BBC jam launched
The BETT Show saw the soft launch of BBC jam. Previously dreaded by many UK software companies, opinion is still divided on the impact of this new BBC venture. While BBC jam and the eventual demise of e-learning credits may have a negative impact on local software houses, some see it as a catalyst that will help reshape the UK educational software industry. So what are the arguments for and against?
On the plus side:
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By commissioning so much content the BBC is creating new growth opportunities for local developers
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UK developers have to be ready for the post e-Learning credit market and BBC jam may be a bridge for many in the industry to transition their reliance on government market development subsidies and to move towards a more commercial market (locally and internationally)
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The opportunities for adaptation and international development may be boosted by having content based on open standards
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A meta brand such as BBC may help simplify the choices for teachers, particularly those who have suffered trying to use Curriculum Online
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It delivers the BBC’s original remit, established under Lord Reith, to educate and improve
On the negative side:
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It is an inappropriate and anti-commercial use of license fee funds
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It wrongly extends the BBC’s remit into an emerging commercial sector, in a way that may cause significant long-term damage
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It will lead to reduced investment and innovation in a sector of the economy (IT) that will negatively impact education, which is itself the primary foundation for the UK’s economic future
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It will lead to a shakeout, which will not improve content or choice. It will see companies with the deepest pockets survive, rather than those who make the most innovative products
Regardless of which of these arguments you support, the reality of the market is that e-Learning credits are on the way out and BBC jam is here to stay. Industry players will now have to work out how to survive in this new environment and there are already signs of some interesting changes. While BETT was only the soft launch (the service is live from the 1 Feb) there were two interesting things we learned at the launch. The first was that content will be developed using open standards. We presume this only applies to content and not to any backend systems, because these were built by Microsoft and we’re pretty sure that their systems aren’t open source.
Possibly more interesting is that BBC jam will only be accessible from within the UK. The idea behind this is that the system has been funded by licence funds, so only UK residents should be able to benefit from the investment. To ensure that Johnny-Free-Ride-Foreigner, doesn’t get access, BBC jam uses software from Quova whose products allow media companies to limit the delivery of digital content to specific geographic boundaries. What they should be doing (and we assume will happen in time) is license content developed for BBC jam for foreign use/adaptation as a way to actually generate some return on our collective investment (just like they do with TV programmes).