Problem: It’s tough to expect that every platform would satisfy every use-case. For instance, it’s not fair to assume that YouTube while rich in content has the full stack of content to learn every topic. Instead, could there be a way to integrate a variety of different sources to create verticalized learning curriculums by topic based on horizontal platforms?
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Solution: This business would do two unique things: first it would invent a way for open-source content consumers to share the best places they go to in order to learn and consume content. Second, it would aggregate the best-in-class sources in order to create a centralize platform to learn anything on the web. For instance, there could be a course about “Machine Learning on the Web” that features homework questions from Quora, lessons from YouTube, and Discord for a community of co-learners. The business would be a fascinating experiment in self-guided learning and aggregation-as-a-service.
The platform would probably revolve around finding and aggregating resources from a few places on the web. As inspired by _ and the replies to his March 31, 2021 Tweet:
YouTube - for lectures (practical and theory)
Papers with Code - for datasets, results, and methods
GitHub - for code and algorithms
arXiv - for papers and latest ideas
PyTorch - for tooling
Twitter - for community
Discord - for community with
Substack - Introductory jumping off points
Books - Deep-dives into particular topics
LinkedIn - Finding practical applications of work & conferences
You can imagine that while no one platform is able to do all of this, a “super-platform” (reminiscent of the “super apps” in India and Asia) would take the best from each and create a service for learning that is better when combined than when individual.
But are aggregators even valuable? As written by Sami Muneer in his piece on “The Premium Model in EdTech: Aggregators”
This shift to e-learning in the post-secondary market led to the emergence of the aggregator in the past few years, driven by the early models as MOOCs and their university alternatives e.g. OpenCourseware by MIT or Stanford. Cheaper and better authoring tools (e.g. Adobe Captivate, Storyline, Lectora Inspire, etc.) and services (e.g. guidance to create online content with Fedora and Skilljar) democratized the creation the content, enabling a whole new population of independent teachers and non-educators to produce education content. MOOCs gave them access to a marketplace of consumers, which further accelerated the proliferation of content, making a lot of general education a commodity for an evolving generation of consumers expecting such content for free.
Mike Lee of Biz Thoughts also argues the same point. Ultimately, Grandview Research views the EdTech market as one that is large and growing:
The global education technology market size was valued at USD 76.4 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.1% from 2020 to 2027. The industry is primarily driven by the proliferation of smart devices and seamless internet connectivity. Additionally, increasing awareness pertaining to the advantages of technology integration in the education sector is stimulating market growth. In recent years, there has been a tremendous shift taking place in the education sector from conventional exam-oriented learning to a personalized and interactive learning approach. Digitization is increasingly penetrating the education sector with technologies used to deliver education, skills, and knowledge in new and creative techniques. The use of such technologies has enabled learning and development to a lifelong process. Digital education is predicted to thrive with a wide array of beneficiaries across the geographical regions, age, and socio-economic conditions.
Monetization: Sales or license revenue of this product.
Contributed by: Michael Bervell (Billion Dollar Startup Ideas)