The Education Business Blog

At ISTE 2011 in Philadelphia this week we were blessed with gorgeous summer weather, hot but not oppressive days and cool evenings perfect for a city walk. The show was hot too, well attended and and well run. So it may seem like an odd time to declare that this trade show's days are numbered. Tech shows like ISTE and TCEA are surging in attendance while warhorses like IRA go begging for attendees. Received wisdom is that everything is moving to the tech side.

I'm going out on a limb to argue that the trends of the last 5 years, declining core content shows and strong attendance at pure tech shows, are about to reverse themselves. In the coming years we'll see a resurgence of IRA, NCTM, and other content shows. ISTE will wither to a hard core platform technology event.

After IRA I noted how tech unfriendly the event was - they have a long way to go in encouraging and recruiting tech solutions. As I strolled the floor at ISTE in Philadelphia this week noticed the flip side of this coin. There was very little in the way of core content solutions that are delivered in genuine transmedia packages. It was ALL technology, PURE technology.

A huge part of the maturation of ed-tech is that it is finally blending in seamlessly with traditional media. No longer are schools spending on "gee whiz lets get some tech down the hall" baubles. Educators get how tech can be integrated into core instruction and publishers are following suite, starting to deliver on this demand. For an example see the blending of PCI's Life Science Textbook with games from Filament - "You Make Me Sick."

Also see my last post on how this is manifesting itself in the sales process.

In this world the attendees at ISTE are the dinosaurs. Schools are accelerating towards a time when they are not going to be thinking about tech as something separate and unique. Improving student outcomes with a blend of print, on-line, manipulatives, and professional development is increasingly just "how it is done."

IF organizations like IRA embrace technology they can revitalize themselves at the tech conferences' expense(thats a big if). Schools just want stuff that works to teach reading, math, and to a lesser extent science and social studies. If transmedia becomes the norm then that stuff will be found by the content experts at their content show.

This trend could go far beyond trade shows and change the landscape of trade media as well. Tech & Learning - more focused on platforms. The Reading Teacher - solutions galore. Welcome to the new normal, same as it ever was.

What happens to ISTE in this scenario? There will always be a need for a show for platform technologies and IT services for schools. Some of this could be absorbed by school supply shows like NSSEA, but my guess is the SIS companies, IWB providers, networking consultants, and hardware vendors will always want a place to showcase their offerings. That however is a much smaller show than the one I just walked through.

This won't happen quickly - if I'm right it will unwind over the next 5-10 years and will move in fits and starts. But it sure feels like the triumph of all the evangelists of education technology is to stop being special, set aside, and to blend into the background. For many this goal has been the central theme of an entire career (mine included).

It will be a bittersweet mission accomplished.

When educators choose new classroom materials their first challenge is to sift through dozens of options and narrow the search down to four to five options. In other words before they say "yes" to one solution they need to find reasons to say "no" to a host of other options.

Prior to Common Core the most significant filter was "alignment to state standards." If a company couldn't provide a correlation that showed substantial or complete compliance with a particular state's requirements it never got past the first meeting. No one really used the correlations once the product was purchased, but it was a useful filter to help narrow the field of choices.

In the last six months I have noticed a significant shift in this process. Most districts now require some flavor of "technology" in any curriculum resource they purchase. Like standards correlations they don't particularly care what it is - but they won't consider products that don't have a technology component.

A cynical publisher could throw some crappy IWB activities and Examview into the mix and call it done and they would be in the game. In many cases this is what "Free With Order" really means.

Leading From The Front

But I don't believe that is a sustainable competitive response to this shift. Digitization is a true long term wave sweeping over instructional resources. Slapping some junk in the box or burying your head in the sand are not sustainable survival strategies.

Rather than taking the easy out I believe publishers have a responsibility to map out a compelling vision for how they see technology being woven into classroom practice. Like many I don't believe we will ever get to a pure technology solution - but the blend of traditional print, manipulatives, and technology is evolving in some very interesting ways.

This kind of work isn't easy - it involves developing a point of view and taking real risks when you allocate people's time and capital. But the winners in this race will be those who do unto others rather than waiting to be done unto.

At the end of the day educators and students will select the winning visions as practice evolves. Only one of the components of the solutions that emerge will be publishers' contributions. But - we have an opportunity to add significant value to this process and justify our presence in an era of user generated free content.

You must be present to win.

My 17 year old son is in the other room using a kayak paddle with chain saws attached at either end to slice zombies in half. I'm sitting here minding my own business when out of the blue he says "Dad, this game is great for teaching time management skills."

In Dead Rising you have 72 hours in a zombie infested town to build a bike, rescue your daughter, and escape the military. Along the way anything you find can be weaponized against the slow moving brain noshers. Shovels, gasoline, saw blades, pitchforks, shotguns, drills, buckets, are among the things that can be combined in new and amazing ways. Yes, even a stuffed moose head.

Call me a proud papa - this concept was coming from a teen who is wrestling with time management (i.e. he gets A's when does the damn work which isn't often enough). The fact that he was metacogizant of this while playing astounded and pleased me.

This is a game that I can safely say will NEVER grace a screen in a school building. No guidance counselor will use it to expose 17 year old boys to critical skills and concepts needed for the world of work (with or without zombies). And yet - there it is teaching him on a Sunday afternoon exactly what he needs to learn right now.

Besides - I know it is wrong - but I find the creativity involved in inventing new and ever more lethal ways to off the zombies is hilarious. To see the kayak paddle/saw combo watch the video below - NSFW.

The official trailer for the sequel (the ending is classic):