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 This blog is no longer being updated.

College & Workforce Readiness Opinion 10 Current and Emerging Trends in Adult Learning
We live in a world where the unexpected is the norm, and the only thing we can really be sure of in the future is that change will occur rapidly. What does this mean for adult learning? Here are 10 current and emerging trends.
Tom Vander Ark, September 20, 2017
8 min read
Education Opinion A Human Network to Remake Learning in Pittsburgh
Gregg Behr, Executive Director of the Grable Foundation, shares more on the journey to create the Pittsburgh Remake Learning Network, a professional network of educators and innovators working together to shape the future of teaching and learning.
Tom Vander Ark, September 18, 2017
3 min read
Teaching Opinion School Consortium Proposes a Better Transcript
For well over a century we've recorded the high school experience as a series of courses and grades, showing activity but not necessarily growth and accomplishment. Here is how the Mastery Transcript Consortium is working to change this approach for the better.
Tom Vander Ark, September 14, 2017
4 min read
Personalized Learning Opinion 15 Dimensions of Personalized Learning
It is easy to think of personalization simply as differentiated instruction, but a full commitment to supporting individual learning journeys has many dimensions such as these 15 we've identified.
Tom Vander Ark, September 11, 2017
3 min read
Teaching Opinion Two KC Schools That Use Projects to Engage and Transform
We recently visited these two Kansas City area elementary schools combining personalized and project-based learning to help young people develop valuable knowledge, skills and dispositions.
Tom Vander Ark, September 7, 2017
4 min read
Education Opinion Michael Moe on AI in Human Resources in Education
Michael Moe, co-founder of GSV, discusses how artificial intelligence is being used in human resources to "obtain, train and retain talent," and what this means for education.
Tom Vander Ark, September 5, 2017
2 min read
Assessment Opinion Better Formative Feedback: Work Worth Doing in a Place Worth Being
While everything about a learning environment may provide formative feedback to students, not everything qualifies as formative assessment. Here is what we do know about what formative assessment is and how it works.
Tom Vander Ark, August 31, 2017
6 min read
Education Opinion Dynamic Networks Focus on Learning Quickly
Despite some limitations, there are a growing number of leading school networks in the last few years that have moved forward with many new projects. Here are some examples and four lessons they provide about dynamic networks.
Tom Vander Ark, August 28, 2017
4 min read
Personalized Learning Opinion The Role of Advisory in Personalizing the Secondary Experience
High school can be a confusing time, especially today with the increasing options for students due to the rapid expansion of digital learning. Advisory has to be the spine of the next generation high school.
Tom Vander Ark, August 23, 2017
9 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Equipping Young Leaders to Take on the 32 Most Important Issues of Our Time
We owe today's youth a chance to explore what they're in for when they inherit the world and a head start on making a difference. Here are 32 goals that attempt to identify the issues that matter most.
Tom Vander Ark, August 21, 2017
12 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Proposal For An Innovation Diploma
What if we created a new competency-based high school diploma framework focused on innovation that represented preparedness for the automation economy? Here's a proposal of what that could look like.
Tom Vander Ark, August 16, 2017
3 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion KnowledgeWorks On Redefining Readiness: Start With Core Social-Emotional Skills
Katherine Prince, Senior Director of Strategic Foresight at Knowledgeworks, shares more on the future of learning and what it means to redefine readiness from the inside out.
Tom Vander Ark, August 14, 2017
2 min read
School & District Management Opinion Dialogue on a Content-Rich Elementary Experience
A blog response I created sharing a taxonomy of views on personalized learning ranging from content-centric to student-centered resulted in this spirited email dialogue with education leaders about the role of content in developing language proficiency.
Tom Vander Ark, August 9, 2017
11 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Staying Ahead of the Robots: What Grads Should Know and Be Able To Do
The automation economy is changing the employment landscape, making it a good time to reconsider the purpose and goals of public education. How do we prepare students for success in the future?
Tom Vander Ark, August 7, 2017
6 min read