AEP Summit 2008
Publishing
for the
Digital
Future
Alternative
Business Models
Education Publishing 2.0 (or 1.9)
Summit 2008
Why Look At New Models?
• Commoditization of core businesses because of standards
– Differentiation is increasingly difficult
• New disruptive technologies are changing models at the margin
– Wait and it will be too late
• Expectations outside of education are changing expectations of
buyers
• A window in on early stage innovation
Summit 2008
Our Panel
• Subscriptions – Mark Tullis, Learning.com
• iTunes & Ad Network – Joe McDonough,
Hotchalk.com
• Open Source – Martin Knott, Moodlerooms.com
• Micro-Distributorships – Lee Wilson,
WeAreTeachers.com
• Embedded Sponsorships – Lee Wilson, Whyville.net
Summit 2008
Format
• Brief presentations by panelists
– 8-10 minutes each
– Covering what, why, results
• Q&A 20-25 minutes
– Take notes, challenge us!
AEP Summit 2008
3/15/2016
Publishing
for the
Digital
Future
Pricing 2.0
Mark Tullis
VP Strategic Relations
Learning.com
The Association of Educational Publishers
www.AEPweb.org
6
Summit 2008
3/15/2016
Subcription + Digital Pros
Modular
Cost Effective
The Association of Educational Publishers
Flexible
www.AEPweb.org
Engaging
7
Summit 2008
3/15/2016
Subscription + Digital
= Data
Pattern
Match
Student
Usage &
Performance
Compare
U&P
Recommend
Best Practice
Analyze
The Association of Educational Publishers
www.AEPweb.org
8
Summit 2008
3/15/2016
Subscription + Digital
• Pros:
– Cost effective for customers (Goal: pay for use)
– Instant & universal updating
– Can be customer-customized
• Cons:
–
–
–
–
Some schools unfamiliar with model (this is improving)
Renewal dependent on customer service (+ or -)
Champion turnover risk
Other renewal risks
The Association of Educational Publishers
www.AEPweb.org
9
Summit 2008
3/15/2016
$60 - $24
The Association of Educational Publishers
= $36
www.AEPweb.org
10
AEP Summit 2008
3/15/2016
Publishing
for the
iTunes and Ads
Digital
Future
Joe McDonough
Hotchalk.com
The Association of Educational Publishers
www.AEPweb.org
11
Summit 2008
• HotChalk.com:
Content-agnostic, Web 2.0 sales point for classroom instructional
content. Offers a single distribution portal and purchase point for
content from multiple publishers, such as NBC News, PBS, McGrawHill, National Geographic and more.
• HotChalk Network:
Network of over 50 education-focused Web sites that offer free, ad
supported content. Currently reaching over 7 million unique visitors
and growing and is the #2 education property online as rated by
comScore.
Summit 2008
MyLibrary Content Management &
Distribution Benefits
Publisher:
• New distribution point for added sales
• Be part of a successful grass roots education
movement
School/Districts:
• Choice of on demand content from top publishers
• Simple to set up and use… multiple Systems no
longer needed
• Saves districts thousands in monthly broadband costs
• Teachers weave content into their curriculum in
seconds
• Added classroom discussion materials aligned to
state standards
13
Summit 2008
HotChalk Network Benefits
Publisher
• Concentrate on doing what you do best: Publish Great Content
• Be part of a much larger education property and attract larger
advertisers
• Education-focused ad network-only appropriate ads for your
audience are placed
Advertiser
• Huge audience reach
• Targeting options for specific demographics
• Options: Optimize performance with access to many sites at once
for best results
• Manage marketing buy from one location instead of dozens
• Online tracking ability for best ROI
14
AEP Summit 2008
Moodlerooms, Inc.
Publishing
for the
Digital
Future
Martin G. Knott
CEO
1101 East 33rd Street
Suite C 301
Baltimore, Maryland 21218
443-451-7225 DD
410-250-7335 Cell
mknott@moodlerooms.com
15
Summit 2008
What is an LMS
Instructors can build or copy courses, create and
distribute assignments, as well as tests, deliver lessons,
provide feedback, and manage records anytime from
anywhere
Students access, class
work, course content,
review, and submit
homework, assignments,
collaborate with one
another, and participate in
discussions on-line.
Administrators, advisors, registrars, &
parents have specified system roles to
review progress
16
Summit 2008
What is Moodle
Moodle is an Open Source Learning Management System
(LMS) developed by Martin Dougiamas, in 2001.
Moodle is growing at unprecedented rates because: It is
1. Very user friendly
2. Meets all accessibility requirements,
3. Scalable from the individual user and with the assistance
of Moodlerooms (MR) to an enterprise solution,
4. Highly integrated and richly functional, and
5. Allows teachers, students and administrators in
academia, corporate, and government to communicate
seamlessly.
17
Summit 2008
Why Moodle?
• Moodle is a proven, fully functional, flexible, free open
source online learning management system
• Moodle extends the classroom to an online
environment using collaborative social interaction to
improve the learning process
• The users of Moodle directly contribute to its
upgrades and enhancements
• Moodle is a community that listens to its users
• Moodle has 20 million users in 196 countries and is
available 75 languages
18
Summit 2008
Why Moodlerooms?
• Moodlerooms provides Moodle training, support, hosting,
customizations, tools, and course conversions.
• Moodlerooms unique hosting platforms ensure each customers
Moodle runs on redundant, load balanced, enterprise class
servers and can handle 1 million concurrent users.
• Moodlerooms, the world’s largest Moodle Partner, returns 10%
of its revenue back to the Moodle community.
• Moodlerooms solutions along with Moodle provide a platform
that is not locked or limited by a single vendor.
19
Summit 2008
Pricing Model
• MR delivers Software As A Service (SAAS)
• Our price is on a per user per year basis
• There are three tiers and each one adds more tools
and a higher level of service
– Basic
– Standard
– Premium
20
Summit 2008
Selection of Pricing Model
• We spent the first year and a half testing the
market and gathering data on similar companies
• The data demonstrated that clients were seeking
other services and wanted them incorporated in a
single price point.
• Also, some customers were afraid of the low cost
of our services
21
Summit 2008
Implementation Problems
• Determining what service to place in the specific
tiers.
• Making sure we addressed what the market was
telling us
• Working out the transition from the old to the new
with existing clients
• Reconfiguring the Web site to accommadate the
changes
22
Summit 2008
Results
• Too early to tell but the initial reaction is mostly
positive, especially the price per user
23
Summit 2008
Lessons Learned
• Do not under estimate the value of a youthful
Director of Marketing
• Look at a host software products and Web
configurations
• Chose these products cautiously and do not
place unreasonable time constraints upon the
selection and launch timetable
• Do not be afraid to use a focus panel. The BLE
Group was superb and worth every penny
24
Summit 2008
Partial Client List
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
25
Louisiana State University
Rutgers University
Cornell University
Santa Cruz, CA Schools
District
Killeen, TX Public Schools
District 206, IL
Intel
The Lubrizol Company
University of Mary
Washington
Thunderbird School of
Global Management
Norwalk Public Schools
City College of San
Francisco
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Medical College of New York
Frederick County Public Schools
San Mateo Community College
Wicomico County Public Schools
University of Louisiana Monroe
Cisco
Baptist Health System
Wabash College
St. Paul’s School
Xavier High School
Cranbrook Schools
AEP Summit 2008
Publishing
for the
Digital
Future
MicroDistributorships
We Are Teachers
Summit 2008
Definition Micro-Distributorships
• 50% of sales at every education company I have worked at
is from an educator reference
– No sales, no marketing, no contact
• Enabling teachers to act as sales agents
• Web based social networking
• They can sell their own materials
– The 1% rule
• They will sell publisher materials
– Ideal for long tail products (back list)
Summit 2008
Why? - We Are Teachers
• A new business model to formalize an informal aspect
of the market
– 15% commission
• Reward teachers for what they have always done
• Leveraging the power of social networking specifically
for education
Summit 2008
Challenges
• The value of a network is logarithmic
– Building it quickly is important
– Wholesale membership from associations
– Facebook Widget
• Publisher willingness to place products in an open
environment
• Helping publishers configure their presence
• Sorting out the e-commerce interface
Summit 2008
Results
• 17,000 teachers in the network
• 80 publishers across many disciplines
– 2,000+ products in the catalog
• 42,000 teachers in the Facebook widget
AEP Summit 2008
Publishing
for the
Digital
Future
Embedded
Sponsorship
Whyville.net
Summit 2008
Why Whyville?
• A frontal assault on reforming Science Education in
California failed (CAPSI)
• Social worlds harness the power of identity creation
– Tweens turning outward
• Allowing kids to connect directly with each other is a
natural path to engagement
Summit 2008
Whyville
•
•
•
•
•
Virtual world for Math and Science
Founded 1999
3 million+ users
70% girls
Sponsorship driven
Summit 2008
Embedded Sponsorship Defined
• Not banner ads
• Sponsors build activities that engage learners with
content they care about
• Toyota Finance – Virtual cars
• Texas Workforce – Bioplex
• 6 months to 36 months
• Development fees up front with maintenance fees
ongoing
• Measured in CPM – but on deep engagement
Summit 2008
Results
• A new media company
• Going global
• Sustained engagement with math and science content
– After 10 visits kids stay involved for 18 months
– 150-250k active users per month
• “It isn’t about eyeballs – it is about eyeballs connected
to brains”
AEP Summit 2008
3/15/2016
Publishing
for the
Q&A
Digital
Future
The Association of Educational Publishers
www.AEPweb.org
36