Back to the Future with Tom Vander Ark

By: Joe Pazar and David Michael Slater. This piece was originally published on We’re Doing It Wrong Podcast.

Joe Pazar and David Michael Slater talk with Tom Vander Ark of Getting Smart. They look to the past when discussing Tom’s work with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, current norms regarding standardized testing as opposed to the initial vision, the intentions of NCLB, and the successes and failures of teacher evaluation changes. They also focus on the future of education by discussing the increased role of competency-based learning, blockchain universities, artificial intelligence, and smart cities.

They discuss two of Tom’s books as follows:

  1. “Better Together: How to Leverage School Networks for Smarter Personalized and Project Based Learning.” Purchase at here.
  2. “Smart Cities that Work for Everyone: 7 Keys to Education & Employment.” Purchase here.

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