Personalized Learning
Personalized learning is a mindset and approach to teaching that focuses on meeting each learner where they are and tailoring a curriculum that considers their interests, prior knowledge and skill level, and pace. Such a demand on the teacher requires sophisticated usage of technology in a combination of personalized, blended and online learning.
24 Getting Smart Blogs About Blended Learning
Twenty-four articles and posts getting smart about blended 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.
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.
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.
Common Core Launches Avalanche of Innovation
Common Core State Standards provide a national platform for innovation. For the first time, content developers can invest for a national market. The Core has triggered a wave of investment in engaging, personalized learning content and tools.
Collaboration, Really?
When I think of instances of true collaboration, Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir comes to mind: a blending of individual voices, each making his or her best effort to interpret the phrasing to contribute to the breathtakingly beautiful whole, all with the common goal of rendering a beautiful piece of music together. This extraordinary accomplishment suggests to me a metaphor for what we need to be doing as educators.
Competency-based Approach Can Support Personalized Learning in Ohio
Nearly 40 percent of college freshmen in Ohio need to take remedial courses because they are unprepared for college-level work. The total bill for remedial classes in 2009 came to $130 million, rising to $147 million in 2010. Remediation is most costly to students who take longer to complete their degrees and are more likely to drop out.
A Turning Point for Personal Digital Learning
Fritjof Capra is a physicist who plowed the systems thinking ground for Peter Senge and the new science ground for Meg Wheatly. He opened his seminal piece The Turning Point by noting that man always assumes he is at a turning point. As a pattern spotter,…
PBL in Primary: Making Up the Rules
This year, I have been using PBL (passion or project-based learning) in my classroom. Although language arts and math have certainly been involved, I have mainly been using the outcomes of my science, social studies and health curriculum as the focal point of my backwards-by-design planning.
Progress: 3 EdReform Stories, 3 Blended Learning Stories
Here's six interesting stories from the week. ExNext covered the rise of Khan, EdWeek featured Newfound High, and KIPP Empower has a great blended learning video. On the reform front, New York and New Haven adopt new evaluation rules, and the Common Core gets some scrutiny