Smart Cities

This book and series was created from a two year investigation project launched to discover the civic formula required to dramatically boost learning outcomes and employability. For more visit our Smart Cities book page.
Leadership

Smart Cities Spur Innovations in Learning

Tom Vander Ark

It's time to get smart; innovative tools and schools are helping; most innovations come from smart ecosystems--and it all begins with a startup mindset. We're writing the Smart Cities book--and you can help.
Personalized Learning

Austin: Great Music, Vibrant Tech, Traditional Ed

Tom Vander Ark

Compared to tech and media, Austin has been slower to develop as an EdTech hotspot. Like other cities, education innovation in Austin runs about a decade behind tech, but a strong group of leaders and organizations show great promise for innovations to come.
Personalized Learning

The Job Good Schools Fulfill

Guest Author

The job of a good school is creating the partnership between teens and adults that scaffolds this experience and recognizes the multiple ways that adolescents master these skills. While the ultimate recognition is the diploma -- “the ticket” to the next step -- students can only excel when they are sure of their skills and confident in the person they bring forward.
EdTech

Pittsburgh: University Inspired EdTech

Tom Vander Ark

"Pittsburgh is on the verge of reaching a critical mass in terms of the number of successful start-up companies, entrepreneurs, availability of local early stage capital and ability to push and pull university technologies to market.”
Ed Policy

What’s Next in Education? A New Education System

Guest Author

By: Amy Anderson. To enable this much-needed fresh start, the Donnell-Kay Foundation initiated ReSchool Colorado to design and implement a new statewide public education system that pushes the boundaries of current thought and practice to provide an exceptional education for students living in this century...
Leadership

The Importance of Culture

Guest Author

By: Katelyn Donnelly. The people you spend time with matter – because groups of people establish a culture and a set of standards for behavior that shapes the actions and thoughts of individuals within the group.
Leadership

Leadership for Education Innovation

Guest Author

By: Michele Cahill. At the heart of an ecosystem for learning is an ability to draw upon the assets of an entire city or community to support students as they grapple with the two primary tasks of adolescence: building competencies and forming their identities.
EdTech

Smart Cities: Portland, Countercultural and Interesting

Tom Vander Ark

Like other left coast metro areas, Portland is a creative hotspot. But also like left coast cities, school districts are resistant to options and innovations. State leadership on proficiency-based learning has started to get some results and it is exciting to see the ed startups begin to connect to the public school systems.