Posts by Tom Vander Ark
Learning Environments for the Future: 4 Tips from Randy Fielding
Randy Fielding, the founder of Fielding Nair International, a global leader in designing learning communities, sits down with Tom and shares some of FNI's design principles aligned to the future of learning.
Trade Unions Pave Pathways to Good Jobs
ASU GSV 2019 provided bold announcements on the path towards the intersection between the future of learning and work. Tom highlights two career pathway programs that will connect students to industry partners that support the transition between high school and post-secondary life.
Canvas Adds Assessment Tools, Wants to Help End The Big Test
In April, Instructure acquired MasteryConnect, a leader in formative assessment. Tom explains why this may mark the beginning of the end of standardized testing.
How $5 Billion Could Provide a Great Education for Every Kid on Earth
From developing more early college high schools to supporting the development and expansion of innovative platform networks, learn more as Tom outlines a plan using 15 investment and strategy opportunities, totaling $5 billion, to provide a great education for every child.
Minerva’s Innovative Platform Makes High Quality Higher Ed Personal and Affordable
Minerva shares that its Forum platform, which supports real-time, synchronous seminars, will be available to other programs and serve up to 400 students simultaneously. With the intent of forming partnerships, Minerva is driven to support new pathways to earn a degree and certification.
Contribution: Schools Alive with Possibility
Tom Vander Ark discusses the importance of schools providing a focus on contribution through challenges and design thinking. Students have the power to address real-world problems as they embrace complexities associated with the future of work and contribute to their community.
AI Family Challenge Introduces Artificial Intelligence, Encourages Problem Solving
With the desire to empower underrepresented youth through STEM learning, Tara Chklovski launched nonprofit Iridescent. This led to the launch of a global competition, Technovation and AI Family Challenge where families learn about AI and use it to solve a problem in their community
A Proposal to End Standardized Testing
Standardized testing and its lack of integration with formative measures, continues to receive backlash as we continue the shift to digital learning. Tom Vander Ark shares an approach on how states can develop better systems and the power of diploma networks to accurately capture whole student growth and achievement.
It’s Time to Separate Facilities From Operations
The way we build, manage and maintain public school buildings is inefficient and exacerbates some of the biggest challenges in education. It's time for us to rethink the relationship between learning programs and public facilities. Tom proposes a change to how facilities are provided for public education programming.
All Youth Deserve Performing Arts Experiences–They Promote Agency, Empathy, and Project Management
Performing arts offer opportunities for students to learn lifelong skills that go beyond performance. Theatre is a solution rich, deeper learning experience that provides opportunities for problem-solving, empathy building and project management. Read more on why these experiences matter for youth.