Vander Ark on Innovation
This blog was written by Tom Vander Ark (@tvanderark), an education advocate, adviser, and author of Getting Smart: How Personal Digital Learning is Changing the World. Tom is Founder and Executive Editor of Getting Smart and a partner in Learn Capital. This blog is no longer being updated.
Classroom Technology
Opinion
21st Century Learning, At All Levels
Last Friday, Mark Edmundson, an English professor at The University of Virginia, wrote a scathing critique of online learning in The New York Times. Mr. Edmundson's understanding of his subject lacked an in-depth intellectual or practical study of the myriad diverse programs available to students from grade school to graduate school.
School & District Management
Opinion
NRC Report Highlights Importance of Deeper Learning
While the NRC definition of deeper learning purportedly shifts from "21st century skills" to broader "21st century competencies" including skills, knowledge, and expertise, the definition seems accurate - but a bit shallow.
Education
Opinion
We Need More Launching Pad Politics
This country is stuck in disingenuous debate fueled by superpac superficiality. There are great examples of launching pads around the country. It would be great if, rather than mudslinging, we saw more launch pad politics.
School & District Management
Opinion
Blended Case Study: Leadership Public Schools
Leadership Public Schools (LPS) is a network of four small high-poverty high schools in Richmond, Oakland, Hayward, and San Jose, California. These locations (and nearby Summit Prep and Downtown College Prep) are the best example of great high schools combining the historic benefits of small rigorous and supportive environments with the potential of incorporating personal digital learning.
Education
Opinion
DIY: Choosing Your Tax Status
This first post in the DIY series is about the monthly call I get from an edupreneur asking, "Should we form a nonprofit or for-profit corporation?" There is no simple answer. Twenty years ago a mission-focused organization would have been formed as a nonprofit but these days there are lots of dot-coms as focused on impact as return.
School & District Management
Opinion
Second $100k Hewlett Prize Takes on Short Answer Challenge
The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is sponsoring the Automated Student Assessment Prize (ASAP) to improve the quality of student assessment in America and, as a result, increase the quantity and quality of student writing.
School & District Management
Opinion
Free School Reforms in Sweden Boost Quality, Innovation, and Choice
Barbara Bergstrom takes a look at "free school reform" in Sweden and its effects on the classroom. She shares critical observations around quality and reputation, looking at the Swedish Knowledge Schools as a primary case study.
School & District Management
Opinion
The Difference Between Improvement and Innovation
Improvement is doing things better. Innovation is doing things differently. Well-deployed technology enables both. Two bloggers missed these important distinctions this week.
School & District Management
Opinion
The Education Response to the Opportunity Gap
Robert Putnam's data is really disturbing. The Harvard sociologist is at it again. Like Bowling Alone, Putnam's new data (discussed recently at the Aspen Ideas Festival) suggests the opportunity gap is widening. More than race and poverty, class and a lack of social mobility are widening gaps that reduce opportunity.
Classroom Technology
Opinion
Q&A: Hey, We Invented Blended Learning
After I described blended learning at a recent conference, Diana Frezza from Scholastic came up to me and said, "Hey, we invented blended learning with READ 180." Having seen a lot of READ 180 classrooms over the last 20 years, I knew it was a proven multi-modal reading intervention. But I wasn't up to date on READ 180 Next Generation so I called Scholastic president Margery Mayer.
Education
Opinion
Curriculum Associates: Leveraging For-profit Power With a Nonprofit Purpose
For-profit giants are often viewed with skepticism in education. Nonprofits generally focus on impact but move at a slower pace and struggle to raise donations to fund growth. Is there a better model?
School & District Management
Opinion
Ed-Tech Innovators: Get Results Now by Leveraging Great Teachers
We're excited about the prospects, but we all know it will take time for digital learning to transform education. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of teachers will continue to be the single most important school factor in student learning.
Classroom Technology
Opinion
An Inside View of Blended Integration at Rocketship Education
At Rocketship Education our mission is to close the achievement gap within our lifetimes. The three pillars of our model are: parent and community engagement, rich professional development for our teachers and school leaders, and individualized learning for our students. Toward the end of individualized learning, we utilize a blended learning model in our K-5 elementary schools. Students use technology and small group tutoring in our Learning Lab for individualized basic skills practice, allowing our teachers to focus on higher-order thinking skills in the classroom.
Classroom Technology
Opinion
The Online High School Graduation That Was: My View From The Trenches
Utah Connections Academy (UCA) Inaugural Graduating Class of 2012 - eight eager faces, eyes sparkling with a sense of pride and accomplishment - for many of them an accomplishment that would not have happened without the transforming powers of digital learning.