Education publisher wants to be more like EA

Education publisher Pearson isn't satisfied with traditional publishing methods anymore, and some executives are looking to take a tip from the gaming industry — specifically, Electronic Arts, according to a recent article from GigaOM.

Pearson, founded in 1998, publishes textbooks and learning materials for schools and students. According to Luyen Chou, the company's chief product officer for the K-12 technology group, traditional publishers can no longer just digitize textbooks. To stay current with the changing climate, they're going to need high-quality, interactive products that engage students. They need to become an "Electronic Arts for education."

"[That includes] digital studios, animators, illustrators, producers, 3D artists — we need to build that capacity within instructional companies like Pearson and we need the whole end-to-end supply chain to take that from studio to the actual users," Chou said. "The folks that have done that well are the EAs of the world, digital studios."

A company can have the "best data and best algorithms in the world," Chou said, but simply digitizing the educational experience and forgoing interactivity will never sell.

"You still have to serve up those compelling experiences," Chou said.