Christensen’s Curve & The Digital Learning Revolution
In the prophetic Disrupting Class: How Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns (2008, 2011), Clayton Christensen argued that innovations in technology will proliferate in the 21st century, generate “student-centric” forms of digital learning, create customized learning for the individual, and provide innovative alternatives to traditional teaching and learning tools.
Lease vs. Buy
Schools considering 1:1 use of $500 laptops can make the full shift using leasing or phase in a purchase plan over three years. Here’s the key—if your school or district has the discipline to phase in a tech plan and manage an annual refresh program that is clearly going to be cheaper than leasing. On the other hand, if you want to shift the whole school (or district) simultaneously and want some certainty on your refresh schedule, then leasing is the way to go.
The Online High School Graduation That Was: My View From The Trenches
Utah Connections Academy (UCA) Inaugural Graduating Class of 2012 - eight eager faces, eyes sparkling with a sense of pride and accomplishment - for many of them an accomplishment that would not have happened without the transforming powers of digital learning.
North Carolina Should Welcome Online Schools
As a state, North Carolina should welcome more digital learning options, including online schools, that can meet the individual needs of children, rather than clinging to a one-size-fits-all model.
Q&A: Online Courses Improve PD For Educators & Schools
Alvin Crawford, CEO of Knowledge Delivery Systems (KDS), shares with Getting Smart how online professional development courses can improve outcomes for teachers, schools and more.
Q&A: Tim Knowles on Making Education an Evidence-Based Profession
It was a shocker when Tony Bryk announced that he was leaving University of Chicago for Stanford almost a decade ago. Bryk ran the best research shop the country--one known for making local observations with such clarity that they were always of national importance. UC turned to Tim Knowles, another guy that raises the average IQ in the room when he attends a meeting.
Impact investing: Where Money & Meaning Meet
Josh Cohen, co-author of white paper on impact investing and founder of City Light Capital, and I share a narrow definition of impact investing as seeking both high return and high impact. Cohen thinks it's entirely possible to have high expectations in both regards across education, safety and security, and energy and environment.
Book Review: Born to Rise
From the minute you pick up Deborah Kenny's book wrapped in star endorsements from the likes of John Legend and Hugh Jackman, you know she must be doing something right. Kenny is Founder and CEO of the successful network of public charter schools known as Harlem Village Academies.
Foundations Urged to Utilize Return-Seeking Investments as Part of Their Impact Strategy
In a paper released today, three experienced investors suggest that recent changes make it possible to produce a substantial impact and achieve market rate returns. Learning Returns: Impact Investing at the Education Turning Point, is the first paper in a series focused on accelerating and improving the shift to personal digital learning.
The Crisis in the Education of Boys
However you slice the numbers, boys are underperforming girls. Online and blended learning is making it easier and more affordable to offer engaging, challenging, and affordable pathways. The potential to personalize learning for groups and individual students holds promise for addressing the crisis in educating boys.