youth

Teachers Are Ready for Systemic Change. Are Schools? — from edweek.org by Madeline Will
Schools need effective, transformative change. Leaders must be ready to take it on

Excerpt:

So many people in education—from teachers to U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona—have called this moment, as schools emerge from the darkest shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, our chance for a “reset in education.”

It’s a sentiment that repeatedly comes up in my interviews with teachers. They wonder if the pandemic’s disruption of schools was a once-in-a-generation chance to transform the education system, which is riddled with inequities and pedagogical practices that date back decades.

Some educators also wonder if we’re on the verge of squandering such a chance. That may be; in the rush to get students back on track, we’re at risk for overlooking many of the lessons learned from the last couple years.

“The teachers know what works,” Kelly said. “We need more people to not only listen to teachers, but we also need them to implement the things that teachers say.”

From DSC:
If the K12 learning ecosystems out there don’t change, students, families — and teachers — may let their feet do the walking. We’re seeing a similar situation within higher education, with mostly students’ feet who are starting to do the walking (to alternatives). Some employers’ feet are getting itchy to walk as well.

If you were going to weigh the power that each area holds, what would you put on the weight employers have to effect change these days? Institutions of higher education? Students and their families? Hmmm…change needs to be in the air. The status quo hasn’t been working well within K-12 or within higher education.

Also relevant within K-12, see:

Exit Interview: Why This Veteran Teacher is Leaving the Profession — from edsurge.com by Jennifer Yoo-Brannon

Excerpt:

It’s a frank and sometimes emotional conversation between Jennifer Yoo-Brannon, an instructional coach at El Monte Union High School District in California, and Diana Bell, a veteran teacher of more than 18 years who recently decided to leave the profession. They talk about what led to that departure and how teaching could change to better support educators.

Many Eyes Are on the Teachers Who Leave. What About the Ones Who Stay? — from edsurge.com by Patrick Harris II

Excerpt:

My own experience sits among countless narratives from other teachers, including teachers of the year, revealing the difficulty and the emotion behind the decision to leave a school—and for some, the choice to part ways with a system that never had their best interest at heart.

A lesser told story is the plight of the teachers who stay behind. The emotional narratives about their experiences, their feelings and the pressures they carry.

The next chapter for Learning on YouTube — from blog.youtube by Jonathan Katzman

Next year, qualified creators can begin offering free or paid Courses to provide in-depth, structured learning experiences for viewers. Viewers who choose to buy a Course can watch the video ad-free and play it in the background.
…
…to help learners apply what they’ve learned, we’re introducing Quizzes — a new way for creators to help viewers test their knowledge.”

.

DC: Something to put on your K-12 learning ecosystem radar: “A New Initiative to Tackle Education’s Big Problems”

On 09/02/2022, in Alternatives, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), change, communities of practice, Design Thinking, education, education reform, face-to-face, formal learning, game-changing environment, homeschooling/homeschoolers, informal learning, innovation, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning Experience Design, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning preferences, learning spaces, more voice more choice more control, neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, personalized/customized learning, society, traditional / tradition, United States, vision/possibilities, youth, by Daniel Christian

A New Initiative to Tackle Education’s Big Problems — from the74millioin.org by Andrew J. Rotherham
Rotherham: For all the rhetoric around ‘reimagining’ and ‘reinventing’ schooling, there’s precious little to show for it. There’s another way

Excerpt:

Instead, experts operate in silos to find solutions, reform and pandemic fatigue abound, and dysfunctional reactionary politics define various debates.
…
Beta by Bellwether, [which launched on 8/31/22], is a new initiative bringing viewpoint- and background-diverse experts together to tackle big problems and develop blueprints, strategies and tools that can help communities address structural educational problems. We’re building on our 12 years of work at Bellwether bridging policy and practice with a perspective that should be mundane but in this climate seems radical: the belief that the best ideas often lie between different perspectives and are strengthened through serious debate. No faction owns solutions, good ideas or virtue.

Bellwether.org

From DSC:
This is something to keep on your K-12 learning ecosystems radar.

Bellwether dot org -- something to keep on your K-12 learning ecosystems radar

Also see:

National Microschooling Center launches, proving ‘modern one-room schoolhouse’ is no flash-in-the-pandemic phenomenon — from reimaginedonline.org by Tom Jackson

Excerpt:

Writing for the Manhattan Institute, researcher Michael McShane lays out the framework and the appeal of microschools:

Neither homeschooling nor traditional schooling, [microschools] exist in a hard-to-classify space between formal and informal learning environments. They rose in popularity during the pandemic as families sought alternative educational options that could meet social-distancing recommendations.

But what they offer in terms of personalization, community building, schedules, calendars, and the delivery of instruction will have appeal long after Covid recedes.

Long-time education choice advocate Don Soifer concurs.

“For whatever reason, families are just rethinking the public education system,” he says. “The research is telling us now that microschooling serves 2-1/2 to 3-1/2 million learners as their primary form of education.”

Also see:

What are the components of education ecosystems when you lift the hood and take them apart? And how can they be most smartly reorganized for better future models? Thanks to @bellwetherorg @JulietSquire and team for this thought provoking undertaking. pic.twitter.com/PGCbHzVkrZ

— National Microschooling Center (@microschooling) September 1, 2022

Learning Pods Are Here, Are You In? — from schoolchoiceweek.com by National School Choice Week Team

Excerpt:

If you’ve stumbled into an education conversation or joined a parent discussion group recently, you’ve surely heard of pods or micro-schools. As families grapple with a changing education environment, some hope to find the flexibility, safety, and community they desire in small, local learning arrangements called learning pods. Whether you have your heart set on joining a pod or just want to better understand education choices for your child, we’ve broken down all types of pandemic pods here.

The State of the Digital Divide in the United States [Gallardo]

On 08/29/2022, in 24x7x365 access, adjunct faculty, adult learning, CMS/LMS, colleges, communications, community colleges, dangers of the status quo, digital learning, distance education, education, education technology, face-to-face, faculty/staff, higher education, hybrid learning, Hyflex learning, instructional design, K-12 related, leadership, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, online learning, parents/guardians, participation, remote teaching and learning, society, sociology, student-related, tools, United States, universities, user experience (UX), web-based collaboration, youth, by Daniel Christian

The State of the Digital Divide in the United States — from pcrd.purdue.edu by Roberto Gallardo

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic shed a bright light on an issue that has been around for decades: the digital divide. As parents, children, and workers scrambled to learn, socialize, and work from home, adequate internet connectivity became critical. This analysis takes a detailed look at the digital divide as it was in 2020 (latest year available), who it affected, and its socioeconomic implications by using an innovative metric called the digital divide index. It should also increase awareness on this issue as communities and residents prepare to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime investment in both broadband infrastructure and digital equity, components of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Data for this analysis came primarily from the U.S. Census Bureau 5-year American Community Survey. Additional sources include but are not limited to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Lightcast (formerly known as Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. or EMSI) and Venture Forward by GoDaddy. The unit of analysis was U.S. counties for which DDI scores were calculated 1 .

Teens Have Changed Their Higher Ed Plans — Survey Shows They May Never Go Back — from the74million.org by John Kristof & Colyn Ritter
Kristof & Ritter: COVID-19 forced HS students to re-evaluate their learning plans. If colleges want enrollment to recover, they must adapt

Excerpt:

Each of the nearly 4 million students who graduated high school this spring faces major decisions this summer. Do they want to pursue further education? If so, what do they want to study and where? How will they afford it? Will they begin working immediately? If so, are they moving out of their family home? Are they prepared for the hassles of adulthood?

According to a recent survey we at EdChoice conducted in conjunction with Morning Consult, teenagers are embracing their agency in an increasingly broad array of choices. What they told us might worry institutions of higher education — because the next generation appears less interested in the traditional college pipeline.

When a child’s anxiety looks like anger [Kessler]

On 08/23/2022, in education, Emotion, homeschooling/homeschoolers, K-12 related, learning, parents/guardians, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, youth, by Daniel Christian

When a child’s anxiety looks like anger — from raisinglifelonglearners.com by Colleen Kessler

Excerpt:

Simply put, anxiety does not always look the way we think it does in children.

When we limit the experience of anxiety to only what can be seen and combine that with the limit of emotions children are aware of, it is a recipe for the perfect storm.

Generally, children don’t recognize anxiety when they’re experiencing it. Like learning primary colors first, children are only aware of a handful of emotions they can experience. Happy, sad, afraid, angry, excited. Their emotional experiences are painted with these primary feelings, leaving them with only a few options to choose from.

Simply recognizing that the vigilance and tension he’s feeling are actually anxiety have helped my son to let go of some of the anger and fear he’d been using in an attempt to cope with the overwhelming feelings he didn’t understand.

Yale Study: Vast Majority of High Schoolers Unhappy at School — from fee.org by Kerry McDonald
The Yale findings echo previous conclusions about young people’s attitudes toward school.

Excerpt:

Most high school students are not happy at school. A new study by Yale researchers finds that nearly three-quarters of high schoolers report negative feelings toward school. The study surveyed more than 20,000 high school students in all 50 US states and found widespread dissatisfaction at school across all demographic groups, with girls reporting slightly more negative emotions than boys. According to Yale co-author Zorana Ivcevic,

It was higher than we expected. We know from talking to students that they are feeling tired, stressed, and bored, but were surprised by how overwhelming it was.

From DSC:
If you were to have polled him during his ninth through eleventh-grade years, our son would have been one of the very disgruntled students going through high school. His senior year was spent doing exactly what he wanted to be doing — and he was much happier, more engaged, and more motivated to learn the material. He was also around an entirely different student body his senior year — where students were there because they wanted to be there and they were all pursuing their craft.

Fast forward a couple of years, and he actually enjoyed a good deal of his learning experiences this summer and he’s really looking forward to his film and acting classes this fall. It’s amazing the amount of energy and determination/interest that gets unleashed when the motivation is intrinsic.
.

Learners need: More voice. More choice. More control. -- this image was created by Daniel Christian

Also from fee.org by Kerry McDonald:

How Disruptive Innovation Is Accelerating the Growth of Alternative Learning Models
Disruptive innovation is reshaping how children learn and expanding access to alternative education models.

.
9 Digital Etiquette Tips — from techlearning.com by Lisa Nielsen
Teaching proper digital etiquette to students starts with modeling it

Excerpt:

It’s undeniable that the pandemic changed the way we teach, learn, work, and live, but when some people returned to in-person learning and their schools, it seemed they could use some advice on digital etiquette for the new, and extremely connected, world in which we are now operating. This is a world where at any time you may be meeting or teaching in-person, via video, phone, or a combination thereof at the same time.

While adapting was easier for some, others could use a bit of help. For those people, you may want to share or discuss these tips with them.

A Guide To Design Thinking For Kids — from edtechreview.in by Saniya Khan

Excerpt:

The concept is active and inclusive. What’s more, children embrace design thinking with enthusiasm. Across the globe, schools are embracing design thinking as a new way to learn and increase student participation. It should be on our education agenda. Of course, this is more complicated than standard repackaged evaluations. However, conceptual thinking gives children golden opportunities for commitment and creativity, two prerequisites for true learning.
.

How Accredible Makes Learning Credible — from gettingsmart.com by Tom Vander Ark

Key Points

To increase the value of credentials, Accredible launched Spotlight Directory.
This allows issuers to provide a home base for people that hold their credentials.

Excerpts:

Learners store credentials in their Accredible wallet and can incorporate them into their LinkedIn profile.

To increase the value of credentials, Accredible launched Spotlight Directory which allows issuers to provide a home base for people that hold their credentials. For example, the Hootsuite Certified Professionals Directory showcases everyone that has earned a Hootsuite credential.

The faster the world of work changes, the more the transcripts lose signal value and the more we need finer grained and more dynamic ways of communicating capabilities.

Tom Vander Ark

Addendum on 8/22/22:

What parents should say to teachers (according to teachers) — from washingtonpost.com by Elizabeth Chang

Excerpt:

“Parents are often surprised by stories of other parents’ treatment of teachers,” wrote Margaret Flaherty, 42, a high school English teacher at a public school in Byfield, Mass. “When I share some of the things parents have said or written to me, mouths go agape. They can be mean. Very mean. And we are so tired. Start with assuming good intentions and take it from there.”

Black architects are rare. This program plans to change that [Berg]

On 08/21/2022, in Alternatives, architecture, curriculum, education, ideas, K-12 related, society, sociology, youth, by Daniel Christian

Black architects are rare. This program plans to change that — from fastcompany.com by Nate Berg
Black Architects in the Making exposes students to architecture starting in elementary school.

Excerpt:

There should be many more Black architects in the U.S. Based solely on Census figures, about 14% of the U.S. population identifies as Black, but in a profession of more than 122,000 registered architects, the number of Black architects is far from proportional.

“We would anticipate something in the region of 17,000 architects would identify as Black. In fact, we have less than 2,500,” says Craig Aquart, a principal at the Miami architectural firm, MC Harry Associates. That comes out to just about 2%.

This disparity is what led Aquart to help create Black Architects in the Making (BAM), a program aimed at bringing architectural exposure to Black students from elementary school to high school in the Miami region.

5 Fantastic Ideas for Collaboration Projects [Gonzalez]

On 08/20/2022, in assessment, collaboration, education, education technology, ideas, instructional design, K-12 related, learning, Learning Experience Design, learning preferences, more voice more choice more control, pedagogy, student teaching/teacher education, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

5 Fantastic Ideas for Collaboration Projects — from cultofpedagogy.com by Jennifer Gonzalez

Excerpt:

One challenge teachers face in creating these opportunities is thinking up ideas for good projects. So I sent out a tweet asking for teacher-tested projects that went well and got students actually collaborating, not just dividing up the work. From those responses I chose five examples, and I’m presenting them here as broader project concepts — the goal is to give you five different options that you can customize for your content area. For each one, I’ve also offered a quick description of the technology the teachers in the examples used to facilitate their work.

The examples offered here may or may not contain equal amounts of criticality and agency; they were not submitted with those ideas in mind. I’m adding this challenge not as a commentary on the examples, but rather a nudge to get you thinking along those lines for your own projects.

Along the lines of ideas and pedagogies, also see:

Promoting Student Choice & Voice Through Meaningful Assessments — from rdene915.com by Rachelle Dene Poth

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Student choice and voice in learning are essential. It is important that we provide a variety of opportunities for our students to develop skills in ways that meet their specific interests and needs. We need activities and tools that will help students to develop content-area knowledge and skills, while also developing essential social-emotional learning (SEL) skills to best prepare them for their future.

From DSC:
I agree!

Learners need: More voice. More choice. More control. -- this image was created by Daniel Christian

Impatient for workers, businesses help students take college shortcuts — from hechingerreport.org by Lilah Burke
Employers and states are adding faster-paced skills training for people who want to forgo college

Excerpt:

It’s part of an accelerating movement of noncredit, short-term training programs, not just in technology, but in many fields for which students are impatient for jobs and employers for workers who want to leapfrog their way to careers — and do it without necessarily spending the years and money it takes to earn a university degree.

These are among the ways “employers are creating the solutions they need in order to deal with their talent demands,” said Bridgette Gray, chief customer officer at Opportunity@Work, a nonprofit that encourages employers to hire more people without degrees.

Now some companies, motivated by a mix of corporate social responsibility and the need for talent, are edging toward a new model in which they create their own, or hire from other, training programs.

Mindful Leadership for Change — from gettingsmart.com by Rebecca Midles

Key Points

This blog builds upon Framing and Designing the How.
It digs into strategies for determining the ideal pace for implementation of innovation.

Also from gettingsmart.com, see:

States Partner on Micro-Credentials to Personalize Teacher Learning — from gettingsmart.com by Tom Vander Ark

Key Points

In 2020, more than 2000 educators earned more than 4000 micro-credentials.
Schools and systems adopted this new approach to give teachers more voice and choice in their learning.

Brief reflections on “Brands Are Already Making Millions in the Metaverse. Here’s What Business Owners Need To Know.” [Sherry]

On 07/29/2022, in art, attention, business, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, communities of practice, content development, aggregation, repositories, creativity, education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, Emotion, engagement / engaging students, experimentation, global / globalization, immersion, innovation, instructional design, interaction design, interactivity, K-12 related, Learning Experience Design, learning spaces, maker movement, marketing/social marketing, marketplaces, Metaverse, student-related, teachers, technologies for your home, United States, user experience (UX), vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, web-based collaboration, XR - extended reality, youth, by Daniel Christian

Brands Are Already Making Millions in the Metaverse. Here’s What Business Owners Need To Know. — from inc.com by Ben Sherry
Entrepreneurs who follow Gen-Z into the metaverse could gain a competitive advantage.

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

If you’re still skeptical about the metaverse, you certainly aren’t alone. According to a recent survey, 55 percent of adults with yearly incomes over $100,000 said they were not interested or excited about the concept, while 37 percent said they were primarily worried about it. Only 6 percent of respondents claimed to be excited about the metaverse.

Those numbers might not seem encouraging, but it’s important to remember that one of the most popular metaverse platforms currently available, Roblox, averages more than 54 million daily users, the vast majority of whom are Gen-Z or younger. Those users have cumulatively spent more than $1 billion on digital items such as outfits or accessories designed to be worn by player avatars in addition to in-experience upgrades and various other paid features.

From DSC:
The article stated that over 30 million virtual worlds had been created from scratch using Roblox Studio, the platform’s creation engine. So youth are creating, sharing, and participating in virtual worlds all the time…while experimenting, playing, and practicing their creativity. This all is done outside of school. Hmm…

Providing foster children with better educational outcomes [Lynch]

On 07/26/2022, in Alternatives, Bias | Diversity Equity & Inclusion (DE&I), education, education reform, K-12 related, legislatures / government / legal, neurodivergent/special needs, parents/guardians, society, student-related, United States, youth, by Daniel Christian

Providing foster children with better educational outcomes — from thetechedvocate.org by Matthew Lynch

Excerpt:

Foster children have a difficult life ahead of them. They have a higher chance of having a bad life than the rest of the population. Adults who were in foster care as children are more likely to be homeless, jobless, and on welfare than the general population. They also have higher chances of being jailed, consuming drugs and alcohol, and having physical or psychological problems.

We owe it to them to help children grow up to be productive, well-adjusted people, and none of this is their mistake. Lawmakers and educational activists should work diligently to improve foster care children’s educational possibilities by broadening their alternatives. Foster children in the United States will benefit from higher educational attainment that will prepare them for a healthy transition to adulthood.

Learning Ecosystems

Impatient for workers, businesses help students take college shortcuts [Burke]

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