Posts by Tom Vander Ark
Good Work: Inspiring a Shared Vision
The future always holds something for the individual who keeps her faith in it. Being a leader puts you in some pretty awkward situations. As a public school superintendent, I work for five elected board members. They seldom agreed on where we had been or…
Tertiary Education in the US is Broken
Nicholas Kristof After the host announced that student debt in the U.S. topped $1 trillion, columnist Nicholas Kristof told CNN this morning that “Tertiary education in the US is broken.” Sal Khan explained how the old formula—get a degree, get a good job, have a good life—is…
Stumbling around in the dark
Rocky Point, Poverty Bay WA The last few nights have been cool and clear with a bright moon, but not this morning. The tide was low at 5am, an invitation to run on the beach instead of the boardwalk, but it was really dark. To reach a…
The old deal, the new deal, and the metrics
I don’t know about you, but I’m not paying much attention to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) debates in Washington. NCLB, flawed as it was, represented a bipartisan commitment to equity and an end to the toleration of chronic failure. What’s going on now (this weird local…
Automated Essay Scoring in a High Stakes Environment
Dr. Mark Shermis One of our goals here is to begin to create the data abundance mindset in U.S. K-12–prepping for policies and practices informed by big data surrounding anywhere anytime learning. To that end, we like to highlight interesting projects and proposals–and we have a good one…
It’s Complicated
From the movie It's Complicated An early reader of my book, Getting Smart, didn’t think I described the practical difficulties of using technology to improve education. Fair enough. I didn’t set out to write about the problems, I wrote about the promise. I attempted to simply state…
6 Reasons EdLeaders Should Let Kids Bring Devices to School
Bans on student use of mobile devices exist for some good reasons—kids use them inappropriately at school and there are safety and security concerns. So why bother considering a change? There are six reasons to consider BYOD. Digital natives learn and live with technology. Most have and bring devices…
Good Work: Horrible Bosses
In an ego-centered culture, wants become needs (maybe even duties), the self replaces the soul, and human life degenerates into the clamor of competing autobiographies. -Cornelius Plantinga, Jr. We all work with some real jerks. It can make it miserable to go to work. It’s a widespread problem and…
Bay Area Leading the Learning Revolution
Computers, then smart phones, then tablets changed how we engaged the world. Medical technology extended and entertainment technology enriched our lives. Energy saving technology made our lifestyles more sustainable. Bay Area entrepreneurs developed many of these disruptive technologies. New York and Boston are home to the publishers; metro…
Jeb Bush: A Real Shot at Quality at Scale
Jeb Bush supports digital learning “Because it’s the best chance we have to promote rising student achievement at the most rapid rate possible.” Bush delivered a rousing lunch speech at Philanthropy Roundtable’s Technology & the Shift to Student-Centric Learning conference. Former Florida Governor Bush enumerated the unacceptable…