The Next Big Thing

By Marty Nemko

No product is more overrated than education. Uninspiring teachers, irrelevant curriculum, tedious homework, all wrapped in expensive bricks and mortar. An alternative: the new generation of online interactive education. You can't have a nation full of world-class biology teachers, but you certainly can get one terrific teacher for a video-based online course. That way, every student, rich or poor, of whatever race, could have a world-class teacher. If I were interested in education, that's the bandwagon I'd jump on. Leading players: San Francisco's Digital Think (corporate training). Phoenix's Apollo Group (the parent of the University of Phoenix), Bellevue Washington-based Apex Learning (started by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen) which focuses on K-12 online courses, and companies funded by Menlo Park-based Knowledge Universe which was co-founded by Larry Ellison and Michael Milken.