Medida y Compas is developing blended courses (part on line and part in person) for teachers to integrate technology into their teaching in Mexico. There is a big push to get Internet coverage throughout Mexico and it is very important to improve the quality of teaching in order not to lose any more generations.MyC pitch_0001. Teachers are willing to learn computer skills and new software. If you are interested in more information go to: http://docs.google.com/View?id=dcfvwhp5_227r9khb2cn
Author: Barbara Mair
I thought you might find this article that was published yesterday intesting, now that we know all about Mobile technologies thanks to the Module 5 team. It is full of financial trend graphs that constrast the economic situation and the tremendous growth potential Morgan Stanley is seeing in Social and mobile technologies:
http://mashable.com/2009/10/20/mobile-web-presentation/
As you go thru all the Social Technologies tabs please don’t forget to answer the polls, participate in the discussions and enrich our collective knowledge.
I am not very familiar with any learning software but i have studied K12 a little. I will cube them. http://www.k12.com/
Face 1. Market
They are as their name suggests focused on the K12 educational market
Face 2. Offering
They offer mainly content. They have all the courses for students to do online learning K thru 12
Face 3. The buyer
K12 mainly sells to state governments in the US who then offfer it to their citizens as an option to state schooling. K12 is also getting a few students whose parents are buying the training for them, mainly american expats in countries with no american school offering.
Face 4. Global markets
K12’s largest market is in the US. They are now going overseas to families seeking an american education, i.e. countries with quality internet without translation but all over the world, asian countries, latin countries, middle eastern countries. So a large market in the U.S. and a much more pulverized market elsewhere.
Face 5. Development of the market
If we look at the specific market they are going after it is a market that supports import of content and infrastructure. These are foreigners who want an american education or americans abroad who are looking for an american education. If they decide to grow their market then it would have to be analized country by country.
Face 6. Learning technology competes with existing forms of learning. Both in the US as well as oversees the family decides if this is the best option for their children versus the state education in schools or the local offerings oversees.
A lot has been said in the blog about these two companies.
I would add that the CEO of Ingenia comes across as a very credible person in the education field although since the venture is taking place in Vietnam she is not focusing enough on her credibility in this market. In the case of Recombo, the CEO is highly knowledgeable about his product that has now become a service and i believe he would profit from being a little less technical in his pitch and a little more market driven.
As several of you have expressed neither one of the CEOs goes into the management team enough to judge if they are the right team for what they are trying to do, again Ingenia would benefit by explaining the partnership with the company who knows Vietnam well and telling us if anyone on her team has in depth knowledge about doing business in Vietnam. In the case of Recombo going from 12 to 24 people in a short time without outlining what these bring to the table could be dangerous and a source of cash burning.
Both business models could be successful given the right conditions, although i am not convinced by either of them as they stand in these pitches, they both will evolve although Recombo could be close if this lighthouse customer is as successful as they anticipate.
In the case of Recombo they have evolved from being a product driven company to a service company recognizing the pain and solving a business need for their partner. They are staying focused on developping this “distribution channel” for their products and services and i believe this will help them evolve further in understanding the end customer’s needs and adapting to them, they do sell the uniqueness of their products for the market they are addressing. Ingenia on the other hand has not found the uniqueness of their products, we do not know what the competition looks like in the market they are going after, Vietmam and they have had no success in their own local market. So it is to be seen whether they do have the right products.
I believe that Ingenia could be successful but i would not invest in it until i saw more proof of their ability to do business oversees in Asia. Recombo i believe has got the product/service right although they are not clear on the exit strategy whether they are building up a company to sell or to expand to other customers or partners…. Looking at these as an EVA, of the two companies ithink Recombo is a surer bet.
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Hola desde Mexico
My name is Barbara Mair, this is my first ETEC course. I am very excited about the course although i am a little nervous because it has been a long time since i was a student. Unlike many of you i am living in the business world, mainly management, sales and marketing. I want to learn more about the academic world. I am launching hybrid (online/onsite) training for teachers in Mexico, hopefully helping them integrate technology into the classroom. I am looking forward to working with you and learning from you