reduces the time, cost and complexity of creating enhanced educational content. The work between Vital Source and Metrodigi will enable immediate, simple EPUB 3.0 production through integration with specific VitalSource Bookshelf features inside Metrodigi’s Chaucer, including “Publish to Bookshelf” and “Bookshelf MetaData.” As such, publishers will easily produce interactive elements using standard templates or fully customized and branded widgets through Chaucer and an integration of VitalSource FLOE® with Chaucer.
“The market has been eager for interactive, visual and engaging digital content, and we are confident that our work with Metrodigi will dramatically accelerate our ability to meet that need and to drive down the cost to create this content,” said Kent Freeman, Chief Operating Officer, Vital Source Technologies, Inc. “We anticipate a growing catalog of rich, interactive content available through our VitalSource Bookshelf eReader, and we look forward to supporting the positive impacts of interactive content on student engagement and learning.”
This interactive content will add to VitalSource’s growing catalogue of eTextbooks and digital course materials, which currently includes more than 500,000 titles from 750 educational publishers, in use at more than 6,000 campuses worldwide.
“We are consistently expanding our network of publishers and are excited that Chaucer is enabling companies such as Vital Source to create more compelling and interactive content at scale,” said Steven McKinney, Metrodigi CEO. “By combining the operational efficiencies of our development platform, Chaucer, and our experience creating digital materials for a variety of industries with Vital Source’s expertise in higher education and K-12, content creators everywhere will have the ability to develop incredibly compelling, cross-platform content for the rapidly-growing education sector.”
For additional information about creating interactive course materials with Chaucer and Vital Source, please visit either http://vitalsource.com/pages/enhanced-media.aspx or http://www. metrodigi.com
ABOUT VITAL SOURCE
The VitalSource Bookshelf platform is the most used eTextbook delivery platform in higher education. Vital Source Technologies has more than 500,000 titles available in distribution encompassing content from more than 750 educational publishers. Content is available to VitalSource Bookshelf users, including those living with disabilities anytime, anywhere, and on a variety of operating systems and devices. For more information about Vital Source Technologies, visit http://www.vitalsource.com.
ABOUT INGRAM
Ingram Content Group Inc. is a subsidiary of Nashville-based Ingram Industries Inc. The company got its start in 1964 as a textbook depository and has since grown and transformed into a comprehensive publishing industry services company that offers numerous solutions, including physical book distribution, print-on-demand and digital services. Committed to the success of its partners, Ingram works closely with publishers, retailers, libraries and schools around the world to provide them with the right products and services to help them succeed in the dynamic and increasingly complex world of content publishing. Ingram’s operating units are Ingram Book Company, Lightning Source Inc., Vital Source Technologies, Inc., Ingram Periodicals Inc., Ingram International Inc., Ingram Library Services Inc., Spring Arbor Distributors Inc., Ingram Publisher Services Inc., Tennessee Book Company LLC, Coutts Information Services, and ICG Ventures Inc. Learn more about Ingram Content Group at http://www.ingramcontent.com.
ABOUT METRODIGI
Metrodigi is the leading cloud-based software company for the creation of digital content. We work with a wide variety of companies ranging from education to entertainment and technology. Publishers choose Metrodigi’s Chaucer, a scalable and intuitive cloud-based content creation platform, to efficiently author and assemble interactive digital content. Feature rich tools allow review and collaboration, rapid development of engaging digital content and courseware, and customer insights with data and analytics. Chaucer has transformed digital publishing by dramatically reducing the time, cost and complexity of creating scalable interactive content. The combination of Metrodigi’s innovative technology and its world-class digital book team revolutionizes interactive digital content. Metrodigi is a privately held company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with offices in Boston, India, and Ecuador. For more information, please visit http://www.metrodigi.com.
Contact: Elizabeth Fielding 615.321.3110 / elizabeth(At)tsgnashville(Dot)com
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Elizabeth Fielding, The Strategy Group, +1 (615) 321-3110, [email protected]
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