(2012-03-09) Hargadon Long Tail Edtech

Steve Hargadon sees separate Long Tail and Big Head in Educational Technology. Ed tech reform in the head is about using money to scale simplified solutions of that which is popular, or the status quo. Ed tech reform in the tail is about using the network to provide freedom and choice. Ed tech reform in the head is like a diet pill, addressing the symptoms, whereas ed tech reform in the tail is like learning to eat healthfully, addressing the cause. The diet pill is easy, learning to grow and eat healthy food is much harder. Or: vertical (headh) ed tech reform based on money is like the scaled food at McDonalds, whereas horizontal (tail) ed tech reform based on diversity is like the wonderful variety of restaurants in a city like San Francisco. cf School Reform

If more books are being sold in the tail than at the head, we might argue that it's likely that more jobs in the future will be in the tail as well--that is, Entrepreneur-ial jobs, not corporate (Organization Man) ones.