Archive: 2012
EdTech
K12 Inc. Honors 5 Schools With Transformation Award
At the International Association for K-12 Online Learning's (iNACOL) Virtual School Symposium (VSS) this week in New Orleans, K12 Inc. honored five schools for its Transformation Award.
Personalized Learning
The Case for Authentic Learning
It was John Dewey who created the notion of “learning by doing.” His famous line was, “Education is not preparation for life: Education is life itself.” And years later it was Jerome Bruner who stated that it wasn’t enough to learn, say, history. The more successful approach would be to teach students to think like a historian. The ideas of these education philosophers, and others such as Johann Pestalozzi, are making something of reappearance in the call for more authentic learning experiences in an age of extensive testing. Authentic learning could be defined as learning that involves real-world tasks and problems.
Personalized Learning
Better Online Schools & Learning Options
Virtual schools and online courses work better for some kids than others. Some of variance is provider based; some of it is student based. In most cases, there is not very good data on students or providers. A new report explained, "Most state accountability and data systems can't easily provide the information about individual student growth on mastery outcomes that is necessary to produce the ans
Personalized Learning
How Is ‘Back to School’ Changing?
This past month as millions of young people traded in their baseball bats for backpacks, teachers, parents, students – and Blackboard staff – experienced the familiar rituals of Back to School. That got me thinking: technology changes a lot – how we create content, collaborate with our peers and find information. Do today’s tech-savvy students experience a different Back to School transition than past generations?
EdTech
iNACOL Releases 2 New Books Highlighting Lessons From K-12 Online & Blended Learning
The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) released two new books showcasing the latest research and trends in online school teacher mentoring and blended education programs.
EdTech
Students Tell All: Blended Learning Prepares Students for Futures
This morning education leaders and policymakers joined for the Student Panel at the International Association for K-12 Online Learning's (iNACOL) annual Virtual School Symposium (VSS) in New Orleans.
Personalized Learning
6 Trends at Virtual School Symposium 2012
More than 2,000 policymakers, education leaders, and education providers met in New Orleans this week for the International Association for K-12 Online Learning's (iNACOL) annual Virtual School Symposium (VSS) to discuss innovations and solutions to today's education challenges with the help of online and blended learning.
EdTech
Amazon Competes with Apple for Classroom-Tablet Dominance
After the release of the cutting-edge, media-enriched iPad apps iBooks 2 and iTunes U in early January, Apple may have thought it would be the only Fortune 500 company with the technological goods powerful enough to monopolize digital tablets in the classroom. But with this week's announcement of Amazon's latest technological creation, Kindle Whispercaster, Apple may have just found some fierce competition in the educational market.
EdTech
Chic Thompson Challenges VSS Attendees to Break Learned Habits for Innovation
Chic Thompson, Author and President of Creative Management Group, spoke this afternoon at the International Association for K-12 Online Learning's (iNACOL) annual Virtual Schools Symposium (VSS) on the power of innovation and design in education through creative thinking.
EdTech
Susan Patrick, Stacey Childress & Supt. John White Reimagine Education Systems at VSS
More than 2,000 education leaders and policymakers meet in New Orleans, LA October 21-24, 2012 for Virtual School Symposium (VSS), hosted by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), to collaborate on critical advances in education to boost innovation.