Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

"The economic models and market narratives EdTech has relied on for 30 years have collapsed," writes Ian McCullough. "By sharpening definitions and drawing clearer boundaries, we can focus our resource investments and set the stage for new entrepreneurial activity." The result is a framework that divides the industry into nine segments, defined by sector (consumer, business, government/schools) across one dimension, and by service (instruction, infrastructure, managed services) across another. The divisions make sense if you're concerned about things like the speed of decision-making or the threat of new competition. But the real segmentation is defined by, first, who pays, and second, why. In my opinion, at least.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Aug 13, 2026 10:31 a.m.

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