General

2013 Learning Technology Research Taxonomy

Overview

Ambient Insight is a market research firm that uses analytics to identify revenue opportunities for suppliers specializing in e-learning and in mobile learning. Ambient Insight has two business streams: publishing reports and providing research to suppliers and to private investment firms.

I) Educators

1a. How is it useful to the broader community of educators?

This report highlights how each PreK-12 school system is different in each country when it comes to purchasing decisions. Some school systems are operated by a central government, whereas others are operated at the provincial or at the state level. Altogether, it is important for educators to know who has purchasing control when it comes to buying digital learning products.

1b. How much is it useful to the broader community of educators?

Regarding buying behavior, the local and state/provincial governments vary widely worldwide. However, the commonality between all the countries is the impact of training budget cuts caused by slow economies in many countries. Altogether, it is important for educators to know that education and training budgets have been dramatically reduced.

1c. How is it valuable to the broader community of educators?

This report also states that many countries have centralized educational systems and they are the primary buyers of digital academic content. Altogether, it is important for educators to know that governments are not only direct buyers of learning products, but also spenders on technology-based learning initiatives.

1d.  How much is it valuable to the broader community of educators?

Ambient Insight does not endorse specific suppliers or products, and none of its syndicated research is influenced, sponsored, or subsidized by suppliers. Also, Ambient insight does not evaluate, compare, or rank products. Altogether, it is important for educators to know that Ambient Insight is impartial in its reporting and in its researching.

II) Learning Technologies Specialists

2a. How is it useful to the broader community of learning technologies specialists?

This report claims how Ambient Insight is the only research firm in the industry that has developed a precise learning product taxonomy based on pedagogical principles and information architecture, which is important for understanding the buying behaviors of different school systems. Altogether, it is important for specialists to know that they can use this report to learn about educational policies, digitization efforts, and e-learning initiatives happening in both PreK-12 and higher education institutions.

2b. How much is it useful to the broader community of learning technologies specialists?

This report states that the consumer demand for academic content in the United States in 2011, for example, was 4.1 million PreK-12 children, who took extracurricular online classes outside of school. The students were from public schools, private schools, homeschools, and virtual schools. Most of the online classes are sold to parents. Altogether, it is important for specialists to know that the buying behaviour of learning technologies is not limited to school systems only.

2c. How is it valuable to the broader community of learning technologies specialists?

Ambient insight also tracks seven international regions, eight distinct buyer segments, and eight product types. The firm further breaks down each product into six sub-categories. According to the firm, it is the most complete view of the international demand for learning technology in the industry. Altogether, it is important for specialists to know that the international regions, the buyer segments, and the product types all play a role in buyer behaviour, which influences e-learning and mobile learning.

2d. How much is it valuable to the broader community of learning technologies specialists?

Ambient Insight defines four major types of Mobile Learning products: Handheld Decision Support, Location-based Learning, Device-embedded Learning, and Mobile Learning VAS (value added service). Knowing these products is important because they are in both developing and developed economies. Altogether, it is important for specialists to know what devices are available for e-learning and for mobile learning.

III) Venturers

3a. How is it useful to the broader community of venturers?

Ambient Insight claims that the research taxonomy is the basis of a data repository that holds information helpful for identifying revenue opportunities for suppliers marketing specific products in specific countries. The purpose the taxonomy is to provide valuable data to suppliers competing in a complex global market of over 150 countries. Altogether, it is important for venturers to know that this report also claims to provide actionable data, proprietary custom research, and quantitative syndicated reports in order to compete in the global learning technology market.

3b. How much is it useful to the broader community of venturers?

Ambient Insight defines consumers as individual buyers who purchase products directly. Here, the buyer and the user are identical. The buying behavior in the global consumer markets tends to provide the best data on customer satisfaction from a product standpoint because the consumer demand for technology-based learning products is different in each country. Altogether, it is important for venturers to know that buyer behaviour drives product sales, which will not be same in any given country or region.

3c. How is it valuable to the broader community of venturers?

Ambient Insight claims that the market share map that they have developed allows suppliers to develop strategies for growth by way of mergers and acquisitions. That is, Ambient Insight generates actionable competitive intelligence by mapping the competitive landscape, performing supply-side and demand-side analyses, and compiling data of public companies through financial disclosures and of private companies through revenue reports. Altogether, it is important for venturers to know that baseline data are analyzed to determine global demand for specific products for specific countries and regions.

3d. How much is it valuable to the broader community of venturers?

Ambient Insight also claims to have developed competitive intelligence, multi-year tactical roadmaps, product pipelines, revenue stream timelines, pricing models, merger and acquisition profiles, and go-to-market strategies in its research practice in order to help companies bring new learning technology products and services to the market in a successful way. Altogether, it is important for venturers to know that Ambient Insight uses forecasts that reflect the unique characteristics of the international learning technology market in order to determine potential success in the global learning technology marketplace.

Final Thoughts

Do you expect to seek out future versions of this report to help drive your own professional success?

No, because, as a public school primary grade teacher, I would buy digital learning products on a ‘as need’ basis. I would rely on student need individually or collectively.

Do you expect to seek out future versions of this report to recommend it to others in this regard?

No, because I believe that, based on student need, my colleagues would look to other sources to determine what to buy or what not to buy.

Standard

Leave a Reply