Posts by Guest Author

Personalized Learning

What Online Students Want

Online learning. It's a popular buzzword in both higher education and K-12 institutions. Each year, more formal and informal learning opportunities germinate online. Globally, many public institutions believe that "online education is critical to their long term strategy" and the number of online learners is steadily increasing (Allen & Seaman, 2008, p.3).

Personalized Learning

The Learning Mindset: Winning in the Civilian Sector

The 1% and 99% are making headlines. But I'm more worried about the 20%, the 50% and the 75%. The 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan vets age 18-24 who are unemployed, the 50% who are underemployed, and 75% who don't graduate from the programs of study that they start after they get out.

EdTech

Q&A: The Educational World Is Flat

Tom Vander Ark is an educational innovator who thinks like an engineer. He is currently the CEO of Open Educational Solutions, a partner in Learn Capital, and director of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning. Previously he served as President of the X PRIZE Foundation and was the Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He is a prolific writer and speaker, and in 2006 Newsweek readers voted Tom the most influential baby boomer in education.

Personalized Learning

4 Characteristics of Education Programs That Actually Work

“Education” is a huge conversation, but almost all of the conversation is about the education problem. There is not a serious or mature conversation about solutions. Meanwhile lots of resources and, as important, attention, are going into an ever-changing, wide variety of programs which, it is hoped, will be part of some solution. How do we know when we’re looking at any given program, whether it can have game-changing impact on K-12 schools, or has no chance? I call the former, programs that “Actually Work.” Here I identify and describe four characteristics of any program that Actually Works: Scope,Results, Robustness, and Scalability. Failure at any one of these is failure to Work.

Personalized Learning

Teacher-Led Blended Learning, Students Win

There are three moments that addict me to teaching. When students have “light up,” “light bulb,” and “lead” moments. Creating an environment that fosters the space for these is becoming easier as the tools at our fingertips continue to improve. I see technology as a cornerstone of education that can help bring to life content for students.

Personalized Learning

Pros & Cons: Is Elementary Too Early for 1:1 Technology?

The merits of 1:1 technology in education are so impressive that one question might be raised: How young is too young for students to benefit from 1:1 classroom technology? Specifically, are elementary students too young to have one computing device per child available to them at all times?

Personalized Learning

Women Rising: Five Predictions for Women in the 2012 Workplace

Women now influence more than 25% of the U.S. GDP and hold nearly 48% of all jobs. Without women, the U.S. economy would be 25% smaller than it is today. These encouraging facts come from a new book by Dr. Tracey Wilen-Daugenti, Society 3.0: How Technology Is Reshaping Education, Work, and Society.

Personalized Learning

Online PE: Not Just a Virtual Workout

More than one in three American children are currently overweight or obese. These astounding statistics have been screaming the need for change for many years now. Online learning has provided solutions in academic arenas, but can it help our children’s health as well. Let’s enter the online world of physical education (PE).