Posts by Tom Vander Ark
Personalized Learning
What the Connections Acquisition Means
Pearson announced today that it acquired Connections Education, a leading national online learning provider. Â I know both companies well and think this is a great combination. Connections is another success story for Sterling Partners, backers of Laureate, Sylvan. Â Peter Cohen, President of Pearson’s School Group, came…
EdTech
Platform-Based School Development
The 1990s brought charter school laws and the New American Schools Development Corporation—both rooted in the standards-movement and based on the hypothesis that there was a better way to organize schools. New Technology High School opened by the Napa School District in 1996. With its first graduating class, it…
Personalized Learning
Why States Should Contract with Multiple Providers
The Internet has improved the public provision of services in a variety of ways and it is beginning to transform public education. The power of personal digital learning suggests that it doesn’t make sense to limit our children’s opportunity to learn to a local school or geographically defined school…
Personalized Learning
Free Post-Sec Will Put the Breaks on Spiraling Costs
Mike Feerick, Alison In the last 24 hours I’ve seen a half a dozen articles about free post secondary learning–a little anecdotal evidence that this Internet stuff may actually change higher education in America. The Independent reviews Open University and free courses offered by Stanford.
Leadership
Good Work: Living in Community
You have been given a community to nurture and be nurtured by. -Rev. Mike McIntosh An anniversary like today makes me think about diverse communities living together. A few years back I went to a school board convention in San Francisco and on the way back to my hotel…
Leadership
Why Didn’t Early College Catch Fire?
Ten years ago tomorrow Utah Gov Mike Leavitt and I sat down to breakfast with a small group of reporters to brief them on a plan for a network of six early college high schools. The briefing was cut short when the governor’s chief of staff whispered in his ear…
Personalized Learning
Excited and Concerned about the Shift to Personal Digital Learning
Based on a sample of about a hundred educators from 16 southern states, the shift to personal digital learning creates new opportunity and new concerns.  In several settings, we discussed factors accelerating the shift: Inexpensive mobile devices, learning apps The shift to online assessments led by two state consortia…
Personalized Learning
Halverson: Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology
Rich Halverson, co-author of Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology and prof at UW-Madison, kicked off the SREB EdTech meeting in Atlanta today with a provocative discussion about the difference between technology for learning (testing and data systems) and technology for learners (phone, twitter, facebook, games).
Personalized Learning
Relationships Key to High Quality Online Instruction
Last week we explored the importance of quality content but it is teachers that bring it to life. This week, Digital Learning Now released a video summary of Element #6, high quality instruction.
Personalized Learning
Richtel’s Rearview Mirror Misses the Mark
Matt Richtel wrote the rearview mirror story of the last decade—technology layered on top of how we’ve always done school yielding meager results at least when measured in traditional ways. The story of this decade is that personal digital learning will change the world. The Sunday feature…