future of learning
What a state with no online options should do
There are still a few states where students can’t all or part of their learning online. Here’s three reasons it makes sense to adopt online learning policies: With the push for high common standards including advanced math and science, there simply aren’t enough qualified teachers to fill needs in many…
Learning platforms to come
The next generation of transformative learning platforms will include personalized instruction, social learning, and related services. They will integrate the functionality of learning management, student information systems, and longitudinal data systems. They’ll take advantage of the explosion of data that will come along with assessment embedded in digital content (e.g., score…
PTO: could Preferred Teacher Org provide blended services?
For years, Ted Kolderie has been talking about teacher ownership. After writing the nation’s first charter law in MN in 1991, Ted helped teacher in Henderson set up a coop and apply for a charter. Ted thinks educations should have a variety of professional options like doctors, lawyers, and…
Homework: play a game
eSchool News ran a fairly extensive piece on serious games. Here’s a few excerpts: Moving Learning Games Forward: Obstacles, Opportunities, and Openness,” by Eric Klopfer, Scot Osterweil, and Katie Salen of the Education Arcade, an MIT research division that explores games that promote learning through play,…
Learning a la carte (and how to make it coherent)
Rick Hess has laid out a market-friendly education agenda at American Enterprise Institute, something I appreciate, and recently hosted a form on the demand side of quality education. I participated on a panel; everyone else wrote a paper; I got off easy as ‘discussant’. Kim Smith, founder of…
Feds propose to make it harder to fund start ups
There is little public or private investment in innovation. As pointed out this week, federal spending on edu-R&D is a fraction of what they do in other sectors. Private investors—angel, venture, and private equity—are also leery of a fragmented market that is difficult to penetrate. It’s difficult for edu-entrepreneurs…
Edu-innovation requires investment and incentives
On Monday I attended an education technology conference—a few hundred people reviewing very simple education tools. On Wednesday I attended a military learning technology conference (I/ITSEC)—16,000 people experiencing sophisticated and realistic simulations of flying a fighter, piloting a battleship, and patrolling a village. US education and defense budgets are…
SIIA showcases edu-ventures
SIIA is holding their annual EdTech Summit today. Karen Billings kicked things off last night with a lighting round of presentations by education ventures–an interesting mixture of for-profit and non-profit organizations. The well attended session signals the growing interest from funders in education innovation and healthier market dynamics.
Racing to the top in Baton Rouge
Duncan’s Race to the Top is not simply a race to beat out other states for funding, or to pass “qualifying” language at the last minute, it is a competition to see who can work collaboratively and innovatively with real commitment to education reform. The challenge is so great…
10 biggest K-12 developments of 2010
Despite lagging state budgets, 2010 will be a year of great progress in American education. Here’s the 10 biggest developments of the year ahead: Race to the Top awards will be made in two phases to about 18 states and will set the standard for excellence in state policy. About…