This month "The Atlantic" has a wonderful story about the reluctance of higher education to embrace new technology, specifically, online education. It does not just due to lack of funding - traditional institutions have a hard time adjusting to innovation.
A classic example was faced by Akio Morita of Sony Corporation. Sony’s top executives hated the idea of the Walkman. They question its value due to a lack of the ability to record and preferred to focus on a more sophisticated product line – one targeting the high-end consumer. Morita was pursuing a low end innovation strategy and his strategy won. The Walkman propelled Sony to the top of consumer electronics by leveraging the non-competitive children’s market. One that Magnavox and RCA didn't value. They should have.
The traditional education mindset resists innovation in an attempt to protect institution. For-profit schools don't seem to have this problem and they are currently exploiting this advantage with the skill of a guerilla, rebel insurgency. A classic example is the University of Phoenix.
The parent company of UOP just bought Carnegie Learning which made computer -based math tutorials. It was a relatively small acquisition, less than $100 million, but its purchase is a sign of the revolution that's coming.
Carnegie Learning was founded and is run by computer and cognitive scientists from Carnegie Mellon. They use cutting edge science the way a doctor wields a scalpel. Their tutorials tap into the way students learn and what motivates them academically to succeed. Using their proprietary technology, students needs are met at the individual level with a personalization and sophistication that is hard for even an expert tutor to match. These tutorials are used by 600,000 secondary students in over 3,000 schools nationwide. And this is just the beginning.
These secondary students, who initially didn't think of UOP as a college choice, will become familiar and comfortable with these tutorials and the UOP methodology. Much in the same way that Sony sought teenagers…who grew up to be faithful consumers of their higher-end products.
The incumbents should be very worried.
A classic example was faced by Akio Morita of Sony Corporation. Sony’s top executives hated the idea of the Walkman. They question its value due to a lack of the ability to record and preferred to focus on a more sophisticated product line – one targeting the high-end consumer. Morita was pursuing a low end innovation strategy and his strategy won. The Walkman propelled Sony to the top of consumer electronics by leveraging the non-competitive children’s market. One that Magnavox and RCA didn't value. They should have.
The traditional education mindset resists innovation in an attempt to protect institution. For-profit schools don't seem to have this problem and they are currently exploiting this advantage with the skill of a guerilla, rebel insurgency. A classic example is the University of Phoenix.
The parent company of UOP just bought Carnegie Learning which made computer -based math tutorials. It was a relatively small acquisition, less than $100 million, but its purchase is a sign of the revolution that's coming.
Carnegie Learning was founded and is run by computer and cognitive scientists from Carnegie Mellon. They use cutting edge science the way a doctor wields a scalpel. Their tutorials tap into the way students learn and what motivates them academically to succeed. Using their proprietary technology, students needs are met at the individual level with a personalization and sophistication that is hard for even an expert tutor to match. These tutorials are used by 600,000 secondary students in over 3,000 schools nationwide. And this is just the beginning.
These secondary students, who initially didn't think of UOP as a college choice, will become familiar and comfortable with these tutorials and the UOP methodology. Much in the same way that Sony sought teenagers…who grew up to be faithful consumers of their higher-end products.
The incumbents should be very worried.
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