Posts by Tom Vander Ark
12 Trends Impacting the Evolution of Digital Content
I’m speaking this afternoon about the evolution of digital content at an event hosted by Education's Digital Future, a center at Stanford.
e-Learning Leadership: 10 Strategies
The 17th annual Educational Technology Leadership Conference will take place this week in Roanoke, Virginia. The conference is sponsored by Virginia Tech’s Center for Instructional Technology Solutions in Industry and Education. Given the theme of e-learning leadership, I’ll be leading a conversation about these ten practices: 1.Conversation: lead…
What’s Next? A Flex Plus School Model by Connections Education
I’m a big fan of flex model secondary schools; there at least 10 Reasons Every District Should Open a Flex School. In short, these models create options fast, can leverage community assets, and create a picture of the future of personalized competency-based learning.
Imagine K12 Demo Day: 11 Rising Startups
"The future of our education system and the future of the country are inextricably tied," said Imagine K12 co-founder Tim Brady. He said transformation is "not a matter of if, only how" and #ik12 plans to be part of "ushering in the how, keeping student outcome front and center."
Good Work: Sector Advance People
Association leaders don't just serve their members, they try to advance the sector by deliver value while leading them to a better place. It requires understanding and corralling lots of different views, building and maintaining a Rolodex of connections, and developing and executing multi-faceted change strategy. These folks travel constantly and don’t make as much as they could in the private sector. Their commitment to advancing the field and improving outcomes for kids is inspiring.
The Shift Is On: iNACOL Conference Attendees Inventing the Future of Learning
When I joined the iNACOL board three years ago, I was hoping to see a shift in emphasis from virtual schools to a focus on helping all schools incorporate online and personal digital learning. That shift was evident in the name, Inventing the Future of Learning, and content of the Virtual School Symposium program this week in New Orleans.
Better Online Schools & Learning Options
Virtual schools and online courses work better for some kids than others. Some of variance is provider based; some of it is student based. In most cases, there is not very good data on students or providers. A new report explained, "Most state accountability and data systems can't easily provide the information about individual student growth on mastery outcomes that is necessary to produce the ans
Trends, Opportunities & Worries About Blended Learning
The directors of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning are an amazing group of system heads, school operators, philanthropists, and advocates. On Sunday we spent an hour discussing trends, opportunities and areas of concern for the rapidly world of online and blended learning. Following is a quick recap:…
Racing to the Top in Delaware
The Rodel Foundation hosted the fifth Vision 2015 Conference. The First State scored first in the Race to the Top (RTTT) grant competition largely because of the vision, organizing, and grantmaking of the Rodel Foundation and its Executive Director Paul Herdman.
Better Learning Opportunities for Native Kids
The National Indian Education Association held its annual conference in Oklahoma City this week. NIEA represents Native American, Hawaii, and Alaskan youth and educators. Chief for Change Janet Barresi kicked off the day. Tom Vander Ark outlined emerging digital learning opportunities.