Personalization: The New Frame

For nearly 20 years standards-based reform has framed American K-12 education. With the end of NCLB, a new frame is emerging, it’s still a little fuzzy and not nearly as monolithic, but it appears to have for pillars: broader aims including work readiness, social and emotional learning; personalized learning (while protecting student privacy), expanding formal and informal learning opportunities; and, on a slower timeline, progression based on mastery.

This new frame is evident in EdTech startups, new school grant programs, school district strategies, and emerging educator preparation programs. As a frame it looser and more more dynamic. It will require educators and those of us that support them to accelerate personal learning and to remain flexible when working with schools at different stages of digital development.

Everybody had something they hated about NCLB, but it represented a bipartisan commitment to equity and excellence. Let’s make sure they are part of the new frame.

This week we were excited to join BSG Team Ventures with the edBurst Update where may of the below stories were sourced.

Landscape

• Preparing Leaders for Deeper Learning is a great picture of the future of educator prep.
• iNACOL (where I’m a director) published a brief history of blended learning. And TechCrunch says it’s “clear that the fusion of online and offline learning is going to be at the core of improving education.”
• Microschools just might be the most interesting thing in K-12. AltSchool just raised $100 million. Check out Medium’s pic and why I think districts should pay attention.
• It may be too early to retire gamification, but it’s still hard make money building learning games. The folks at the Games and Learning Summit are still trying.
• After 20 dinners with district leaders over the last year, Sean Herdman, Associate Publisher at EdWeek worries that districts are “checking the box” on personalized learning by buying devices.

Organizational learning

• Lean Innovation Management – Making Corporate Innovation Work. Steve Blank thinks you can innovate faster– not just kind of fast, but 10x the number of initiatives in 1/5 the time.
• Loyalists vs Mercenaries is a great Fred Wilson post on teams. His recommendations: be a leader, build a mission-driven company, and invest in values and culture.

Impact

• Check out my interview with Edsurge on why we need partnerships that use the right form of capital for the the job: private capital is good at innovation; public funds are good at equity; philanthropic investment is good at the long view.
• EdThena had a great EdWeek post on riding the EdPolicy wave to impact. Here’s 30 trends and how you can turn them into impact.

Et Alia

• WaPo says the internet of things is bigger than you think
• As President Obama has said, there’s a big cost with letting young people drift.
• Hubspot shares 9 hard won lessons on its ninth birthday.