Leadership Blog

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 This blog is no longer being updated.

Teaching Opinion Getting Smart Podcast | Andy Calkins on Effective Learning Competencies
In this episode, Tom speaks with Andy Calkins, director of Next Generation Learning Challenges to learn more about their new student success framework--MyWays, and their recently released comprehensive resource set to help more communities develop graduate profiles.
Tom Vander Ark, November 7, 2017
3 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Competency-Based Micro-credentials are Transforming Professional Learning
It's time to make way for micro-credentials -- the future of professional learning. There is nothing micro about how competency-based credentials have the potential to change the professional learning game on a MACRO-level.
Tom Vander Ark, November 6, 2017
5 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Getting Smart Podcast | Julie Young on Powerful Online College Prep
Download and listen in to an interview with Julie Young, CEO of ASU Prep Digital. Hear Julie's predictions on the future of online learning, what made FLVS and ASU Prep Digital huge successes, future plans for the program and reflections on her time at FLVS. You'll also learn why concurrent enrollment is opening more doors for students.
Tom Vander Ark, November 1, 2017
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Save The Planet: Starting Today
If we have a list of the issues that will shape the future--an earth owner's manual--when and how should we introduce them to young people? What does it mean to be really ready and why should we be encouraging young people to engage with the world's most important issue? Tom Vander Ark answers these questions and more.
Tom Vander Ark, October 30, 2017
7 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion America Succeeds Reports on Education Pathways for the Future of Work
Tom share's key highlights and findings from Age of Agility: Education Pathways for the Future of Work, a new report from America Succeeds.
Tom Vander Ark, October 25, 2017
3 min read
Teaching Opinion Workbench Platform Powers Project-Based Learning
Workbench is making it easier to teach with projects and extending equitable access to great PBL tools. Read more about the Baltimore startup and why the city has become a hotspot for EdTech.
Tom Vander Ark, October 23, 2017
3 min read
Classroom Technology Opinion 10 Really Hard Decisions Coming Our Way
The most powerful tools the world has ever known have been created- and while they have the potential to make lives better, there's a bigger problem we must be aware of. AI Advancements are moving faster than civic infrastructure can handle. Here's 10 issues we're not prepared for.
Tom Vander Ark, October 18, 2017
9 min read
Education Opinion The New Work of Network Leadership
School networks make the challenging work of personalized learning possible at scale. Here's a look at how successful network leadership enables powerful learning and examples from the space.
Tom Vander Ark, October 16, 2017
3 min read
Education Opinion Project Management for Education
Bernie Trilling has been on a decade-long journey to bridge professional project management and project-based learning. His new book, Project Management for Education, makes the case that project-based learning (PBL) is the best way to build 21st-century skills and that project management is the most important career skill.
Tom Vander Ark, October 10, 2017
4 min read
Assessment Opinion World Class Work Takes Models, Practice, Revision and Support
We've visited thousands of high schools around the world and seen young people doing world-class work both inside and outside the classroom. Here are the common conditions, cultures and connections we've observed that power this world-class work.
Tom Vander Ark, October 9, 2017
6 min read
School & District Management Opinion EdReform in the Modern Era
American education reform has been driven by some recurring themes such as early learning, standards-based reform, school autonomy, student engagement and new personalized learning. Here is a short history.
Tom Vander Ark, October 4, 2017
9 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Research Illuminates the Path Forward for SEL
While some may put SEL and SEAD solely in the "soft skills" category of education initiatives, the benefits extend far beyond anything "soft." The results are real -- and the data speaks for itself.
Tom Vander Ark, October 2, 2017
4 min read
Student Well-Being & Movement Opinion Opt for Dignity: Teach Children to Value Themselves and Others
Timothy Shriver, nephew of John F. Kennedy and chair of the Special Olympics, discusses his part in helping define social and emotional learning and his dream of launching a dignity revolution for all.
Tom Vander Ark, September 27, 2017
4 min read
Education Opinion On Beautiful Shared Places
We recently created a list of the most pressing issues of our time, and beautiful shared places kept appearing. Here is a behind-the-scenes look at our dialogue about why there is a need for these.
Tom Vander Ark, September 25, 2017
7 min read