Post by healthy11 on Sept 23, 2017 10:03:15 GMT -5
techcrunch.com/2017/09/22/forget-what-youve-been-told-about-edtech/
The author of this article, Patrick Brothers, raises some important points about people who consider investing in what they hope is the next big money-making market, Educational Technology. Snippets of the article are below:
"Investors are incessant in their hunt for the next emerging market. The investment de jour? Edtech.
...Innovation in education, the kind edtech companies purport to bring, is about fundamentally changing the way students learn. That is something that is neither quick nor easy. As Phil Hill writes, “The challenge for ‘scaling’ in EdTech is not fundamentally about new technology.” The change is about people: teachers, faculty members, students, parents and community members alike.
The people dynamic is what most new investors to education miss. They enter the market with intentions of “flipping” their investment, earning quick money, and lack the patience or mindset to stick it out. When that happens, when new investors realize that it takes twice as much time to get half the returns in education, they exit, often leaving well-meaning teachers and students hanging in the wind without the new product they were promised.
This is the true problem with the idea of “Edtech as the next fintech.” Investment in this market requires understanding its unique attributes, and entrance not based on perceived profit opportunity but because it’s an opportunity to impact a public good that transforms people’s lives. If investors cannot understand that, then I hope they forget what they’ve been told about edtech and move on to the next emerging market.”
The author of this article, Patrick Brothers, raises some important points about people who consider investing in what they hope is the next big money-making market, Educational Technology. Snippets of the article are below:
"Investors are incessant in their hunt for the next emerging market. The investment de jour? Edtech.
...Innovation in education, the kind edtech companies purport to bring, is about fundamentally changing the way students learn. That is something that is neither quick nor easy. As Phil Hill writes, “The challenge for ‘scaling’ in EdTech is not fundamentally about new technology.” The change is about people: teachers, faculty members, students, parents and community members alike.
The people dynamic is what most new investors to education miss. They enter the market with intentions of “flipping” their investment, earning quick money, and lack the patience or mindset to stick it out. When that happens, when new investors realize that it takes twice as much time to get half the returns in education, they exit, often leaving well-meaning teachers and students hanging in the wind without the new product they were promised.
This is the true problem with the idea of “Edtech as the next fintech.” Investment in this market requires understanding its unique attributes, and entrance not based on perceived profit opportunity but because it’s an opportunity to impact a public good that transforms people’s lives. If investors cannot understand that, then I hope they forget what they’ve been told about edtech and move on to the next emerging market.”