Education Week - Navigating the Ed-Tech Marketplace - S22

Lynch
CONTINUED FROM PAGE S20
product [in response to the problem
being solved]. Then we go
into "alpha mode," with customers
who use the product, and we
constantly modify the product
according to that feedback. Then
we get to the field-testing and get
How long does product
development typically take?
It depends on the scope of the
product. For example, we just
created a classroom response
product-Alpha Pulse-that's now
in production. It was four months
from alpha testing to launch. Star
What changes in ed-tech do
you see coming?
In the next three to five years,
we're going to be using data in
the classroom with great facility.
We've talked about personalization
in education for quite some time.
We think about that as using data
more data, then modify through
that process.
Science, from conception to release,
is going to be 2½ to 3 years.
about where a student is in a learning
progression. We may want to
use adaptive learning, may want to
sit down with the student and put
them in a group-instruction setting.
We think the teacher is really the
end-user of these learnalytics.
A number of other companies are
really focused on having the computer
be the teacher. That won't be
our approach. Some of those companies
will continue to do well.
I think you're going to see also a
lot of digital materials available at
a lower cost. Price points are going
to go down.
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How can schools work more
Swift
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in the country, and hopefully, eventually,
one of the best in world.
Great
b change
egins with
great
ideas.
The education I experienced
at Peabody prepared me to
understand and confront the
challenges in the health care
industry. I now have the skills
and connections to deliver value
to my organization and the
patients I serve.
Ashley Mace Krueger, B.S.
human & organizational
development (health and
human services)
What are the biggest mistakes
ed-tech startups are making?
I think there are some folks who
are modern-day gold-rush-type
folks. There are some extraordinary
valuations being given to companies
without a business model, which in
some ways negates the very reason
why the private sector should be
involved in education. I think every
entrepreneur, and everyone working
with teachers, needs to put their listening
ears on and not assume they
have all the answers. Don't underestimate
the complexity of problems
teachers are facing in their classrooms.
Making sure what you are
doing is proven is pretty critical as
well, although not easy to do, frankly,
in education.
What measures do schools
and companies need to take
to improve the quality of
virtual education?
Holding ourselves to some academic
research standards is critical.
Our products were designed with
Middlebury College academics, taking
pedagogy that was proven to
improve language instruction over
100 years. Research-based design is
really important, but then testing
the efficacy is important as well. We
are also finding that in the design
of the products and implementation,
we have to be much better as
Goodwyn
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into education because, quite frankly,
they're looking at it to make money.
To me, the only way you're going to
make money in education is if you
are improving student outcomes. Our
focus isn't about making money-our
focus is about improving student
achievement. If we do that, we think
we'll do well.
Explore Our Difference
peabody.vanderbilt.edu
S22 | NAVIGATING THE ED-TECH MARKETPLACE
EDUCATION WEEK * June 11, 2014
> www.edweek.org/go/edtechmarket
How is your company doing?
Are you profitable?
We're continuing to invest significantly
in our [digital] techbooks
so the profitability we have, we've
effectively with private
companies and what do you
see as the greatest barriers to
that collaboration?
My view is that you have to earn
your stripes. You have to be worthy of
the trust of the school. They're making
a pretty significant commitment
when they bring in your technology
or services to the classroom. They
don't want their kids to be lab rats.
They want research to show it's efficacious.
n
AUDIO: Jack Lynch discusses the
K-12 ed-tech marketplace.
WWW.EDWEEK.ORG/CEOAUDIO
a company around professionaldevelopment
training and helping
teachers who may be uncomfortable
with technology.
What needs to happen to
build a stronger bridge of
understanding between
schools and companies?
Having more companies who are
committed to student learning and
in it for the long term. And I know
that sounds a little idealistic, but at
the end of the day, all systemic and
significant change comes back to a
shared vision and shared goal. For
school districts, it's about finding
those partners that are willing to
work with them to advance student
learning. I also think there are some
technical challenges. Having [requests
for proposals] where quality
and research-proven solutions are
given as much weight as cost makes
a ton of sense.
What is the most important
lesson you have learned as
ceo of Middlebury Interactive?
This work has reinforced the need
for me to partner with teachers.
Every person in our company, and
if I could wave a wand, every person
in for-profit education, should have a
deep understanding of what happens
in a classroom when your product
operates the way it should, but also
what happens when there is a problem.
We can't have downtime in the
middle of a class. n
AUDIO: Jane Swift talks about
public-private partnerships.
WWW.EDWEEK.ORG/CEOAUDIO
reduced it dramatically simply because
we're reinvesting. Over the
last three years, we've spent close
to $30 to $40 million in digital textbooks.
We built the science digital
textbook, then we built the social
studies digital textbook, and now
we're building math. It'll be ready at
the end of this year.
I'm building the business for the
future because I do believe that what
we're doing makes an incredible difference.
Today, it's not nearly as profitable
or as financially successful as
it will be in future years. n
AUDIO: Bill Goodwyn charts the
evolution of Discovery Education.
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Education Week - Navigating the Ed-Tech Marketplace

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