Interview with Ellen Wang, Program Officer at the Nellie Mae Education Foundation
We had the chance to sit down with Ellen Wang, a program officer at NMEF and member of our Equity Leadership Team, to talk about her journey through the foundation’s strategy and equity work. Can you tell me a little bit about your background before coming to NMEF and how its shaped your own viewpoints… Read More ›
Want to Offer Internships At Your School? A Tool To Make It Easier
This article describe the online tool developed by the Big Picture Learning network to help their schools facilitate and manage internship experiences for their students. The tool, called ImBlaze, includes a searchable database of internship opportunities. Students, then use a phone app to log hours and set goals. The app also encourages more communication between… Read More ›
Center on Technology and Disability
The Center on Technology and Disability (CTD), funded by the U.S. Department of Education, is designed to increase the capacity of families and providers to advocate for, acquire, and implement effective assistive and instructional technology (AT/IT) practices, devices, and services. These technologies have the potential to help youth with disabilities better access the general educational curriculum,… Read More ›
Quality and Equity by Design: Charting the Course for the Next Phase of Competency-Based Education
This report seeks to advance K-12 competency education by examining key factors required to bring competency education to scale while ensuring quality and sustainability. Specifically, it looks at four issues: Quality Equity Meeting students where they are Policy The report incorporated feedback and recommendations from stakeholders who attended the National Summit on K-12 Competency-Based Education. It provides… Read More ›
EdTech That Connects
This free, searchable market map features edtech tools designed to connect students—to new people, supports, and opportunities. This article by the The Christensen Institute, which created the map, provides a great introduction to the tool and frames the important potential of these tools to expand students’ networks and lessen gaps in access to social capital. The… Read More ›
Reading on Competency-Based Education
This article provides a great overview of key texts to help any educator or education leader better understand competency education. The author provides suggestions for stakeholders at different phases of implementation and understandings, including: Newcomers looking to understand competency education Districts moving to the commitment stage For those looking to anticipate issues and challenges Working… Read More ›
EdSurge Fusion – Personalized Learning for the Whole Learner
Personalized learning is not just about the technology. At Fusion 2018 we will bridge the gap between theory and practice—focusing not just on technology but integrating what learning sciences, community development, and social-emotional research can teach us about the holistic picture of personalized learning in schools and districts. EdSurge Fusion brings the best and brightest… Read More ›
EdTech Connect Venture Cafe
Venture Cafe’s Ed-Tech mini-conference, “Innovation in Education & Educational Services” takes place on August 30th, 2018. This special ‘conference night’ event seeks to bring together the brightest minds who are building, funding, and innovating in the Greater Boston area’s Education Community. This event will provide opportunities not only hear the best ideas and see the latest… Read More ›
Visioning Toolkit: Laying the Groundwork for a Community-Wide Vision for Personalized Learning
This toolkit was designed to help districts include the larger learning community in the development of a vision for personalized learning. It can help district’s take the first, important step of crafting and sustaining a community-wide vision for personalized, competency-based learning. In particular it includes: Guidance on crafting a system-wide vision for personalized learning, incorporating diverse stakeholder… Read More ›
How Immigration Enforcement Policies Are Impacting Students and Teachers Nationwide
As immigration enforcement intensifies around the country, schools see the impacts firsthand on a variety of stakeholders – students, families, educators, and communities. While many of these impacts have been documented anecdotally through the news media and on social media, researchers at University of California, Los Angeles have recently published a series of papers with detailed… Read More ›
The Promises, Challenges, and Futures of Media Literacy
The Promises, Challenges, and Futures of Media Literacy addresses the “fake news” problem by evaluating the successes and failures of recent media literacy efforts. Contemporary media literacy programs–commonly organized around the five main themes of youth participation, teacher training and curricular resources, parental support, policy initiatives, and evidence base construction–have demonstrated positive outcomes, particularly in… Read More ›
Have You Ever Seen a Black Band-Aid?
As I have thought about describing my experiences with racial inequity in America, I wanted to do more than simply talk about the overt signs of bigotry we see in the headlines. It certainly would be easy to point to police violence against young black males and other sensational yet sobering news stories in the… Read More ›