It’s worth thinking about… Just consider how you consume the following:
- News and other things that used to be traditional print media.
- Music
We used to just buy newspapers, book, and CDs. Now though we have a whole bunch of different ways that we can consume things like news, novels, and music.
Why would I buy a newspaper now (let alone a year’s subscription for delivery), for example, when I can get the latest news online for free from any number of news websites. Or, what I actually do now: check my twitter feed for up to the second information on stories that actually interest me.
Nothing like reading a real physical newspaper I hear you say. Well, say that to the newspaper companies. In case you hadn’t noticed. The newspaper isn’t what it used to be.
I still buy books. Occasionally, anyway. Often I buy them as Kindle eBooks. More recently, I’ve been buying them as audio books. I have a couple of books that I own as physical books, audio books, and ebooks. The main point is that I expect to have a range of different options for consuming what used to be traditional print media.
And then there’s music. I’m old enough to remember being able to buy vinyl from the local record store. I grew up listening to vinyl, but also bought cassette tapes as well. Mainly, I think I used these to make dubbed copies of other people’s cassette tapes. After that, I bought CDs for years. Hundreds of CDs.
And there was iTunes. I was an iTunes addict until about 9 months ago when Spotify suddenly became available in New Zealand. I signed up for the free account and then converted to Premium within a week. For about $12 a month I have access to all the music in the world. Well, not ACDC or Led Zeppelin. Or Tool. But pretty much everything else and I love it.
The main point here is that I now rent my music. I don’t own it in the same way that I do with my CDs or the thousands of itunes songs that I’ve downloaded. However, I don’t really think I care. I just like the variety and choice.
So… back to my question: What does this mean for education?
One thing is clear. The old business models are passing away. They are being replaced by new digital models that will disrupt the conservative educational establishments that surround and protect the old models.
Both the print and music industries have had to reinvent themselves. Fortunes have been won and lost.
Education is next… What do you think?
