Part 10 of my Top 10 Ed-Tech Trends of 2013 series
“Education is broken, and someone should fix it.” It’s not a new narrative. Nor is the pressure for schools to adopt practices from the business world so as to improve outcomes and efficiency (or to outsource services to the business sector entirely). And so the story goes in 2013. Much like it did when I wrote about “the business of ed-tech” in 2012. Much like it did when I wrote about “the business of ed-tech” in 2011. Etc. Etc. Etc.
By many considerations, the business of ed-tech flourished this year, with both investment and revenue continuing to grow. VC investment was up by 6%, according to NewSchools Venture Fund; and revenue in the K–12 market was up by 2.7%, according to the Software & Information Industry Association. The global education market, as calculated by IBIS Capital, has reached $4.4 trillion; e-learning, a $91 billion chunk of that. Forecasts predict strong growth around the world in mobile learning and data markets in particular.
The arguments, once again, are that these investments will bring about more innovation, better outcomes, and, of course, heftier profits.