EdTech
Personalized Learning
A proposal for a performance-based edu system
The fastest way to advance the concept of performance-based student progress and promote innovative school models would be to create several versions of a national performance-based online curriculum. Here’s a quick outline of one way this could work: ED and DOD (and partners) create a competition for a national merit…
Personalized Learning
Scrap credits/time as measures of progress
It’s time to scrap credit accumulation and seat time as the measures of student progress. Seat time requirements are the enemy of performance-based education. We’ve been spouting the mantra ‘vary time not learning’ for a generation but have seldom broken the mold.  It’s great to see ED and CCSSO (and…
Personalized Learning
iNACOL advancing online learning
The Virtual School Symposium, hosted by iNACOL, is Mon-Tues in Austin. Â I joined the board because 1) we’re within reach of being able to offer quality learning to every student in American and iNACOL will take us over the finish line. Â Hold out states like NY that don’t…
Personalized Learning
The blended world
Our kids already live in a blended world. K-12 is starting to catch up with a variety of models that combine the best of online learning and onsite support. Here’s 5 trends signaling a blended singularity: Schools become blended. The biggest growth area for online learning is traditional…
Personalized Learning
Big Levers
There are plenty of theories about how to improve education. Most focus on what appear to be big levers—a point of entry and system intervention that appears to provide some improvement leverage. These theories usually involve ‘if-then’ statements: ‘if we improve this, then other good stuff will happen.’ Leading theories…
Personalized Learning
Wow, DOD gets learning
Two years ago I held a learning conference. A colleague invited a couple admirals. I though it was a dumb idea, but I was blown away by their sophisticated view of human development and job training. Today I spent an hour with a defense contractor that probably runs the…
Personalized Learning
Blended Restarts
There are about 10,000 really bad schools in America. The majority are elementary schools. We know how to make them better, but it takes political will and capacity to improve them. We know less about turning around bad secondary schools. The one thing wrong with them is everything. That makes…
Personalized Learning
More on the killer app question
1. Killer field trips. Imagine taking a group of kids to the mall for a field trip. What do you think they could learn? How would your answer be different if they had a smart phone application that showed them the history, economy, demographics, and engineering of the place?…
EdTech
Rebooting Education: Technology & the Future of Learning
Philanthropy Roundtable held a one day conference on the Stanford campus. Here’s a summary of two interesting morning discussions Panel 1: Kid’s Eye View of Online Learning: Connie Yowell, Michael Horn, Susan Patrick Eleven year old Zach Bonner kicked off the Roundtable meeting with a tour of Florida…
Personalized Learning
Yowell & Hastings highlight Breakthru Learning @Google
Connie Yowell, MacArthur, opened day 2 of the Breakthrough Learning conference at Google with a powerful set of observations drawn from four years of grant making in youth media & learning: 1. kids (out of school) are learning, connecting, participating in new ways 2. schools are node on…