Posts by Tom Vander Ark
Personalized Learning
Smart Cities: Baltimore’s Digital Harbor
Last Thursday night a closed recreation center became a Tech Center in Baltimore's Federal Hill neighborhood. When Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced the city was closing 25 of the 55 rec centers , Andrew Coy (@AndrewCoy) a teacher at Digital Harbor High School and Shelly Blake-Plock (@BlakePlock) faculty associate at Johns Hopkins University School of Education sought an alternative to the center closing. One of the rec centers was a block from Digital Harbor High School where Andrew was developing an after-school program in web design.
Personalized Learning
Next-Gen Models Break New Ground, Promote System Redesign
The 20 breakthrough school models recognized by the Gates Foundation funded Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) took on the turnaround challenge, leveraged higher education partnerships, and improved the performance and sustainability of school networks (as outlined inpart one of this three-part series). They also illustrate how blended learning supports and extends experiential learning (part two).
Personalized Learning
Next-Gen Models Attack Problems, Leverage Opportunities
It's great if you think you have a good sense of how a next-generation school would work, but good luck trying to get funding. Most school districts don't have a process to respond to new school proposals much less funding them. And good luck getting a grant for a charter school before you get a charter approved (i.e., when you really need the money). That's why, given the emerging potential for personalization, the Next Generation Learning Challenges(NGLC) is a timely and important program.
Personalized Learning
Smart Cities: San Francisco Schools Improving, But Impervious to Creative City Assets
San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) appears to be in a time warp. Yesterday, I outlined the leadership role that the Bay Area, especially the city of San Francisco, plays in learning innovation. However, the contrast between one of the most creative cities on the planet and the local school districts is stark. The district has higher test scores than other California urbans but it is small and has a relatively low level of poverty.
EdTech
Smart Cities: San Francisco
The Bay Area is unquestionably the world's leading innovation hub--and that includes learning. Ten years ago it was all about Silicon Valley, but recently Oakland emerged as an edreform hotspot. The innovation center of gravity has definitely moved north in the Bay Area as San Francisco has become home to leading investors and startups.
Personalized Learning
Next-Gen State U
A state policy maker called and asked how a next-gen state university would work. They had spent lots of money with a brand name consultant that had given them predictable advice (create a consortium or start a new institution) and the policy maker had the sense that they weren’t pushing hard enough. Given the pressure for lower costs, better outcomes, and expanded access, there’s a new conversation about further and higher education (as they’d say in the Eurozone).
Personalized Learning
ASAP Case Study: Prizes Can Focus & Accelerate Innovation
The case study, “Automated Student Assessment Prize Phase One and Phase Two: A Case Study to Promote Focused Innovation in Student Writing Assessment,” was released today. It takes a close look at the ways the two phases of The Automated Student Assessment Prize (ASAP) demonstrated current capabilities and mobilized global talent to accelerate innovation in writing assessment.
EdTech
Pathbrite & Pearson Team on Portfolios
Pathbrite, the next generation education portfolio platform company, launched a version targeting educators and announced a marketing partnership with Pearson eCollege to integrate with its LearningStudio, a personalized learning environment serving more than nine million students each year.
Personalized Learning
Canvas.net: An Open MOOC From Instructure
Next week classes kick off on Canvas.net, a hosting site for massively open online courses (MOOC) from universities including Ball State, Brown, Central Florida, and Utah. Unlike Coursera and Udacity, content partners can make decisions about the course instruction, assessment, instructional materials, and cost.
Personalized Learning
Supporting High Access Environments
When I visit with superintendents, principals, teachers, and school board members, I always ask them what they are worried about. With plans for high-access environments, tech support is on everybody's list. So, I called Keith Krueger and Denise Shorey from CoSN.