Future of Tablets in Education Main Page

Problem owner: Bernard de Groot, CIO Sanoma Learning & Literature
Twitter http://twitter.com/batdegroot
http://www.linkedin.com/ppl/webprofile?vmi=&id=1006520&pvs=pp&authToken=Q3QD&authType=name&locale=en_US&trk=ppro_viewmore&lnk=vw_pprofile

Team Members

Chun Seok Chang
Spyridoula Drakopoulou
Margo Martinez
Ines Ranguelova
Neels Steyn

Focal Issue

What will be the future of tablets/technology in the classroom of 2025?

Interview Questions

Personal Role and Project Expectations
1) What is your role as a Chief Innovation Officer in the company?
2) What are your expectations from this project? How would you like to benefit from the project (for Sanoma/on a personal level)?
3) How broadly do you define education? What are your personal interests in tablets.
4) How do you think learning will be like in the future? Do you see any other innovation having an impact on the future of learning and education?
5) Reuse of content, what is the level of collaboration between the divisions of the company?
6) Which is the geographical focus that interests you?

Sanoma's Business Model
1) What is the current business model for Sanoma Learning and Literature?
2) Describe your main products (textbooks vs other learning materials)
3) Who are your customers and the market you are addressing? Revenue sources?
4) Who are your main competitors?
5) Suppliers (i.e. Who provides content?)

Sanoma's Industry
1) Is the industry driven by customers' demands and needs or is the company defining the future innovations (Apple)?
2) Do you view companies like Google and Apple's interest in media as a threat?
3) How do you see the market evolving in the short, medium and long term? What role do you see Sanoma playing in this market?

Obstacles to Adoption of Tablets for Education
1) Why tablets? Laptops and PCs were very slow in penetrating schools. Do you view tablets as a different case?
2) Laptops and PCs revolutionized the learning experience. Do you see tablets as an extension of this trend?
3) What are the practical obstacles to adoption of Tablets in Education
4) Do you see the tablets taking off? Under which conditions and when?
5) (optional) Is there a security protocol? How constraining is it?

Research Questions

Educational Systems around the world
Which are the main transformations that the educational system has gone through so far?
What is the total government spending for education? How much does it vary in the developping and developped world?
Which is the cost structure of schools?
What are the current technological trends in the educational system?
Policy (ministry level/EU, Federal government, state governmnets)
Demographics
What is the level of autonomy granted to schools/ What is the role of local ministries of education?
Is there any flexibility in the way the curriculum is structured and taught (alternative teaching methods)?
International initiatives for improvement of education

Tablets/Technology
PCs and laptops at schools. How have the penetration rates evolved through time?
What are the benefits from using tablets, as opposed to laptops/PC's?
To what degree have schools adopted multi-media learning methodologies?
What are the different types of tablets on the market, price and volume?
What are the various features/functions currently found on tablets available in the market?
Schools that currently make use of tablet computing and for which subjects/classes/purposes?
How long does it take for a technological innovation to increase its penetration rate?
May the success of Apple affect the future of tablets and their popularity? Which is the receptivity of teachers and students concerning technology innovations and involvement of technology in the class?
Obstacles in adopting tablets

Publishing Companies
Which are the main publishing companies worldwide?
How much power do these companies exercise compared to the other parties involved in the supply chain?
What is the current status of e-books and e-learning?
E-libraries
Open-textbook

Corporate role in Education
What is the involvement of corporations in the educational system currently?
Are there any partnership/ sponsorship between schools/universities and companies?