Imagine K12 Graduates Its First Class of Ed-Tech Startups(hackeducation.com)
hackeducation.com
Imagine K12 Graduates Its First Class of Ed-Tech Startups
http://www.hackeducation.com/2011/09/14/imagine-k12-graduates-its-first-class-of-ed-tech-startups/#.TnDdeSZSM90.hackernews
2 comments
As a part of the Imagine K12 cohort announced here, I can tell you that this issue is being addressed. It varies from company to company, but overall we're trying new ways to monetize and close the gap.
Can you offer any links to a discussion of the issue, or how it is being approached by different startups?
I love the thought of encouraging better education, especially through technology, but I have to wonder if that's a wide enough base to support the incubator? It seems a rather narrow vision.
US Government spending on education this year (at local/state/federal levels) is $800bn, how big a market do you want ?
Saying education is a small market is saying healthcare or defence is a small market.
ImagineK12 isn't even the only education incubator, there's also Startl based out of NY.
Saying education is a small market is saying healthcare or defence is a small market.
ImagineK12 isn't even the only education incubator, there's also Startl based out of NY.
There is also the large markets of tutoring and online learning. Not to mention the huge market that is higher education.
US government funding is $800bn, so obviously there is a pool of money available to effective innovators. But this brings into question the issue of how much profit to aim for, and how to ensure equitable access to new technologies.
How should ed tech startups approach trying to find a balance between maximizing profit, and while maintaining equitable access to their product? One thought I had was to aim for a distribution between pay-in-full access, discounted access (in price only, not in features), and free access - this distribution should align with a society's income distribution somehow.
Is this issue being addressed at all?