[extra88]

> I am suspicious of any of the for-profits being able to sustain a business.

Blackboard has been around a long time and seems to do okay. Instructure (makers of Canvas) has done very well. Both sell Learning Management Systems (LMSes), not educational content itself. Big textbook publishers, like Pearson, have been managing incorporating online educational materials.

But yeah, don't expect a unicorn to come around and "disrupt" education.

[cbozeman]

> But yeah, don't expect a unicorn to come around and "disrupt" education.

The easiest way to get a bright-eyed SV entrepreneur to try to take something on is to tell them, "That industry is non-disruptable."

[whimsicalism]

Well people have been saying that for decades around education, so my intuition is that this represents decades of bright-eyed failure.

[tehjoker]

The people most in need of education have the least money. Monetize that. Education is a public good that requires social subsidy and personal interaction.

[whimsicalism]

Monetize not having money? Pray tell your easy solution.

[realreality]

Create some sort of entity that hands out money to people who agree to pay the money back in the future, plus some percentage interest.

If anybody figures out how to do this, they could make a lot of profit.

[tehjoker]

That quip was intended as sardonic. An obvious contradiction.

[whimsicalism]

Fair enough - can be hard to tell here, I've learned to not so easily assume a ridiculous comment is made in jest.

[majjgepolja]

Blackboard isn't a good example here. They are mostly discussed for their questionable business practices and shit product.