How Technology and Covid-19 Are Reinventing Education

Of the world’s five most-valuable education startups, four are tutoring businesses

But this no longer works in a technology-centric world. Tech has dramatically accelerated the pace of innovation, forcing workers to refresh skills throughout a career.

People like to be entertained, typically more than they like to learn. Some of the most innovative education startups are “edutainment”, combining elements of education and entertainment.

If you bought a flatscreen TV in 2000, it would’ve cost you $5,000. If you go to Best Buy today to buy that same TV, you can get it for $75. That’s a 98.5% drop in price.

Workers will have three, four, or five careers. Many of these careers haven’t been invented yet: 85% of today’s college students will have jobs in 11 years that don’t currently exist.

College isn’t going anywhere. If anything, the pandemic has reminded Americans of how much they value the “college experience.”

But we’ll see an uncoupling of learning and socialization over the next decade. The most privileged Americans will continue to go to college, but for many Americans, the cost of college will be untenable. These Americans will learn skills through online providers, while finding community through other mediums.

Covid-19 presents a rare opportunity for change in education. The pandemic is accelerating two major shifts: (1) Education is increasingly being delivered direct-to-learner, and (2) Learning is increasingly lifelong.

Tutoring marketplaces are largest in Asia, where families spend significantly more on supplemental education than their American counterparts. Urban Chinese spend 43% of household income, while Americans spend 2%.