Resourcefulness: Balefire Labs’ Evaluation Helps Teachers Find Quality Apps
By: Steve Peha. I liken Balefire to a kind of Consumer Reports for education apps. It has an easily browsable table-and-checkbox view of hundreds of apps which allows users to see at a glance which ones match up best with Balefire’s model.
Math Applications for Academically Precocious Teens
A Seattle area dad called last week because his 12 year old daughter is bored in math. I recommended a few apps and a look at the coding, robotics, DIY, and maker space for application opportunities. What would you suggest?
A Skunkworks for Schools
By: Matt Candler. With our partners at New Schools for New Orleans and Khan Academy, 4.0 Schools will scour the globe for people willing to explore new ways of doing school. After we test their crazy ideas on a very small scale, we’ll chuck the ideas that don’t work and fine-tune the ones that do. In 2016, we’ll launch what we hope will be a groundbreaking new public school in New Orleans based on their ideas.
The Future of Online Learning: The Age of Mobile-First Education
By: Rony Zarom. It’s not only students who stand to benefit from the “mobile-first, mobile-most” approach to online education. It also bodes well for curriculum innovation.
OpenEd Releases its First OER App
OpenEd uses a machine-learning based recommendation engine to align resources to standards. OpenEd also uses subject matter experts in both knowledge domains and the Common Core to validate those alignments.
BYOD: Key to Active 3 Screen Day, Not An Equity Solution
Most of us learn and work on 2 or 3 screens--students should have the same opportunity to use the right device for the right job and the right time. Sometimes a mobile consumption device is just right. Sometimes a keyboard and a 13 inch screen is the best tool for writing and editing.
Infographic: #PLearning #MakeitHappen
Feeling confused about personalized learning? Not sure what it means, what it looks like, how to implement or support it? You’ve come to the right place. We hope to answer your questions through our#plearning infographic series.
Teaching Art with Comics
Comics are a great gateway to art and drawing. Comics range in style from stick figures to realism, but they all tell a story to the reader. Hopefully you're convinced that you (and your students) don't have to be "good" or "talented" at drawing to draw comics. Drawing is a skill that can be improved with practice -- no inherent "drawing talent" required -- and drawing comics can be a great incentive to practice.
For-Profit Impact: Potentially Bigger, Probably More Diffuse
Impact investors should embrace education entrepreneurship, support R&D, and invest in education venture funds
Let’s Meet Up in Austin at #SXSWedu
SXSWedu is almost here and this year’s theme is "Unleash Your Innovation," which is exactly what we plan to do! If you are headed to Austin we want to share a few sessions where you’ll be sure to find the Getting Smart team.