Posts by Tom Vander Ark

Leadership

Altus Institute: An Innovative SoCal Alternative

Jan 21, 2014

Altus charters have all be unanimously renewed. Students are taught by specially trained teachers in a safe, comfortable, and welcoming learning environment. Projects, advanced technology; professional, vocational and military pathways options, and tutorial support and work experience programs allow Altus teachers to maximize student engagement.

Personalized Learning

10 Resources to Promote Personalized Learning

Tom Vander Ark

Jan 21, 2014

A couple people called last week looking for advice for state and district leaders on personalized learning. Here's a recap of our conversations.

Personalized Learning

Joy & Rigor: The And-Both Solution

Tom Vander Ark

Jan 19, 2014

Is it possible to create a high-engagement school where students do interesting and relevant work and meet high expectations? Erin Mote and Eric Tucker are a smart duo developing Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School (LAB) and they think the answer is decidedly YES.

Personalized Learning

Hoover Conference Explores Blended Learning

Tom Vander Ark

Jan 18, 2014

The panel concluded that blended learning has to be a bottom up, organic adoption by teachers--a reflection of the schools and districts they represented. The panel missed the “extended reach” strategies outlined by Opportunity Culture and in the SmartSeries paper, Improving Conditions and Careers.

Personalized Learning

Minerva: Better & Cheaper HigherEd

Tom Vander Ark

Jan 17, 2014

Ben founded Minerva Project and has pulled together an extraordinary team to deliver a world class education for $10k per year--to beat the Ivy's on cost and quality.

Ed Policy

Smart Procurement

Tom Vander Ark

Jan 16, 2014

Procurement in the highly decentralized U.S. K-12 education system has always been challenging, but the explosion of web and mobile applications has compounded these challenges in the last 3 years. We are both encouraged by the investment and innovation in the EdTech sector but concerned that purchasing remains complicated and inefficient.

EdTech

13 Startups Share Dreams at ImagineK12 Demo Day

Tom Vander Ark

Jan 14, 2014

There was a full house at a Palo Alto hotel ballroom for the fifth Imagine12 Demo Day--the debut of 13 eager edtech startups. Check out our summary of the teacher tools.

Ed Policy

10 Sources of Inspiration for Next-Gen Learning Systems

Tom Vander Ark

Jan 14, 2014

Easier said than done, right? We could keep adding technology to current schools but that would just create a more expensive version of what we have.

Ed Policy

Literacy Design Collaborative Launches CoreTools

Tom Vander Ark

Jan 14, 2014

Yesterday, LDC launched CoreTools, a teacher-created online instructional platform to guide teachers through a curriculum design and professional development experience that enables them to master the instructional shifts of the Common Core.

Personalized Learning

Smart Cities: Los Angeles (part 2 of 2)

Tom Vander Ark

Jan 11, 2014

With new blends and more EdTech startups, things are heating up in the City of Angels. Catch Startup Weekend or one of the blended learning workshops.

	Beginning	Piloting	Implementing
From Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery	BeginningFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Beginning	PilotingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Piloting	ImplementingFrom Fixed Standards to Competency-Based Mastery Implementing
From One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning	BeginningFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom One-Size-Fits-All to Adaptive Learning Implementing
From Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry	BeginningFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Beginning	PilotingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Piloting	ImplementingFrom Prescribed Knowledge to Innovation & Inquiry Implementing
From Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning	BeginningFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Beginning	PilotingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Piloting	ImplementingFrom Subjects as Silos to Transdisciplinary, Real-World Learning Implementing
From Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities	BeginningFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Beginning	PilotingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Piloting	ImplementingFrom Schools as Self-Contained to Schools as Embedded in Communities Implementing
From Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment	BeginningFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Beginning	PilotingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Piloting	ImplementingFrom Standardized Testing to Meaningful Assessment Implementing
From Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets	BeginningFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Beginning	PilotingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Piloting	ImplementingFrom Institutional Ownership of Student Data to Student-Controlled Learning Wallets Implementing

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Posts by Tom Vander Ark