The Google Wave and 1 + 1 = 3. Print + TV = Free Teaching Materials for High Schools + The opportunity for Independent MPS.

I'm betting that the Google Wave is going to reinvent email. If I'm right that means free collaboration on the web that is simpler, faster, better. If it's incorporated into Google Apps, that means independent MPS will be able to go against the big boys and beat them.

So that part of the education piece will be solved.

from Mashable.com
Less than two months ago, Google dropped a spectacular surprise upon the world: Google Wave The communication tool aspires to redefine not only email, but the entire web. And from our very first test of Google Wave to our complete Google Wave Guide, we have to say that it’s a game changer.

Well, in the last two months, Google and third-party developers have been hard at work testing out the system, fixing the kinks, and building some amazing extensions (which we discussed in-depth previously). Still, only a handful of people, almost all developers, have access. That’s about to change soon though: on September 30th, Google will start sending out about 100,000 invites for the next version of Google Wave.

Monetizing free is about customer acquisition costs
I learned today that Barnes & Noble is offering Google's library of scanned out of copyright books as ebooks for free. Google has invested gezillions in the long tail of scanned books that have no IP. 700,000 says the release from B&N.

For B&N free can be monetized by putting the cost in the customer acquisition budget. B&N has a significant cost for customer acquisition. If you exchange the cost of advertising and marketing for the cost of free e books, Barnes and Noble might save lots of money. Saving money = making money = monetizing "free."

The good news for high school kids and their teachers
Most of the words you really want high school kids to read are those that have stood the test of time. Almost all of them are not copyright protected. Add to that the ability to download complete course audios from Yale at iTunes for free. Then add to that the ability to offer free videos from YouTube, fora.tv and Google Talks to take students anywhere in the world.

The Print piece is all about Print on Demand and CodeZ QR.
Any experienced teacher will tell you that print is a must have in learning. This is not the place for the argument, but it has to do with "compare and contrast" and sharing documents on student activity with guardians.

Connecting Print to TV is 1 + 1 = 3.

Adding the information rich QR code and a TinyPurl means the very process of information exchange emits searchable data. Searchable data is the key to actionable information.

The money comes from Twitter in Print = Classified Ads with no overhead.
Take a twitter stream. Transform into XML. Transform into typography on paper. For schools, use twitter streams from public health and government. Charge a little. Sell a lot. The twitter stream in print sits quietly in the right hand column. Customize the twitter stream for the problems of a particular school. Twitter streams in Print about Childhood Obesity would probably work pretty well.

For communities, do the same thing with Twitter Streams in Print for local businesses and whoever else is willing to pay for them.