blended learning
EdTech
Student Spotlight: Shannon O’Conner
Hello! My name is Shannon O’Connor and I am proud to be a part of the September 2010 MAT@USC TESOL cohort. I grew up in a small town in the middle of Kansas and received my Bachelor of Arts degrees in Communication Studies and Spanish from the University of Kansas. Teaching was never on my list of career choices, but I always knew that I wanted to help people and began working in the not for profit sector upon graduation. After moving around the country several times, I was relocated to Oklahoma City, OK.
EdTech
Tom Vander Ark Talks Online and Blended Learning With ChoiceMedia.TV
Getting Smart blogger Tom Vander Ark spoke with Choice Media at the recent 2011 Excellence in Action Summit, hosted by the Foundation for Excellence in Education this October. In this short interview, Vander Ark discusses the challenges states face with policies that prohibit the development of effective online and blended learning models for students.
Personalized Learning
So, You Want to Be Governor? Here’s Your Platform
The 2012 campaign season is in full swing for national and statewide races. Gubernatorial candidates are raising money and shaping messages. Other than a few states where new drilling technology has unlocked a new round of oil drilling, most states are broke and it won’t change for years. …
EdTech
Join the Global Education Conference Live Online
The Global Education Conference, a collaborative community initiative, kicked off this week around the world and will run through Friday, November 18, 2011. The entire conference is being broadcasted online using the Blackboard Collaborate platform.
Personalized Learning
Creating Sound Policy For Digital Learning
Fordham released two important papers today as part of the Creating Sound Policy for Digital Learning series. The first, Teachers in the Age of Digital Instruction, is by the co-directors of Public Impact. Bryan and Emily Hassel are the Gladwells of education—they point to profound truths hiding in plan sight. In short, this is the best current description of the implications of digital learning on learning professionals.
Personalized Learning
Five Things Students Want Their Teachers to Know about Online Learning
Kids love having the opportunity to learn online but it’s not merely the medium or the technology that students enjoy. At the recent iNacol Virtual Schools Symposium I listened to high school students who have experience learning this way as well as teachers who have experience with these students, share some advice for making this type of learning even better.
EdTech
10 Cool Ideas at iNACOL’s Virtual School Symposium
The Getting Smart team enjoyed the iNACOL Virtual School Symposium (VSS) this last week in Indianapolis. Below, we’ve compiled a list of 10 ideas that caught our attention.
EdTech
Michael Wesch Discusses the Potential of Online Learning
Michael Wesch, Ph.D. discusses the potential of online learning if we harness it in education at the Future of State Universities Conference, which was hosted by Governor Jeb Bush, Governor Jim Hunt and Academic Partnerships in Dallas, Texas this October.
EdTech
Ed Leaders Meet to Discuss Auburn’s Kindergarten iPad Program
Is your kindergartner using an iPad for reading and math? If not, it may not be long before he or she does. Education leaders and educators across the U.S. and globe meet in Auburn, Maine this week to discuss iPads for kindergarteners.
Personalized Learning
WSJ Picks Problems, Misses the Promise of Learning Online
The WSJ ran a generally negative article this morning about full time online learning. There was some attempt to sample the breadth of the emerging digital learning landscape and the authors did point to several successful blended school models including SW Learning and Rocketship. But as past chair of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, I found eight problems with the article.