(photo credit: Ben Terrett)
From The New York Times:
Amplify, a much-heralded push by News Corporation into digital education, led by Joel Klein, a former New York City schools chancellor, is nearing an inglorious end.
News Corporation, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, said on Wednesday that it would take a $371 million write-down on the education division and would move to wind down the production of tablets for schoolchildren, a key part of the unit’s offering.
Moreover, News Corporation’s chief executive, Robert Thomson, said in an earnings call with analysts that the company was in an “advanced stage of negotiations” with a potential buyer for the remaining education business.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
In 2010, Rupert Murdoch said this:
"When it comes to K through 12 education, we see a $500 billion sector in the US alone that is waiting desperately to be transformed by big breakthroughs that extend the reach of great teaching."
http://www.motherjones.com/...
Less than a year later, he unveiled his plan to tap into that sweet, sweet learnin' money. From a puff-piece in The Australian:
In education, what has really changed in the last 30 years?" Mr Murdoch asked. "You have still got a teacher, with a blackboard, with their back to 30 or 40 kids, struggling like hell. All the kids getting the same thing, regardless of how they are responding or how fast they are taking it in."
Mr Murdoch detailed a vision whereby almost all children would be provided with technology such as specially designed tablet computers.
News Corporation, parent company of The Australian, would help spearhead this change by providing educational material. Mr Murdoch said he would be "thrilled" if 10 per cent of the business was made up of education revenues in the next five years.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/...
The Amplify homepage:
(This post was originally titled, "Murdoch's 'Education Revolution' Goes Completely Kaput after $371 Million Loss". It was changed for clarity.)