Tom Vander Ark shares his opinion on the top thirteen barriers facing innovators in education. The list includes little R&D in schools, limited capacity, and a compliance mindset rather than an approach of getting it done no matter what. A common theme is the fear and lack of acceptance around failure to learn. On […]
According to Edwards, “We ‘learn,’ and after this we ‘do.’ We go to school and then we go to work. This approach does not map very well to personal and professional success in America today. Learning and doing have become inseparable in the face of conditions that invite us to discover.” Edwards posits that the key change […]
Alexis Wiggins shares the self-proclaimed terrible mistake she made – waiting so long to shadow students at her school. Wiggins shares her experience of seeing the school day through her students’ eyes. She has three key takeaways and many changes she would make in her classroom immediately from developing empathy with students Have you shadowed […]
“A Lesson In How Teachers Became ‘Resented and Idealized’” by Dana Goldstein on NPR discusses the controversial role of teachers and their close connections to the development of social movements over the last 200 years. She also highlights the importance and value of keeping innovative educators in the field – we agree! Her book, “The […]
Many students today feel pulled between the traditional college route and what is perceived as the more exciting startup world. What ideas can colleges steal from their competition – startups – in order to better engage students? Brennan suggests building team through collaboration and helping alumni stay sharp through continued engagement are a few.
MIT has a reputation as one of the most innovative higher education institutions; it is continually pushing to reinventing itself. Here are the key ingredients for innovation in higher education according to MIT – a few are “a willingness to take risks, to try something ‘crazy,’ to learn from failure and keep going” What’s the last […]
Jake Knapp of Google Ventures shares these 4 steps for combining the hacker way with design thinking. Some of these will look familiar to EDesigners who have used them to innovate for their classrooms!
In case you missed it, get the hot topics from ISTE Conference in Atlanta last month! Unconferencing, focusing in the whole student experience, the new Digital Innovation in Learning Awards (for educators, admins, and edtech orgs!), and the best apps of the moment are just a few of the conversations these 18,000 educators engaged in […]
If you’re not directly involved in schools or innovation, you can still help shape education innovation. 60 civic hackers, developers, and students are working on the Mass EduData Challenge in Boston. Parham, Government Innovation Officer for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, shared school data with those he believes are most suited to analyze it — hackers. “We […]
Researchers are beginning to document a digital Matthew Effect (the tendency for early advantages to multiply over time) in regards to learning with technology and the achievement gap. Access to technology alone does not level the playing field – it’s guidance and scaffolding by adults or mentors that really lead to meaningful educational gains with technology. Annie Murphy […]