Dive Brief:

• Tech giants, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Apple, are making big strides in servicing K-12 students and school districts with hardware and cloud storage, according to a new report from Ed Week Market Brief.
• The simplicity and competitive pricing of Google’s Chromebooks gets high marks from school districts, with administrators reporting very positive reactions to Google in comparison to competitors.
• However, there is a concern that the dominance of these tech giants in the field of ed tech is stifling innovations, as smaller startups may feel like it would be impossible to get a foothold in an educational industry increasingly dominated by these massive companies.

Dive Insight:

There is a parallel between the debate over the role of major tech companies and education and the discussion of charter schools vs. public schools; charters were eventually seen as hotbeds of experimentation but are now viewed as an alternative in their own right. It is not impossible to envision Google or Apple concocting the creation of an alternative K-12 education for users, to work in concert or contrast with a traditional public education. Such a possibility would likely be stymied by regulation and oversight, but considering the seismic increase in influence these companies have garnered in a relatively short period of time, such a greater impact is not inconceivable.