Think big: How to jumpstart tech use in low-income schools

The challenges of rural schools are many of the same (though not all) that low-income public schools face across the country: inadequate access to technology and broadband, tight budgets, and educators who have not been trained in using technology in meaningful ways, Mind/Shift reports. But these hurdles did not deter Daisy Dyer Duerr, Prek-12 Principal of St. Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Arkansas. “Every child deserves an amazing education no matter who they are, no matter where they come from,” said Duerr, who was recently named National Digital Principal. She’s been working hard to bring new devices and related pedagogy around technology use to teachers. “If you don’t have relationships you can have every bit of tech in the world and it won’t matter,” Duerr said…

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Steve Hargadon: Escaping the Education Matrix

“We tell a story about the power of learning that is very different from what we practice in traditional models of school,” says Steve Hargadon, education technology entrepreneur, event organizer, and host of the long-running Future of Education podcast series, Mind/Shift reports. If we really want children to grow up to become self-reliant and reach their full potential, “we would be doing something very different in schools. We live in a state of cognitive dissonance.” His comments are informed by a recent cross-country tour facilitating community discussions on education, as well as more than 400 interviews he’s logged with a broad spectrum of education practitioners, analysts, and innovators…

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Should principals stop visiting classrooms?

Principals are  above all supposed to be “instructional leaders” but exactly what that means — or how to be effective in that role —  isn’t entirely clear, the Washington Post reports. Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham looks at the research on what makes for an effective instructional leader in the post below. Willingham is a professor and director of graduate studies in psychology at the University of Virginia and author of “Why Don’t Students Like School?” His latest book is “When Can You Trust The Experts? How to tell good science from bad in education.

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Ending education reform to reimagine what’s possible

According to a recent PEW Research Study, 66 percent of Americans say either that the education system in this country needs to be completely rebuilt or that it requires major changes. I couldn’t agree more. In this post, I am infusing innovation research into the education reform debate. We need to ditch the agenda to reform, and shift our focus on to creating anew. In my TEDx talk, “Go All In on Education,” I took the audience through a visualization exercise using the four images below. Most critics make the mistake of assuming that innovation does not exist in education. I can assure you that innovation exists; the problem has a lot to do with the environment and the ability for disruptive ideas to thrive. Below is an outline of two critical issues we face as it relates to the environment in education…

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Between the extremes on charter schools

As the campaigns for mayor of New York and governor of New Jersey enter the home stretch, few issues draw more heated rhetoric, the Huffington Post reports. To hear the candidates and advocates speak, you would think that charters are either the savior of urban school systems or the seeds of demise of the public school system. The truth of course is in between and a real analysis of the role of Charters should be a focus of the administration of whomever wins on November 5. To their advocates, charter schools are the true agents of school reform. If charters are not allowed carte blanche, they argue chaos will return and school systems will fall apart. Unimpeded charter school expansion is a good thing, event if it is rent-free in existing school buildings at the expense of currently operating schools…

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Introducing a new program for high schools: Digital Ready

The Department of Education and NYC Digital today announced the launch of Digital Ready, an intensive professional development and technology expansion program to help NYC public high schools use technology and student-centered learning to improve students’ readiness for college and careers, NYC Digital reports. Digital Ready connects students with NYC’s vibrant tech community to provide real-world learning experiences and to help them develop the skills to succeed in today’s digital workforce. Students gain digital literacy skills while receiving hands-on work opportunities, internship experience, and mentors from local tech companies. Teachers build digital resources into their lesson plans, use new media tools and work with partners to engage students in digital technology careers. The program has launched in 10 high schools for the 2013-2014 academic year, and will expand to 10 additional schools, including middle and high schools…

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Turning education upside down

Three years ago, Clintondale High School, just north of Detroit, became a “flipped school” — one where students watch teachers’ lectures at home and do what we’d otherwise call “homework” in class, The New York Times reports. Teachers record video lessons, which students watch on their smartphones, home computers or at lunch in the school’s tech lab. In class, they do projects, exercises or lab experiments in small groups while the teacher circulates. Clintondale was the first school in the United States to flip completely — all of its classes are now taught this way. Now flipped classrooms are popping up all over. Havana High School outside of Peoria, Ill., is flipping, too, after the school superintendent visited Clintondale. The principal of Clintondale says that some 200 school officials have visited…

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Turning education upside down

The New York Times reports: Three years ago, Clintondale High School, just north of Detroit, became a “flipped school” — one where students watch teachers’ lectures at home and do what we’d otherwise call “homework” in class. Teachers record video lessons, which students watch on their smartphones, home computers or at lunch in the school’s tech lab. In class, they do projects, exercises or lab experiments in small groups while the teacher circulates. Clintondale was the first school in the United States to flip completely — all of its classes are now taught this way. Now flipped classrooms are popping up all over. Havana High School outside of Peoria, Ill., is flipping, too, after the school superintendent visited Clintondale. The principal of Clintondale says that some 200 school officials have visited…

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Delaware Vision 2015: School leaders see some progress

What is going right in Delaware’s education system? What areas need work? And how do we improve? Those were the questions on the table at the Vision 2015 conference, which drew top education leaders ranging from lawmakers to nonprofit leaders to school superintendents and teachers, The News Journal reports. Vision 2015 is a group spearheaded by the nonprofit Rodel Foundation that seeks to make Delaware a “world-class education system.” Each year, its conference serves as one of the biggest forums for “big ideas” in education in Delaware. Gov. Jack Markell opened the conference by touting educational programs the state has put in place in recent years that he believes are doing good work, including changes to the early education system, Common Core State Standards and teacher training…

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Education reform advocate John White: We’re in danger of becoming the enemy

Advocates for charter schools, teacher evaluations and other changes to public education that have become mainstream in recent years are at risk of turning into the establishment they once railed against, warned the man at the center of Louisiana’s schools upheaval, the Washington Post reports. Louisiana State Education Superintendent John White told a crowd Tuesday at the American Enterprise Institute that he and others pushing for new ways of educating children have grown in stature and impact. “We went from small-time advocacy to seeing our ideas through the halls of Congress,” White said. “We now oversee not just classrooms but entire state education systems. Charitable foundations back our efforts. Federal programs bear our slogans.”

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EC unveils plans to make “every classroom digital” by 2020

The European Commission (EC) has unveiled plans to reinvigorate the use of ICT in European schools, including providing more free and open digital learning platforms to educational institutions across the European Union, V3 reports. According to EC-conducted research, up to 80 percent of students never use digital resources such as e-textbooks, learning games and podcasts, which the Commission says is “hampering” efforts to create a digitally literate set of future workers. It also says that 70 percent of EU teachers are looking for better ICT training. Vice president of the European Commission Neelie Kroes, who is responsible for the the EC’s Digital Agenda, said it was her “dream” to make every classroom digital by 2020. She said: “Education must be connected to real life; it cannot be a parallel universe. Young people want to use digital technology in every aspect of life. They need digital skills to get jobs. All of our schools and universities, not just some of them, must reflect that reality.”

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