Dune Shift is a competitive intelligence and content strategy consultancy for edtech.
We help our clients better understand what’s been done, what still needs doing, and what works.
Our analysis is backed by nearly 20 years of research into the complexities of education, including 10 years at Common Sense Media conducting 4,000 edtech evaluations.
Services
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Analyze key competitors from major players to intriguing upstarts.
Benchmark your offerings against competitors and clarify key points of product and content differentiation.
Map existing and emerging issues, trends, and markets, including insight into cultural and social movements, new and relevant research, and shifting audience attitudes and needs.
Outline market gaps and uncover potential business opportunities.
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Research potential new topics or themes to keep your curriculum fresh and aligned with your audience and goals. This research can be combined with a competitive intelligence report.
Map curricular needs for new content areas, including the lessons needed to achieve your outcomes, goals, or coverage needs.
Prototype or full-scale develop lessons, activities, video scripts, or course content.
Audit existing curriculum to optimize for search traffic, relevance, learner needs, or your goals. Audits include custom, co-developed rubrics that can assess quality, accessibility, equity, alignment with learning science, SEO practices, and more.
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Identify new market opportunities and re-think your content approach to align with these emerging trends.
Craft voice, tone, and content design guidelines that bring clarity and consistency to your brand, content, and communications.
Prototype new content designs and formats matched with work streams, content operations, and schedules to bring the prototypes to scale.
Develop metrics and goals to measure success.
Experience
We know what separates good from great in edtech.
Our experience at Common Sense Media gives us rare insight into what’s been done before, what teachers need now, and how to stand out.
Our design feedback has helped hundreds of companies improve their products, increase sales, secure investments, and achieve exits.
Our strategies have earned $30 million in funding and grown platforms from scratch to reaching over half a million people monthly.
Our content has impacted millions of people, been covered on PBS NewsHour, TechCrunch, and NBC’s TODAY show, and received a Fast Company award for innovation.
Principal Consultant
Tanner Higgin, Ph.D.
For over a decade, Tanner has contributed to and led editorial and content teams at leading edtech nonprofits. He’s scaled content programs from scratch to reaching millions of people each year and has launched and grown multiple websites and content products.
Most notably, he was the editorial director at Common Sense Media in charge of learning ratings and teacher advice, including the Common Sense Selections for Learning program and Wide Open School. Over his time at Common Sense, he helped to evaluate over 4,000 edtech apps, websites, and games. These evaluations influenced millions of decisions about tech usage in schools.
Prior to Common Sense, Tanner was on a Fast Company award-winning game and curriculum development team at GameDesk and earned a doctorate at the University of California, Riverside. During this time, he taught at colleges around the Inland Empire, lectured across the country, and published widely on social justice and equity in video games and digital media.