EdTech
Want to Prepare Your Kids for the Singularity? Read Jonathan Mugan’s The Curiosity Cycle
In the future your children won’t just be competing against other children, they’ll be pitted against robots and computers too. What’s a parent to do? Teach them about the best parts of being human: curiosity and creativity. Researcher Jonathan Mugan is bringing his specialty in machine learning to the nursery. His book, The Curiosity Cycle helps parents find simple ways of inspiring children to have the flexible thinking and boundless interest they’ll need to stay competitive in the 21st Century marketplace.
EdTech
IFC Backs Baring’s Indian School Network
Kosmo Kalliarekos, former head of the Parthenon education consulting practice, is quietly making a mark on global education. A few years ago Kosmo moved from Boston to Hong Kong to join his college roommate at Baring Private Equity. His first acquisition was Nord Anglia, a chain of international high schools stretching from eastern europe to China. This year they acquired a big stake in Chinese Ambow Education.
EdTech
Evaluation of Arkansas Virtual Shows Significant Growth
University of Arkansas recently conducted an in-depth evaluation on the Arkansas Virtual Academy and concluded the school demonstrated very positive academic results, "The ARVA cohort improved significantly as compared to their matched peers." Despite bad press, this and five other stories indicate strong academic results.
Personalized Learning
24 Getting Smart Blogs About Blended Learning
Twenty-four articles and posts getting smart about blended learning.
Personalized Learning
Math Wars: The Debate Between Higher-Order Vs. Rote Learning
Recently, EdSurge published a fabulous post highlighting the escalating rhetoric that the Khan Academy has inspired among math educators and edupreneurs. Sal Khan’s success has brought to the forefront a discussion that has been ongoing in academic and education circles for some time. This debate parallels the one about Common Core Math Standards exemplified by the Wurman and Wilson article referenced in a recent Getting Smart post.
Personalized Learning
Primavera, an Arizona Online Success Story
Primavera is Arizona's largest school serving more than 5000 students statewide. It serves primarily upper division students seeking an alternative pathway to graduation. Primavera has been helping Arizona students graduate for a decade. It’s a homegrown academic success story.
EdTech
Webinar: The Comprehensive Assessment Consortia
Two state consortia—Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers and the SMARTER Balanced Assessment Consortium—are hard at work putting ambitious designs in place for new assessment systems. They have released materials and will soon select contractors to build assessments and the infrastructure to support them. What do their current plans look like?
EdTech
SmartTech Roundup: Deals, OER, Tablets, & Awards
Interesting Deals Countering all the Knewton press, Blackboard launched Blackboard Developmental Education to improve student outcomes and completion rates. DevEd was developed in partnership with American Education (A+), a company acquired by K12 last year. Atlanta investor Richard Smyth spent 2010 gaining control of a public company.  Last January he launched…
Personalized Learning
Welcome to the Post Textbook World: Ten Elements
A friend asked what I thought about Jay Mathew’s post on textbooks. I thought the rear view mirror critique of a process to pick better textbooks read more like a 1982, not a 2012 discussion – and certainly not the 2015 conversation we should be having.
Leadership
Good Work: Persistence
Bill is one of the millions of people that are unemployed, underemployed, or facing employment insecurity. Folks like Bill give it their all and serve their customers or families with a smile, yet find themselves in lousy situations uncertain of their future in a plodding globalized economy. His persistence is rooted an identity as strong as the foundation of his cabin and grounded in beliefs shaped during his Jesuit education. Bill is persistent, constant to a purpose even in the face of adversity.