An iPad has been floating around the PCI office for the past week (thanks to Randy Pennington‘s ed-tech jones). Will it be a game changer for education? Can it redefine how we deliver instructional content? I’ve tried to refrain from commenting on the iPad until I could see and multi-touch…
Federal ARRA stimulus funding has been keeping schools around the country on life support for the past year. Despite significant layoffs around the country it headed off catastrophe in many states. That era is coming to an end later this year or early next year. It was heartening to see…
The economy has already had a huge impact on education budgets. But if you think it is bad now wait until the ARRA stimulus goes away. This chart tells the whole story. Bright Green – Over 30% Olive Green – 20-30% Dark Green – Under 20% White – Surplus Nine…
OK – admit it, trade shows are fun. Sometimes traveling to a distant city, circulating with your peers, and dining out on the company can be a kick. You are learning too – about competitors and about your customers. The deadlines around a trade show can produce drama and tension,…
FETC 2010 provided an opportunity to assess the health of the Education Technology market. In today’s guest blog my friend Mike Baum shares his take on the highlights and lowlights of this year’s trade show By Mike Baum Coming to Orlando from Wisconsin in January, I expect warmer weather. I…
While we hash out what ARRA Stimulus funds mean for education there are larger issues at play in how we allocate public spending on children. The New York Times has a good piece today that links to several good resources on this topic. In a nutshell – 2.2% of GDP…
At PCI we are putting the finishing touches on our 2010 budget. The Stimulus funds are creating a particular challenge as we look out over the next 12-24 months. On the one hand there should be plenty of new money in the market next year. On the other, despite ARRA…
How is the marketing mix for companies that sell to K12 schools evolving? At a time when we are experiencing an explosion in the number and type of marketing programs we are also seeing rebalanced budgets and a consolidation among the large support organizations. The economic downturn has only accelerated…
Education jobs fell for the first time since 1959 while enrollments were increasing. There were only three other years in the past 50 years where education employment shrank – and all of them were during periods of declining enrollment as the baby boom petered out. Business Week has the details.…
My last post on the difficulty of educational reform got me thinking about that other massive system we are trying to reform – healthcare. One way to understand the healthcare system is to compare it to education – where we have had universal single payer access for over 100 years.…