Taking Stock, Moving Forward

Jiji from ST Math

It seems odd that after a NYTimes event called Schools for Tomorrow, they’d put another pandering Richtel potshot A1 above the fold on Sunday.
It follows a week of bad news about online learning from Colorado but Sarah suggests you Take Another Look at Colorado Online Results.
On Wednesday, I’ll be participating in Philanthropy Roundtable’s exploration of the promise of  Technology & the Shift to Student-Centric Learning.
On Thursday, the Foundation for Excellent Education kicks of the National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco.  Each state will receive detailed feedback on how their policy set matching up against the 10 Elements of High Quality Digital Learning.   A detailed Roadmap to Reform will be released Thursday providing step by step guidance for state policy makers.
Here’s something Richtel missed; our friends at MIND Research released great results in Los AngelesHouston, Anaheim, and tomorrow in Colorado Springs. There’s not much in the What Works account for math but I think MIND will soon be making a deposit.
The potential of personal digital learning is great.  But it won’t be fully realized by simply digitizing the current version of school. It won’t be fully realized when state policies don’t support new opportunities.  The Summit that Jeb Bush’s team is hosting this week will showcase the best examples of digital learning policy and practice.

Tom Vander Ark

Tom Vander Ark is the CEO of Getting Smart. He has written or co-authored more than 50 books and papers including Getting Smart, Smart Cities, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place and Difference Making. He served as a public school superintendent and the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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1 Comment

Dr. Brian J. Dixon
10/11/2011

Agreed. When we "simply digitize the current version of school" we are walking a dark path towards a cliff even after turning on the flashlight. The future could not be more clear. Soft skills: critical-thinking, problem-solving, innovation-based constructs are key to achievement in this age. Seth Godin recently wrote: "The biggest cultural shift that the Internet has amplified is the ability to make an impact on your own culture." Student creation is the solution.

Replies

Tom Vander Ark
10/14/2011

Today Murdoch said he's not surprised that edtech hasn't made much of difference because it's been like putting computers on leeches and assuming they'd improve health

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