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From DSC:
For those of us in more traditional institutions of higher education, if this is where things are heading — or even if pieces of Anya’s presentation come to fruition — what is our response? Strategy?
On 03/22/2011,
in education, education reform, education technology, educational games / serious games, future, game-changing environment,
by Daniel Christian
The Education Game-Changer — from the Huffington Post by Neal Bascomb (author of THE NEW COOL, a story about science, education, and robots)
Charter schools, standardized tests, merit pay, teacher tenure — worthy topics, but ones about incremental movements in an American educational system desperate for a game-changer.
…
A noble ambition, but the truth is we already have the technology to transform education and return American schools to their preeminence in the world. The game-changer is the creation of a first-class, digital educational platform with enhanced, immersive lessons across a range of subjects at all grade levels. Technology will be in our schools, the focus should be on the quality of content on their screens.
For generations calculus has been taught the same way.
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Now imagine learning calculus in a new way. Color tablet computer in hand, students choose their preferred learning style (lecture-based, symbolic, text, or visual). They set their own pace and level of interactivity. They select the avatar of their choice to deliver lectures (will.i.am, anyone) and how often they need to be quizzed to determine/aid retention. The standards of what is taught do not change, but their presentation is remarkably transformed. Instead of a blur of equations and two-dimensional graphs, imagine calculus illustrated with 3-D animations and defined in terms of its real-world applications. Solving a differential equation to determine trajectory is a lot more interesting if we make it about a doomsday scenario of an asteroid crashing into Earth — or just missing. Such video game-like techniques would be part and parcel of this new platform. Add in a social network, where students can interact with their peers, and an “app” market where experts offer their own pieces of the puzzle, and this platform comes even more alive.
On 03/21/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, education reform, education technology, future, personalized/customized learning, strategy, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
Customized Schooling — from edweek.org by Rick Hess
Excerpt:
So, if you’re ready to get your geek on, have I got a treat for you. Harvard Education Press has just published Customized Schooling: Beyond Whole-School Reform. The book, edited by Bruno Manno and [Rick Hess], is an attempt to pull together a bunch of sharp thinking on how we get past just trying to “fix” schools–or to merely give families a choice between school A and school B–and how we start to think about using new tools, technologies, and talent to transform the quality of teaching and learning.
School turnarounds are a swell idea, and will occasionally work. And I’m broadly in favor of choice-based reform as a useful way to open up systems to new providers and permit schools to sharpen their focus. But these measures retain and even enshrine the assumptions of the 19th century schoolhouse, and those assumptions seem an unlikely answer to the challenges of the 21st century. (For my full riff on this score, go peruse last fall’s The Same Thing Over and Over.)
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Contents
Introduction
Bruno V. Manno and Frederick M. Hess
1 Creating Responsive Supply in Public Education
Kim Smith and Julie Petersen
2 Reframing the Choice Agenda for Education Reform
Chester E. Finn Jr. and Eric Osberg
3 The Rise of Global Schooling
Chris Whittle
4 Multiple Pathways to Graduation
Tamara Battaglino and JoEllen Lynch
5 The Evolution of Parental School Choice
Thomas Stewart and Patrick J. Wolf
6 Education Tools in an Incomplete Market
Douglas Lynch and Michael Gottfried
7 A Typology of Demand Responders in K–12 Education
Joe Williams
8 Price Competition and Course-Level Choice in K–12 Education
Burck Smith
9 The Data Challenge
Jon Fullerton
10 Will Policy Let Demand Drive Change?
Curtis Johnson and Ted Kolderie
Conclusion
Frederick M. Hess and Olivia Meeks
On 03/21/2011,
in change, Daniel S. Christian, education, education reform, leadership, learning theories, legislatures / government / legal, organizational change, pedagogy, policy, strategy, tools, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
In my recent class at Capella University, one of the last discussion board questions asked:
- Do you think learning theory should be more explicit in official discussions of policy?
What a great question! My answer was yes, as it makes sense to me to guide educational reform by what is best for the students…for learning. Hopefully, we can make informed decisions. Though I’ve learned that there is no silver bullet when it comes to learning theories, each learning theory seems to be a piece of the puzzle for how we learn. Graphically speaking:
If viewing the above graphic on the Learning Ecosystems blog (vs. in an RSS feed/reader):
You may need to right-click on the above image and save it, then open it.
Such theories should have a place when policies are drafted, when changes are made. But I don’t often hear reference to the work of Thorndike, Bandura, Vygotsky, Gagne, Kolb, etc. when legislative bodies/school boards/or other forms of educational leadership are exploring future changes, directions, strategies. What is it that these people were trying to relay to us? What value can we gleam from them when we form our visions of the future? How does their work inform our selection of pedagogies, tools, organizational changes?
On 03/17/2011,
in creativity, education, education reform, future, ideas, innovation, social learning / networks, teaching & learning,
by Daniel Christian
On 03/09/2011,
in change, changing business models, education reform, emerging technologies, vendors, videoconferencing, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration,
by Daniel Christian
Notes and most of the slides from the Keynotes [11.02MB]
John Chambers, CEO, Cisco
John reflects on why he believes we are better positioned than ever, as a global community, to take advantage of the major transitions that are occurring in education and technology today.
Michael Stevenson, Vice President, Global Education, Cisco
Michael discusses the journey for 21st century learning around the world, and how Cisco is working on critical partnerships to advance education transformation globally.
Gregory B. Whitby, Executive Director of Schools, Diocese of Parramatta
Leading learning for today’s world requires a deep understanding of learners, pedagogy, content and cultural change. Good teachers positively influence student learning outcomes so every school leader has a responsibility to lead and sustain educational change.
Salman Khan, Founder, Khan Academy
There is a lot of talk of how to use technology to improve technology, but very little discussion about using technology to RETHINK education. Salman Khan will outline his path to building the Khan Academy–used by over 1 million students every month–and think through what it means for transforming what happens inside and outside of the classroom.
Gay Krause, Founder, Krause Center for Innovation
The Krause Center for Innovation (KCI) was established to design and implement innovative professional development emphasizing technology integration and STEM subjects, to support the diverse workforce needed to compete in the knowledge economy. Our programs include: (1) MERIT (Making Education Relevant and Interactive through Technology) for enhancing curriculum, pedagogy, and technology skills for educators; (2) FAME (Faculty Academy for Mathematics Excellence) for using Internet technology to support student learning in Algebra; (3) FASTTech – short technology classes to enhance software-based skills. This presentation will address what we’ve learned from our ten years of professional development experience as well as the recommended future direction for PD in order to train educators to guide students to succeed in a global economy.
Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director, Council Chief State School Officers
What do today’s graduates need to know to succeed in tomorrow’s world? In the US and around the globe there are heightened expectations for education, and the multiple attributes students need to acquire to become active contributors in a complex global society. In this session, you will learn how the Council of Chief State School Officers is reshaping American public education, through clear, focused standards, more robust assessment designs, and accountability systems; redesign of our education workforce: and enhanced and dynamic information systems.
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Notes and most of the slides from the College and University Breakout Session [9.52MB]
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On 03/04/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, education reform, engagement / engaging students, passions, personalized/customized learning, student-related,
by Daniel Christian
Big ideas from TED 2011: Letting students drive their education
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The implications of Khan’s work are nothing short of a total reevaluation of education. In a world in which the only constant is the increase in the pace of change, we simply can’t afford to give our kids anything less than an education system that actually gives them what they need to be successful.
On 03/01/2011,
in education, education reform, K-12 related, leadership, strategy, vision/possibilities,
by Daniel Christian
On 02/16/2011,
in economics, education reform, love of learning, passions, personalized/customized learning, STEAM-related,
by Daniel Christian
From DSC:
The first portions of Kelly Tenkely’s solid blog posting — 17 ways to meet individual learning needs in the math classroom — stirred up some thoughts from a training-related session I was in earlier today. Kelly writes:
Differentiating instruction can be challenging. Student’s educational strengths and weaknesses can be widely varied, making it a difficult task to meet each student’s needs in any given lesson. Math is one such subject area where student skill levels can be very different.
…
For most students, math takes a lot of practice. Unfortunately, the students who need the most practice are the most reluctant to do so because they haven’t been successful in the past. Many of these students have convinced themselves, through negative self-talk, that “I’m just not good at math.” What is a teacher to do with such a mix of skill and comfort levels in the math classroom?
Though there could be several lines of thought that I could pursue here — such as the good and bad sides of self-efficacy, personalized/customized learning, 1:1 initiatives, other — my thought process was most influenced from a training session I had attended earlier today. That session featured a video from Marcus Buckingham’s short-film series entitled Trombone Player Wanted.
Marcus asserts that there are several myths that many of us grow up with (such as our personalities change as we grow; we grow most in the areas of our weaknesses; our teams don’t need us to show up with our strengths, instead they need us to do ____). Marcus asserts that we should identify and develop our strengths (and manage around our weaknesses) — as we seek to create Win/Win situations. This perspective is consistent with my economics training that states that everyone benefits when each one of us does what we do best.
This made me reflect on the massive, systemic pressure most of our current educational environments/policies/curriculums put on students to get everyone to be at the same place. It seems like our systems stress conformity — in the goal of “level-setting” everyone.
This made me wonder:
- Why are STEM-related topics the most important topics being focused on by legislatures and policy-making bodies?
- Why do we attempt to make every child pursue a STEM-related field?
- Why do we assume that students should be interested in a STEM-related topic/course?
- What about all of the other gifts that students bring to the table?
- What if a child could pursue their own passion(s) — STEM-related or not?
I realize that there are basic skills that are very helpful for all adults — balancing a checkbook, being able to read and write, and many other skills. However, the question I started pondering today was…”At what point should we call it quits on a subject area — say that’s good enough — and then allow the students to pursue their individual strengths (rather than try to hammer out performance increases in an area they will rarely use)?”
Examples:
- Does a First Violinist in an orchestra need to know everything about Chemistry?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?)
- Conversely, does a Chemist need to know everything about Music?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?) - Does a Computer Systems Analyst need to know everything about Biology?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?) - Does a Biologist need to know everything about Computer Science?
(If not, what should they know? What is the minimum level that they should know for operations in the “real world” — really — and why?) - Etc.
On 01/24/2011,
in change, education reform, elearning, future, future of higher education, game-changing environment, New "Amazon.com" of Higher Education, online learning, online media, online tutoring,
by Daniel Christian
Survey points to radical makeover of traditional education — from free press release center
Online education is booming according to longtime online higher education pioneer, Dr. Fred DiUlus.
Excerpt:
January 23, 2011 (FPRC) — Online education is booming according to longtime online higher education pioneer, Dr. Fred DiUlus. As the founder and CEO of online university builder, Global Academy Online, he has witnessed first-hand the exponential growth of the online education industry. Traditional educators are just now beginning to seriously pull back the layers of opportunity that exist within the virtual world for today’s technologically savvy students.
Many traditionalists have complained over the years about what they perceive as the inadequacy of virtual education. They believe that somehow online education would destroy rigor and academic accomplishment if universities even dared to adopt online protocols in a major way. The father of modern management, the late Peter Drucker, predicted that schools as we know them will cease to exist in a generation replaced by their virtual counterparts.
Skeptics in higher education have long questioned Drucker’s ominous prediction. Global Academy Online’s own statistical research over the past eight years appears to bear out Drucker’s forecast contrary to what others in the field think and perhaps sooner than even Drucker expected. In 2002, the Academy began collecting statistical data from students attending traditional colleges and universities. The results of the eight-year survey are so startling that it now appears proof positive of the inevitability of Drucker’s prophecy.
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On 01/24/2011,
in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, blended learning, education, education reform, future, hybrid learning, K-12 related, leadership, online learning,
by Daniel Christian
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From DSC:
It shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows my work when I say that I think Sajan George is right on the mark! 🙂
For example, below are the main points of what I heard him say (with some graphics of my own that back up what I have been saying):
Sajan George: The Future of Education
January Series at Calvin College (January 24, 2011)
We are living in a new age, the Conceptual Age — primary skill sets that we now need are for creators and empathizers. Why? Because those two skillsets aren’t easily automated or outsourced (Sajan referenced Dan Pink’s work).
We built our education system in between the agricultural and industrial ages; mass production model was built during a much different time with different needs.
Speed and acceleration of change has greatly increased. At a phenomenal pace!
From DSC:
You may have seen me post this graphic a few times:
Sajan gave an example that focused on an older model of a coffee maker vs. a newer model: Coffee Maker 1.0 vs. Coffee Maker 2.0. Point was that we still need skills, but design, esthetic, and emotion have become more important.
Also, we live in a society that demands Coffee Maker 2.0 — but our educational systems are still offering Education 1.0. We are still batching kids by age, using a 1-to-many model, etc.
We still are offering “Education 1.0” where
- Content is king
- Collaboration is cheating
- Poor performance gets you an F – discouraging
- Teacher role = expert
…but we are living in a “Society 2.0” world
- Experience is king
- Collaboration is encouraged
- Performance is rewarded; like game designers, encouraged to try again
- Teacher and student roles are interchangeable; teacher more of a facilitator
Also, our current methods of educating students is not scalable, not sustainable!
Previous attempts at changing our educational systems have failed because they’ve been trying to fix the status quo of education! It’s a design problem.
From DSC:
You may have seen me post this graphic a few times:
Current educational system needs to be completely blown up and redesigned! We live in a digital world, yet kids sitting in analog world.
Technology that customizes learning – recommendation engines, adaptive learning; personalized/customized learning.
Online learning is scalable, sustainable – while offering instantaneous feedback. Per Sajan, “But it’s happening on the fringes; home school kids; supplemental, etc.”
Hybrid environment – hoping to nationally launch this year
- Each student gets 2 teachers
- Netbook w/ curriculum – w/ lessons loaded
- Learning management system progresses each child at that student’s pace
- Bulk is in online engine
- Teachers don’t have to lesson plan, grade, etc. – so what do they do? The role of the teacher changes to being a facilitator of learning – a coach, mentor, a guide. Can build better, closer relationships.
Use data to differentiate instruction.
Design problem in education.
Hybrid learning <– Sajan’s current work promoting this model; brings power of human interaction with the customization that technology can bring.
From DSC:
You may have seen this graphic I’ve posted a few times — that aims to capture the best of both worlds:
When trying to change things, you need a compelling vision of what you are trying to build/achieve.
From DSC:
You may have seen the vision I was trying to relay here.
From Q&A session…with a hybrid mode:
- Not labeling some kids as struggling students; teachers forced to leave some behind while trying to keep the plates spinning over there for kids who are getting it