Posts by Guest Author
Personalized Learning
25 Trends Disrupting Education Right Now
Disruption doesn’t sound like a pretty word, but in the long run, it can be a beautiful thing. Disruption is about shifting power. Eroding patterns. Breaking the system. In education, this can come from the most unlikely of sources.
EdTech
Q&A: Alison Johnston Discusses InstaEDU & On-Demand Tutoring
We live in a world where you can buy plane tickets, a car, or even publish a novel instantly online. “Why shouldn’t learning be this convenient?” asked Alison Johnston, CEO of InstaEDU, an online, instant tutoring company for high school and college students. With $1.1 million in seed round funding from former Facebooker Chamath Palihapitiya’s The Social+Capital Partnership and several angels, Alison’s company is off to a strong start.
Personalized Learning
Can Online College Education Ever Really Be Free?
The ingenious idea of giving students access to post-secondary education online has really helped many people follow their dreams over the past few years, especially those who wouldn't be able to pursue a higher education otherwise due to various circumstances like having a fulltime job, raising a family, suffering from a learning disorder, or living in a rural area.
Leadership
Photo Story: The School Fund Travels to Tanzania & Nairobi Providing Scholarships
The School Fund is dedicated to increasing access to education for high school students in the developing world by providing high achieving students with scholarships. We support 250 students from 13 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. This summer we returned to our roots in East Africa where we met up with old friends, and made some new ones.
EdTech
11 Tools to Turn Your Students Into Academic Superstars
I remember as an undergrad, I looked forward each August to the release of the official university student planner. That planner represented a fresh start: blank days to be filled with color-coded due dates, study group get-togethers, my work schedule at the bakery in the mall, and football tailgate details.
EdTech
Infographic: Growing Up With Technology
By: Jaclyn Norton. Technology is transforming today's educational landscape, reaching children's fingers before they reach their shoes. According to the infographic below from LearnStuff.com, 70% of children between the ages of 2-5 can use a computer mouse, while only 11% can tie their own shoes. Today's generation is growing up with technology, proving to reject traditional beliefs about how people learn. 90% of students think tablets help them study more efficiently, and cause them to read 1.5 more books annually. See the infographic below to see students different interactions with technology along their scholastic path, from grade school to graduation.
Personalized Learning
Digital Technology Brings Global Collaboration Between High Schools
By: Jaclyn Norton. Jennifer Bevill knows how to create a global classroom. The “Peace Project” bridged geographic borders between high school students at LSU Laboratory HighSchool in Baton Rouge, LA and Odori High School in Japan by utilizing digital technology to build cultural understanding and bring awareness to issues surrounding tolerance and peace at both schools.
Personalized Learning
Q&A: How A Top Educator Drives Innovation and Social Change In His Classroom
By: Jaclyn Norton. Last month, Microsoft awarded the nations top educators who are bringing technology and project-based learning to their classrooms in innovative and interactive ways. Greg Witkin of Boynton Continuation High School in San Jose, Calif. won first place in the Educator as Innovator and Change Agent category for his project, "Finding Youth Voice." This project made students creators and visionaries behind a multimedia project that addresses a social problem.
Personalized Learning
3 Reasons Why Schools Neglect Spatial Intelligence
In Why Don’t We Value Spatial Intelligence? I stressed that as a society we have neglected spatially talented students who are not as good with words and numbers but who are quite talented at manipulating figures and shapes in their minds. In this article, I offer a few reasons as to why schools tend to neglect spatial intelligence.
EdTech
Driving School Choice Through Cloud Computing
In recent years the words “school choice” have gained increasing buzz among educators and parents in cities across the United States. Many reformers believe that providing students and parents with options beyond their geographically assigned school will promote healthy competition among schools and give parents the opportunity to seek out a school that will best meet the needs of their children.