Diffusion in Educational Innovation

When it comes to delivering and enabling basic human needs, not many people have done it better than Salman Kahn at the Kahn Academy.  The Kahn Academy is a top-rate example of educational innovation with a goal of “a free world-class education for anyone anywhere” [1].   The Kahn Academy has the capability to provide basic and advanced education to millions of people around the world, especially in the developing world. 

However, when I think of providing a basic human need, I think that it involves providing that need to anyone who needs it, around the globe.  Diffusion is critical if the Kahn Academy hopes to provide their services to people around the world.  It’s salient to understand that even the best social innovations are subject to disruptive technologies and trends.  In order for the Kahn Academy to reach their goal of providing a world-class education for anyone, those individuals need access to the internet.  According to the United Nations’ Broadband Commission, about 4.2 billion people or 60% of the world population do not have regular access to the internet [2].  The outlook is even worse in least developed countries as only 1 in 10 people have regular access to the internet [2].   The issues with diffusion don’t stop there however.  The language barrier is also crucial to overcome.  Only about 5% of languages spoken around the world are represented online [2].  The Kahn Academy, for instance, offers 36 languages [3].  What about the audiences that institutions like the Kahn Academy and other MOOCs are reaching? Coursera is one of the largest MOOC platforms and according to a 2013 study done by the University of Pennsylvania, about 80% of Coursera students in developing countries already had a college degree [4].  There’s no doubt that companies like the Kahn Academy and MOOCs are leading the way for educational innovation, but it seems like they aren’t reaching those individuals who need it the most. 

How do we as policy makers and innovators approach scenarios like this? Companies such as EdX (another MOOC platform) have already decided where they stand: “build a good education system, and the delivery will follow – for everyone” [5].  If you were an institution such as the Kahn Academy, would you focus on helping people in developing countries and least developed countries gain access to the internet first or would you retain your focus on creating and improving your educational services? 

1[1]     http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelnoer/2012/11/02/one-man-one-computer-10-million-students-how-khan-academy-is-reinventing-education/2/#1f13e7d51955

2[2]       http://www.digitaltrends.com/web/4-billion-people-lack-internet-access/

3[3]       https://www.khanacademy.org/about

4[4]       http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2350964

5[5]       http://www.theverge.com/2015/2/11/8014563/bill-gates-education-future-of-online-courses-third-world