The Business of learning Objects
Jay Cross,
Internet Time,
Sept 10, 2002
Part Two of jay Cross's summary of the Menlo Park symposium on learning objects. The confusion continues. Consider this: "Nightmare from 2004: Expo at eLearning Taiwan. You want the entire NETg library? $10. How about SmartForce? $10." But the problem isn't Asian copyright piracy: the problem is millions of U.S. college kids using the 2004 version of Napster. People who create learning objects have to stop thinking of them as though they were books you could sell. Jay Cross has it right: "Back to the issue of whether one will be ripped off, i.e. by losing control of an object? My answer is that yes, sure, you can plan on it. But the question is based on an outdated concept of business. In the Industrial Age, we added value by making and selling things. Sales transactions ruled. In the Intangibles Age, or whatever we call it now, we seek to form relationships -- channels people will subscribe to. Don't give me money for the cash register; sign up for a continuing steam of payments. And for the developer of learning objects, this means staying ahead of the game by producing new stuff and lowering your expectations of getting rich off past accompllishments."
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