Well, judging from the email in my inbox, I seem to have stuck a chord.
I want to make it clear that I am not anti-business. But educators must take
the lead -- not business. And you might want to read some of this with open
eyes. There are some statements that from my perspective are very valid.
But then, here are some other choice comments:
Districts and other government agencies should not view the ease of
distributing educational content over the Internet as carte-blanche cause
to produce and make available these materials on their own and/or for free.
Instead, such government action must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis
to ensure it is not beyond its mission, does not distort educational
decisions, and does not weaken the overall supply. When it comes to such
products and services, education has long been served, and is nearly always
best served, by the free-market convergence of supply and demand. In this
regard, web-based curricula is no different than textbooks, desks, and
computer hardware -- the public sector is neither well-positioned nor
well-equipped to produce these products for schools.
In general, government created and owned technology-based solutions that are
provided for free have ultimately proven to be insufficient and
non-sustainable. Initial development of technology-based instructional
materials often accounts for a minority share of its life cycle cost. As a
result, such government-funded products usually lack the infrastructure and
sustained, annually renewed investment necessary to enter the market (e.g.,
marketing), sustain the product (e.g., technical assistance), and update
and improve these products over multiple generations. The result has most
often been failed implementation, including the failure to reach the
intended audience and make it past release 1.0. In addition, most such
grant-funded and free products are not large scale and high-quality enough
to provide the value educators are seeking.
By largely relying on free market mechanisms and creating incentives (e.g.,
school technology funding, and opening R&D competitions to the private
sector), public policies will create an environment in which private sector
and public goals coincide and providers better meet education needs.
Competition between publishers will spur innovation, improve quality and
reduce consumer costs. To the extent that government inappropriately
competes in the software and curricula market via the Internet or other
technology-based means, it will produce the following negative
consequences: (1) create disincentives to private investment; (2) perpetuate
the notion that web-based products in particular are free and thereby force
the private sector to turn increasingly to alternative business models,
such as when products are provided at reduced or no cost in return for
advertising; (3) inhibit competition and innovation; and (4) ultimately
limit choice and facilitate a more standardized, quasi-national, curricula.
...
With the integration of technology into education at a relatively early
stage, a considerable R&D effort will be necessary to determine the most
effective tools and models. While much is known, many questions remain.
Yet, despite continued calls for research on education and education
technology, a number of fundamental issues stand as barriers to progress.
These include models both for funding as well as for gaining participation
of educational institutions, educators and students. The community of
educational software publishers and other technology developers is key to
the research effort. Because industry continues to make significant
capital investments to research and develop education software and digital
content, public resources must be appropriately targeted and designed to
fill the gaps and enhance industry's ability to deliver effective products
and services. Industry's investment is epitomized by the multi-year,
multi-million dollar investments made to deliver products to market, while
many online materials are further updated to ensure timely content.
This should create some incentive to read more.
Nancy
--
Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.
Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
http://csriu.org
nwillard@csriu.org
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