Teachers Still Struggling to Use Tech to Transform Instruction, Survey Finds
This article documents findings from a survey that was conducted by the Education Week Research Center for the 2016 edition of Technology Counts. The results of the survey suggested that teachers, on the whole, still face systemic challenges in adapting their instruction to new technologies in transformative ways. The survey was conducted online in April 2016, with participation… Read More ›
Exhibition Night at Pittsfield Middle High School: Where Students Take Ownership of Learning
On the evening of June 9th, anyone looking for a student in Pittsfield, New Hampshire would have found all of them together in one place – at school. It was Pittsfield Middle-High School’s annual Exhibition Night, where every student in the district gathers to share something that they have learned that year. The event offers… Read More ›
Games For Change Festival
The 2016 Games for Change Festival, organized in collaboration with Parsons School of Design at The New School, offers two days of keynotes, panels, workshops, networking events, and arcades. Explore the latest impact games in three tracks of programming: Civics & Social Impact, Neurogaming & Health, and Games for Learning. For more information, visit the event page.
Positive Youth Development Institute
The Positive Youth Development Institute (PYDI) is a 2-day professional development conference that provides cutting-edge research and practical strategies to: child and youth care workers, educators, child advocates, and child and youth-serving professionals. PYDI learning sessions are categorized by grade level, ranging from early childhood to middle adolescence (15-18). The event is located in Portland, ME.… Read More ›
‘Making’ as a (Student-Centered) Approach to Learning
The White House will celebrate the National Week of Making beginning today through the end of next week (June 17-23), inviting formal and informal learning spaces to host events showcasing the power “making” has had in their communities. Makerspaces celebrate do-it-yourself interactions, creative thinking, and idea-sharing. The maker movement was first introduced by Maker Media. Maker projects… Read More ›
8 Ways Blended Districts Can Implement a Competency-Based Structure
This blog post by writer and consultant Chris Sturgis discusses how districts implementing blended learning can go further to become truly competency-based. Chris Sturgis asserts that while blended learning embraces the use of personalization, on its own, it is not the same as competency education which requires a rethinking of the traditional system to advance… Read More ›
How Misconceptions About Competency Education Could Undermine Equity
This article, the third in a CompetencyWorks series on equity in personalized learning, explores implications of the misunderstanding and misuse of terms within competency-based and blended learning. The author asserts these misunderstanding can lead to poor implementation, inequitable practices, and lower achievement. He reviews four common misconceptions, such as failing to understand the difference between “flexible pacing” and… Read More ›
What’s Next for Maker Education
This guide, “What’s Next for Maker Education” was developed by EdSurge and explores a range of maker-related topics, including: How can we help making become more equitable and inclusive? How can maker education embrace traditional technology, including computer science? What are the benefits of a maker education, and how do we measure them? Included in the guide are also tips… Read More ›
What a Blended Learning Classroom Really Looks Like: An Urban Teacher’s Reboot
This opinion piece was originally written for The Hechinger Report, June 2, 2016 Can we teach all students? In an increasingly diverse nation, I want you to consider the question. If you are not sure, it’s o.k. Now I want you to imagine a world where you would not have to do this —… Read More ›
#21STEDCHAT – Twitter Chat
We hope you can join #21stedchat (21st education chat) this Sunday, June 12, 8:00 PM EST to talk about student-centered learning. You can join the chat simply by following and using the hashtag #21stedchat. Revere High School history teacher Charles Willis (@flippedwillis) will be co-moderating the chat – tweeting questions with the hashtag and looking… Read More ›
College, Career, and Civic Readiness: The Case of the Missing ‘C’
This article by Stephen Hamilton, Dean of the High Tech High Graduate School of Education, discusses his observation of the neglect of the idea of “civic readiness” in conversations about preparing students to succeed. He asserts that if career readiness is often neglected, civic readiness is all but forgotten. He also asserts that civic readiness somehow seems… Read More ›
Defining and Visioning Blended Learning: The Learning Accelerator Goes Deeper
This article published by The Learning Accelerator (TLA), a national nonprofit organization that is, in their words, “seeking to transform K-12 education by accelerating the implementation of high-quality blended learning in school districts across the US through cultivating and funding the supporting ecosystem,” is an expansive, experience-informed vision for blended learning. Source Organization: Blended Learning Facts … Read More ›