Posts by Tom Vander Ark
Leadership
Ana Tilton to Guide Grantmakers to Increased Impact
Ana Tillton is taking over Grantmakers for Education as the Executive Director of the membership organization for foundations that invest in U.S. education.
Leadership
10 Big Blended Learning Questions
The CityBridge-NewSchools Education Innovation Fellowship is a great developmental opportunity for teachers in Washington DC. On Monday we're holding a conversation about blended learning. Following is a list of 10 questions we'll discuss and some resources for developing answers.
Leadership
Developing Character, Courage & College Readiness
The Kerm Family Foundation recently convened several organizations that are reevaluating student character development and better preparing their students for college. DSST, Great Hearts, and Educational Enterprises are networks with well developed charter development programs.
Ed Policy
A Proposal for Better Growth Measures
We create better growth measures by developing a system of comparable growth rates. It would require that an independent scale and a method of describing growth on that scale be adopted, along with a simple mechanism for conducting linking studies.
EdTech
An Update on Apple in Education
Apple in Education has come a long way with over 8 million iPads purchased by schools and colleges - 4.5 million by K-12 schools in the U.S. and with more than 75,000 learning apps now in the Apple store.
EdTech
The Business Role in Education: Examples, Expectations & Support
Three extraordinary corporate CEOs talk about talent development and the role of business in education. All three were trained as engineers and support the Common Core State Standards and expanded STEM education. Xerox CEO Ursula Burns urges business leaders to “include an education component into every meeting, let folks know you're paying attention, know your numbers, and use your power of convening with other companies and officials.”
Personalized Learning
3 Writing Products Selected For Fall Classroom Trials
After an extensive review process, three products that support writing instruction have been selected to participate in fall trials in seventh grade classrooms coast to coast -- Criterion from ETS, PEGWriting from Measurement Incorporated, and Pearson's WriteToLearn.
EdTech
Junyo: Connecting Schools & Services
Steve Schoettler, co-founder of Zynga knows data and new that when he left the game giant he wanted to use data to improve education. He launched Junyo and initially set his sights on blended learning.
Leadership
Good Work: Iterating & Innovating At Scale
Four leaders had, by eight years ago, achieved a career crowning accomplishment of running a great school. None were satisfied. Each saw more opportunity to help boost youth success. They viewed blended learning as an chance to innovate and iterate. Unlike superficial Tinkering Toward Utopia, these leaders are engineering powerful learning pathways. Driven by a passion for impact at scale, leaders like Diane, Marcy, Tom and JoAnn are transforming U.S. education.
Personalized Learning
10 Trends in K-12 Online Learning
Online learning is growing rapidly in K-12 and powering an even larger movement to blended learning. This list of the 10 top trends in K-12 online learning is headlined by rapid school district adoption of online learning strategies and ends with their opposition to the growth of virtual charter schools.