Topic: Learning Environments
The Heart: An Underused Tool for Digital Learning
“One of the enduring difficulties about technology and education is thata lot of people think about the technology first and the education later.” Dr. Martha Stone Wiske “The only feature that I am looking for in an #edtech tool iswhether or not it makes it possible for kids to change... Read the full article >
Reputation, Re-enrollment, Results
The late Stephen M. R. Covey, in his 2006 book The Speed of Trust, notes that in a high-trust ethos, everything is more efficient. Covey builds this theme throughout the book with the idea that leaders of organizations have the power, the responsibility and the ability to engender high trust.... Read the full article >
Suggested Reading
De-grade your classroom and instead use narrative feedback Mark Barnes, SmartBlog on Education Author of Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results in the Student-Centered Classroom (A 2013 Best Professional Book), Mark Barnes explains how he stopped grading his middle school students, instead using only narrative feedback. Barnes cites the research... Read the full article >
Deeper Learning: The New Normal
There is growing consensus in states across the nation that the primary goal of the K–12 education system is to prepare all students to graduate from high school ready for college and careers. There is even agreement that for students to be college and career ready they need the same... Read the full article >
Learning that Connects
When my daughter was a sophomore in high school and was having a rough week at school, struggling to get through her accelerated academic work, she decided to stay off Tumblr for a week. She’s pretty active on Tumblr, her social media platform of choice. When she tells me her... Read the full article >
A New Paradigm - Putting All Students in the Driver's Seat
Today’s students are more connected, more aware and more in touch than any earlier generation. They’re connected to technologies that personalize and empower independent learning. Developing skills to navigate the wealth of knowledge and resources available to them today; they often become their own best teacher. They learn to love... Read the full article >
Confronting Barriers to Learning to Help All Children Succeed
It is a daunting challenge. Across the country, states, districts and schools are carrying out systemic strategies to revamp curricula and strengthen the capacity of teachers to implement Common Core State Standards. Educators must bring students from all backgrounds and differing levels of knowledge and skills to higher standards of... Read the full article >
Student Focused Learning
Today’s education system was built to standardize the way we teach and test. This worked well when most students would progress from school to an industrial job. However, students are expected to perform more complex tasks in today’s workplace, when the current education system does not adequately prepare students for... Read the full article >
Challenges in Measuring Online School Performance
Online learning for students in grades K-12 has been available for over a decade in some states, and the number of programs offered by school systems or virtual (online)1 charter schools is increasing rapidly. Connections Education has been operating Connections Academy online schools since the fall of 2002 and currently... Read the full article >
Creating a Personalized Learning Experience
At Santa Rita Elementary School in Los Altos, Calif., a scene unfolded in 2010 not too different from scenes in schools around the country. A fifth-grade student, Jack, started the year at the bottom of his class in math. He struggled to keep up and considered himself one of those... Read the full article >