Posts by Tom Vander Ark
On Learning, Productivity & Economic Growth
Advances in public health, improved economic opportunity, urbanization, technology innovation, or the expansion of democracy are all important trends. But I’d argue that, with some relation to all of these, expanded access to learning is the most important.
9 Ways Smart Machines Are Improving Your Life
Quietly and steadily algorithms have improved your life. What does this mean? Recent advances suggest that educators should be familiar with machine learning applications and implication in their field.
What Learning Will Look Like in 2035
We don’t know what learning will look like in 2035 but we can predict a wider variety of approaches and options; instead of school choice, it will be experience choice; instead of a focus on coherent school models, we’ll focus on coherent learning pathways.
Tell Your Story: Generation Do-It-Yourself Pathways for School & Career
Were you labeled “nontraditional” or “alternative”? Do you have tell the people in your life that you had to do things your own way? If so, we’d like to share your GenDIY story.
3 Smart State Approaches to Competency-Based Education
A growing number of state policymakers are excited about the potential for competency-based education (CBE) to better meet individual student needs and eliminate learning gaps that traditional time-based systems have not been able to close. ExcelinEd outlined policy advances in Idaho, Georgia and Ohio. With the benefit of a few additional posts, the following is a progress report on three states you might consider unlikely policy innovators.
6 Talent Development Tools for EdLeaders
This collection of Getting Smart resources includes several white papers, podcasts and blogs on the future of professional learning--where educators will benefit from tailored experiences, just-in-time support and portable credentials. Like students, educators deserve blended, personalized and competency-based learning experiences.
Collaborative Lesson Authoring Builds Teacher Capacity, Student Literacy in Grand Prairie
To encourage close reading and better writing across the curriculum, Grand Prairie worked with SREB to introduce the Literacy Design Collaborative, a nonprofit offering a collection of open writing prompts and a collaborative lesson authoring environment.
How Houston Schools Are Making it a Great Global City
Houston is rapidly becoming a great global city. Houston schools are a big part of the success story. So when next month when Superintendent Terry Grier steps down, he should deserve a lot of credit for his contribution to Space City.
Learner-Centered STEM: Meet Harmony Public Schools
What do you get when you mix college prep, personalized blended learning, project-based STEM learning, and a small supportive environment? You get the largest high performing school network you’ve probably never heard of--Harmony Public Schools. Introducing a new series in partnership with Harmony called "Getting Smart on Learner-Centered STEM."
Bloomboard Collections: Leading Off With Student Agency
Leading teacher development platform Bloomboard recently launched Collections of teacher resources. Collections are bite-sized resources that help educators learn how to put theory into practice. The new resource makes it easy for educators to learn, share and discuss solutions to classroom challenges.