Posts by Tom Vander Ark
Learner-Centered Vision Will Frame Next Generation Learning
A learner-centered vision starts from the evidence that all children are naturally curious and motivated to learn. It envisions a system that adapts to learner needs and interests and supports their development of knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to thrive.
Innovative Blend Could be the Spark for South Africa
Located in between what a local school head called "up market apartments" in a converted five story office building in Johannesburg, SPARK Ferndale is an attractive and inviting facility on a tiny lot where every square meter is utilized. The first of four SPARK Schools serves 529 K-4 students in a flexible, blended model.
Match Beyond And College For America Reimagine HigherEd
Match Beyond combines College for America, an innovative new competency-based degree program from Southern New Hampshire University, with intensive coaching, academic support and jobs counseling from Match Education.
DreamDegree Offers Mobile HigherEd Platform, Affordable GenEd
DreamDegree is a cloud-based mobile platform that assesses student learning, and serves up only what the student doesn't know. The platform prompts learners each step of the way with notifications. It get’s to know the learner and their preferred communication style.
IMS Global Accelerates Adoption of Integrated Digital Curriculum
IMS Global worked with leading districts and suppliers to create a new interoperability standard, called OneRoster, to simplify the exchange of roster data by eliminating the need for multiple custom formats.
New Routes to the Classroom: Online Teacher Prep
TEACH-NOW from the Educatore School of Education is an example of innovative, learn by doing, online teacher prep and certification program that provides an interactive collaborative and efficient certification option for next-gen educators.
Toward Better Growth Measures
Better growth measures are key to the future of personalized learning and the end of heavyweight year end tests. As more students progress on personalize pathways, it is necessary to develop comparable growth rates to ensure that all students are making adequate progress.
Engagement Templates: 6 Ways to Structure Learning Experiences
Teachers might call these six lesson plan templates, but with the expanding array of professional and informal learning this is an attempt to build a broader framework applicable to impact games, meetings, conference sessions, open resources, and professional development.
Blended Learning Credit Recovery: Best Practices from iNACOL
In a new report, Using Online Learning for Credit Recovery: Getting Back on Track to Graduation, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) identifies best practices in online and blended credit recovery programs.
Utah EdLeaders Consider Competency
Co-authored with Karla Phillips. Elected officials, state board members, K-12 and HigherEd leaders gathered at Southern Utah University for a Joint Education Conference to talk system improvement and innovation. The discussions addressed five potential next steps including flexibility from time based systems, a transition to proficiency-based diplomas and anytime, anywhere learning.