Finding the levers to create transformational learning solutions
As the hype around the next big thing in edtech ebbs and flows, it's important to ground our thinking in what parts of the learning process are changing
It’s only when the tide is out that you can see who has been swimming naked. Now that the last wave of startup investments has bubbled over it gives us time to take a step back and think about where the potential pockets of innovation in education truly lie.
Of course, the next tide is not far behind - if it isn’t already here with the explosion of opportunities that leverage the rise of generative AI and large language models.
As these tides ebb and flow, it is particularly valuable to have a good framework that can center us and help us assess new opportunities in the edtech space for everything from adopting new tools for our classrooms to investing in the latest batch of startups.
Over the past decade, I’ve found it very helpful to analyze opportunities and changes in education by looking at 5 key parts of the education value chain: content, instruction, motivation, assessment, and delivery.
While there is a clear interplay and overlap between these elements, it remains quite helpful to think of each piece independently as we take a look at any educational opportunity.1
Applying the framework
My first serious foray into edtech involved the launch of an online learning (“MOOC”) platform that today reaches over 7M learners across the MENA region. Like many around the world in 2012, I vehemently believed that massive open online courses (or MOOCs) would transform learning fundamentally.
Without any doubt, providing access to high quality content to learners across the region and the world has been greatly impactful. We continue to be inundated with stories of how many lives the platform has and continues to positively transform.
MOOCs certainly afforded remote access to high quality content and are an important piece today of continuing education. Nevertheless, not much fundamentally changed with MOOCs.
In their essence, instruction, assessment and motivation were not altered in the MOOC paradigm from the traditional classroom setting. And that is exactly why the promises of 2012 have yet failed to materialize. MOOCs might be valuable but they are not transformational.
To truly transform the learning experience, we need innovations that push the envelope across the board. One example of such potentially transformational innovation is adult learning company Sparkwise. 2
Sparkwise provides live experiential learning in groups customized to team and company goals. Through their “mutli-player” experience, Sparkwise manage to push the needle on all 5 elements of the framework.
The content is dynamic and interactive delivered remotely in an engaging way. The instruction is constructivist and the learning is active. The game-like and team-based format of the experience is very motivational. Assessment is formative and baked into the experience with tangible results for learners in the end. The feedback from learners is already showing that this formula is working.
Technology as a tool
I recently received a startup pitch that promised to leverage “AI, AI tutors, VR, and the Metaverse to create a truly immersive learning experience”.
The only buzzword missing from the presentation might have been blockchain. What I could not figure out was what exactly had changed when we used these technologies.
The tools we use are incredibly important and getting more powerful by the day. However, the crux of their power lies in how they modify the learning process - how they push the needle on the 5 elements above.
To truly spark a transformation in learning, we need to think deeply about how we are changing and improving the learning experience.
I hope you enjoyed the last edition of Nafez’s Notes. I’m constantly refining my personal thesis on innovation in learning and education. Please do reach out if you have any thoughts on the framework or frameworks of your own.
Finally, welcome to the over 200 new subscribers that have joined since the last issue. Please do reach out if you have any thoughts or comments and don’t forget to share with your friends.
If you are new here you might also enjoy some of my most popular pieces:
The Gameboy instead of the Metaverse of Education - An attempt to emphasize the importance of modifying the learning process itself as opposed to the technology we are using.
Using First Principles to Push Past the Hype in Edtech - A call to ground all attempts at innovating in edtech in first principles and move beyond the hype
We knew it was broken. Now we might just have to fix it - An optimistic view on how generative AI will transform education by creating “lower floors and higher ceilings”.
An inherent assumption in this framework is an attention to equity and access. I’ve co-developed a different framework for thinking about education in resource-constrained environments which is particularly relevant to non-profit and emergency relief efforts focused on higher education .It can be accessed here: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/supporting_higher_education_for_refugees#
As a disclaimer, I participated in Sparkwise’s pre-seed round with an angel ticket.