Fund Encourages Educators to Adopt New Technology

A longtime educational publishing executive is offering grants to educators who use Education World's program, located at The Educators' Publishing Center, to custom-publish paperback books. The first 20 educators who make use of the Educators' Publishing Center services will receive grants of $110 each, which will defray the submission fee for books written by the teachers themselves, books of student writing, or other material the educator wishes to publish as a paperback book.

"I believe that educators are quicker to adopt exciting new technologies than some might think," said Greg Hilbert, who is funding the program. "Teachers are incredibly creative people, and they will find a wealth of educationally valuable applications for this technology, once they're aware that it is available and that it is actually quite easy to use."

There are various forms of "e-publishing," but the one to which Mr. Hilbert refers works like this: An author enters a digital manuscript into an online template and submits the file on diskette for publication via electronic, "print on demand" technology. The resulting books, which can be ordered in virtually any quantity, are exactly like commercially produced, high-quality paperbacks with full-color covers. Depending upon which Educators' Publishing Center program is chosen by the author (who may be a classroom teacher or students writing under the direction of teachers, but can also be a school or district), the author may also earn royalties should other people order the book from the Center's online bookstore. Mr. Hilbert has worked in educational publishing for more than 20 years, at Xerox Education, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Weekly Reader Corporation, and Education World. He has personally set up a fund to offer 20 grants of $110 each to the first 20 educators who qualify. To qualify, an educator can go to the Educators' Publishing Center here at Education World and submit a manuscript for publication. The educator must then attach to an e-mail to Mr. Hilbert a copy of the electronic file that is being submitted by diskette to the program of his or her choice. Mr. Hilbert's fund will then send a $110 check made out to the first 20 educators participating. The grant amount is equivalent to the manuscript processing fee for one of the offered programs, called "It's Our Book, Write It Loud!" That program permits a school to publish student-written books as an instructional achievement program, and, if the school or PTO/PTA wishes, to sell copies in order to raise funds.

 

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