Ambassador Intros New Curriculum Management System
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 06/19/20
An education technology company that manages curriculum distribution through college bookstores, both online and on campus, has produced a new application for distributing course materials. Ambassador Education Solutions' new platform, dubbed RODA, can provide students with both digital and printed materials and handles integration of multiple publishers and course platforms. The goal: to help colleges and universities resolve their "fragmented approach to content."
For students, RODA simplifies access to all course materials, aggregating content and applications and presenting them through a single interface;
For schools, the software streamlines course materials operations and publisher relationships, according to the company. The program manages integrations; provides usage data; configures access to content based on duration; and handles publisher-related interactions, such as vetting booklists, holding prices consistent and managing "opt-out" compliance.
For publishers, RODA is intended to simplify account management, integration and reconciliation processes.
RODA includes an "EZ Opt-Out" function for inclusive access programs, allowing students to decline print and digital materials. On the publisher side, the program lets publishers lock down content for students who have opted out of inclusive access programs. In addition, RODA tracks terms, courses and enrollments and aligns analytics with content information, availability, format, duration, editions, usage and transactions for digital content.
"Content management and maintenance add significant pressure to a school's IT infrastructure. Some schools rely on their LMS and publishers to carry the burden, but a lot more than access is at stake. Schools need an easy and efficient way to bridge the gap between their systems and the capabilities of an LMS and publisher platforms," said Hercules Bontzolakes, CTO of Ambassador, in a statement. "RODA does all of the heavy lifting, integrating with schools' systems and multiple publisher/vendor systems, and providing the necessary controls and analytics to improve course materials accessibility and transparency through a single platform in a way that no other technology can match."
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.