The Difference Making series focuses on how making a difference has a emerged as one of the most powerful learning experiences we’ve observed and how in this current moment it’s never been easier, or more important, to make a difference.
Getting Smart Series
Trends at the center of innovation and equity.
We’re dedicated to identifying, exploring and furthering trends related to and affecting the future of learning. Over the last decade we’ve pursued a handful of new trends and discoveries that frequently results in books, blog/podcast series, websites, downloads and much more.
Check out some of our completed and ongoing series below — we’ve put the ongoing explorations towards the top.
New Pathways
The #NewPathways campaign is a road map for American schools, where every learner, regardless of zip code, is on a pathway to productive citizenship, high wage employment and economic mobility, and a purpose-driven life. It will also explore and guide leaders on the big advances of this decade — how access is expanded and personalized, how learning can be guided and supported, and how new capabilities are captured and communicated.
AI
For the last decade we’ve been tracking advancements in Artificial Intelligence and hypothesizing how it will impact teaching and learning. Check out our ongoing landscape analysis.
Ed3
Today, nearly every facet of the world market is exploring or building on something called Web3, the next evolution of the world wide web. This decentralized model of the internet has a huge potential to reshape learning and ecosystems through an enhanced ability to own, share, and collect information.
Green Schools
The climate crisis is the most complex challenge mankind has ever faced. It will require collaboration, shared truth and innovation at a scale that has yet to be realized. Through blogs, conversations and events we will focus on what to teach, how to teach it and how to create a climate positive school community so that our upcoming generations know what they are up against and have a shared understanding of the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Invention Opportunity
To help inform and deliver new agreements, new practices and new tools Getting Smart and eduInnovation are exploring the Invention Opportunity thanks to support from the Walton Family Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The findings and conclusions contained within are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect positions or policies of the foundations. Engage with us with #InventionOpportunity.
Difference Making
Power of Place
The Power of Place is a multi-year campaign that culminated in a book which offers a comprehensive and compelling case for making communities the locus of learning for students of all ages.
The Future of Work
The Future of Work series is dedicated to highlighting contribution and young people learning how to make a difference. In our exploration, we dive into what’s happening, what’s coming and how schools might prepare.
Schools Worth Visiting
For many years (at least until 2020), we visited about 100 leading schools a year. It’s the most important form of professional learning we do for ourselves and for the educators that accompany us. It’s how we create and update a shared vision of powerful learning.
School Networks
The School Networks series explores how formal and informal networks improve learning outcomes for students and create an opportunity for high-quality, personalized learning at scale. It also shares information on leadership, business models, governance, school supports, and advocacy to support this vision.
Project-Based World
The Project-Based World series was a year-long campaign that explored the economic realities of a project-based world as part of the equity movement to ensure all students are prepared for college, career and citizenship.
Smart Cities
The Smart Cities campaign documents how rapid urbanization has led to big problems like pollution, traffic and crime and therefore demands civic formula to dramatically boost learning outcomes and employability.
Smart Parents
The Smart Parents series share information for parents, by parents who are navigating educational opportunities + making powerful decisions for and with their students to make sure that we include one of the most essential learning stakeholders.
GenDIY
The Generation Do-It-Yourself series is a thought leadership campaign born out of a new generation building a global economy and experiences that are impact driven and entrepreneurial. It focuses on supporting this new generation creating new pathways through education into careers they love.
Smart Planet
The Smart Planet series seeks out stories from educators and organizations (around the world) addressing social justice, civil rights and equity to work to create a better world.