Education, like many industries before it, is
now having its internet moment.There are two great phases unfolding. The
first is the shift to digital materials for use either in blended learning
courses or as a replacement for the printed textbook. This shift is now well
underway in the U.S. Before long, there will be no more printed textbooks.The second phase is the shift of part of
every student’s coursework to purely online formats.There are so many implications of all these
changes that one can be forgiven for thinking it is hopeless to make sense of
them. But the alternative — not worrying about it at all — probably isn’t the
right answer either.
Leadership positions in education, whether at
universities or learning companies, have recently undergone a crucial change
(though not everyone has realized it yet). Namely, every education leadership
position must now include as part of its skill-set the role of “tech
visionary.”By “tech visionary,” It doesn’t mean that
education leaders must dream up their own new tech-enabled products. Far from it.
But it is absolutely critical that a leader in education has a strong, informed
opinion about where technology will lead the industry in the next few years,
and that he or she plans accordingly.
Another big change: as education content
migrates from printed textbooks to tablets and smartphones, the efficacy of any
particular set of education materials will become accurately measurable for
each student. Gone are the days when education courses and products of middling
quality could be compensated for with stronger execution in sales and
marketing. In an industry as high stakes as education, transparent outcomes
will create intense competitive pressure on product quality.
The education ecosystem is just beginning to
be transformed by this new wave of digital technologies. Education leadership
today tends to be strong in areas like campus management, fund-raising, brand
management, textbook sales, etc. These men and women are good at running huge,
asset- and Human-Resources-intensive operations. These are extremely valuable
abilities to be sure, but these leaders must now add technology vision to that
mix.
Having a technology vision is tough, but it’s
possible. Managing to that vision is even harder. You have to be smart
and fearless. It takes years to know for absolute certain whether a major tech
bet — a university’s course delivery ecosystem, a publisher’s platform, a
company’s training tools — was the right one. You have to have a strong opinion
today about where the world is headed, make your bets accordingly, and live
with them until past the point where success or failure is predetermined.
That takes real vision