Educational Publishers, The Google Is Here
October 30, 2009
Google has been making baby steps into the education market. Its enterprise group has been landing sales in universities and in public schools in New South Wales. The Google has a tie up with IBM to goose (no pun intended) computer science majors into coding for massively parallel, distributed systems. Wave is splashing against some educational rocks. Google’s neighbor (NASA) is in the university business with Google and some other interesting partners. If you are not familiar with Singularity University, you may want to read the Wikipedia write up. Finally, for those really behind the curve, watch the videos on Google Video.
Now with some context, you can appreciate the story in the Los Angeles Times on October 28, 2009. “Google Co Founder Sergey Brin Wants More Computers in Schools”. The article included a passage I found interesting:
He [Brin] advocated putting all textbooks on computers, to make for easier access, and for putting high school students to work — writing Wikipedia articles, and teaching technology to senior citizens and middle school students. In teaching, they will learn. Brin spoke today at a conference on Google’s campus, Breakthrough Learning in the Digital Age, which the tech company is co-hosting with Common Sense Media and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. By and large, speakers passionately spoke of the advantages of equipping schools with the latest in digital technology, and of engaging students on their home turf — computers. Google has been relatively quiet in the field of education, but the company is starting to make a splash.
In my Google: The Digital Gutenberg I describe some use cases for Google as an educational ecosystem. What I find interesting is that if I were teaching a class in computer science, I would require no other resources than those available from Google. If I were a publisher of computer science textbooks, I would be asking, “Hmm, what’s my Plan B?” I discuss the business implications in my monograph.
Google’s method is to seep and surround. Once the ground is watered and fertile, new businesses grow. If you think Google’s end game is to scan library books and sell ads with some Web search functions, you are misreading the rather clear writing on the Googleplex’s big white board.
Stephen Arnold, October 30, 2009
The Google once gave me a mouse pad. Does that count as a pay off for explaining how Google will reshape education? I think not but the Railway Retirement Board may, hence the disclosure.
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