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18/03/2009

Comments

John Connell

Good piece, Martin. I've been following some of the threads of commentary around Clay Shirky's article. Like you, I enjoyed John's take on the issues.

For me, the final question you ask is a very interesting one: "...is education like newspapers minus five years or so?" Not being an academic, I would never confuse education with the university system - but I do believe that, if the answer to your question proves to be 'yes', then it is almost certainly higher education that will be affected first. The reason for this is simple: that, like newspapers, like CDs, like so many common artefacts of the 20th century, the university is not sustained by any kind of legal compulsion, unlike the schools' systems. When real alternatives come to the fore in education, the force of law will ensure that schools remain pretty much as they are, pretty much as they have been for the longest time.

That will not be true of universities, of course - so.....it will be an interesting process to watch. I suspect the answer to your question really is 'yes' - the real question then becomes, are the universities any further forward than, say, the music industry, in seeking different business models? And, even if they are, will it matter ultimately?

James

Good post. I find it interesting in our local media on the west coast of Canada, on the evening news they'll often feature a story with a web site. To get the URL they're always telling you to go to their website and click on some link.

In these models they're still thinking that pageviews demonstrate value. Or, many want users to create and interact on their site instead of finding ways to leverage existing platforms and generate conversation. They simply can't get past old, or embrace emerging, or ... hell ... create new models.

I'm not suggesting everyone be skittles.com but newspapers are still trapped in needing the suscription model to survive, even though they are often putting a lot of their resources into parallel web properties.

Like anything, they're trying to figure it out as they go. The print version of the Seattle Post Intelligencer is closing shop and they'll have a streamlined online version. NYTimes is getting it. Go online, publish an API and build your value in new ways.

Mind you, I still don't know what to do about the possibility of not having newsprint to thumb through with my Saturday coffee ...

Martin

@John - universities occupy something of a middle ground I feel between the free markets of music/newspapers and the highly controlled ones of K12 education or healthcare. Award bearing powers, as I understand it, are awarded by Governmental agencies, so not just anyone can set themselves up as a university. Getting award bearing powers is a very long and arduous process. So in this respect universities are a bit protected from the harsh winds of economics. What will cause a change is a) if society recognises other forms of learning apart from the degree (or equivalent in that country) or b) there is some formally backed means of accrediting other learning (learning credits type of idea which various governments have explored). This would lead to a fragmentation of the higher ed market I think.
@James - the Saturday paper in a coffee bar effect is not to be underestimated. In this sense newspapers have value as a social artefact. Trouble is it isn't enough of a market to keep them all going. I think we'll see maybe a concentration on the weekend papers, when this physical product is perhaps more likely to sell.

John Connell

Point(s) taken, Martin.

I can see a similar dynamic happening for K12 if, and only if, the universities are able to establish their own processes for screening and selecting students, and we can get away from the 'tail wagging the dog' syndrome of A-Level/Higher qualifications determining a large chunk of the curriculum / pedagogy / content / assessment for schools. Freeing schools from the need to serve the narrow requirements for entry into Higher Education is, I believe, the first necessary step to free up the learning that can go on within them.

And on your response to James, I agree with the 'social artefact' argument for newspapers - I wonder if we would be willing to pay much higher prices for a weekend-only newspaper? I think I would.

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