You Want Me to Pay for Learning?!

Thank you for these great ideas. I have been thinking about the business of learning trying to explore this type of new thinking for business models. Coincidentally, I find some interesting intersections when I compare your concepts to the writing of Kevin Kelly, re Better than Free. I recently reviewed his work on my blogs, http://intersectable.com/2009/07/21/edge-better-than-free-by-kevin-kelly.

I’d be interested in your thoughts on these intersections which I feel significantly validate your ideas around convenience, facilitation, and convenience.

As always, Jeff, a very thought-provoking post. I agree with everything you’re saying here and for early adopters of online technologies, I think these are right on. But I think that the early adopters are more DIY about learning and therefore require these other conditions to be met in order for them to be willing to pay. I’m not sure that this applies to the vast majority of people, who have learned through years of school and work that they should be provided with some kind of structured learning activity and that these activities cost money.

I think, for example, of how early adopters have been so enamored of creating PLEs and PLNs, which assumes a certain degree of self-direction in learning. However, most of the people I know who are starting to get online for learning still have very much of a “course” model in their heads where they’ve paid for units of learning and I’m not sure they have the same understanding and expectations of the free stuff that’s out there.

I think that all of your points are well-taken for a certain segment of the online population, but I’m not so sure that the next wave will have the same requirements.

I fully agree with your views. I too am a big fan of open source learning and would like to see more of it.