EdTech, the field of education times IT, is getting attention. To avoid calling things that are only slightly evolved e-learning EdTech, I summarized the key points.

Basically, I think it is fine to say “analog to digital = e-learning” and “software to the internet = EdTech.”

In other words, the characteristics of the internet can be considered the characteristics of EdTech.

• Being able to connect interactively across geography and time

The biggest point of the internet is still interactivity. So how we can make use of that interactivity will continue to be an important point.

Classes are no longer one-way from teacher to student; students can now interact with teachers and with each other. It has not only become closer to a real classroom, but can also cross geography and time.

Concretely, there are now matches that cross geography, such as English teachers in the Philippines and students in Japan.

• Anonymity

Complete anonymity may be difficult, but there is still a possibility of using internet-based anonymity in EdTech. Anonymity makes it easier to participate casually and also easier to quit casually.

• Freemium, or lower prices

Whether freemium works in the education business is a difficult question. However, because the internet lowered distribution costs and made freemium models viable, freemium models have also appeared in EdTech.

The core of freemium is that it is free, and that free users create some kind of value for the service.

On the other hand, freemium models force existing business models into cost competition.

Things called SaaS are also strong because they can use this freemium model. Systems for teachers to manage homework and tests may be especially strong as SaaS models.

Writing this out, I can see that there are also EdTech keywords that are not simply characteristics of the internet.

• MOOCs
• Smartphones

These two can easily become just e-learning if handled slightly wrong.

The point of MOOCs is that they are large-scale and free, or open. The point of smartphones is that each person always has one device. We need to understand these characteristics properly.