Mistletoe and George Bailey may make this the most wonderful time of the year, but for Digital Learning Now! and the rest of the Foundation for Excellence in Education team, this has been the season for conferences, travel and exciting organizational developments.
Last week, we announced that DLN would be growing, adding staff and developing a MOOC to help build capacity with state and local leaders. This is an exciting opportunity to test theory, collaborate with leaders in every state and ensure that the strong student-centered reforms can receive the implementation and support they deserve.
Travel has taken us from Orlando, presenting as part of the iNacol Blended and Online Learning Symposium, to Palm Springs – exploring how to optimize the web to improve learning as part of the Aspen Task Force – finishing up this week in Atlanta, discussing the “State of the Union” for 1:1 policies with leaders from around the world as part of the International 1:1 Computing Conference.
But before we’re swept up in a sea of red and green yuletide cheer, we wanted to recap our favorite conference of the year, October’s National Summit on Education Reform in Boston. We may be biased, but this chance to gather with leaders from across the country and world felt special. For us, it was a chance to share to share our work and hear from the front-lines as legislators work to make the promise of digital learning a reality for all students. For attendees, this was a chance to put aside political differences, discuss what’s working and look into the future challenges and promise of education.
Digital learning was a focus of the conference, with DLN and Getting Smart hosting a special pre-summit visit to the MIT Media Labs and a roundtable discussion at the Microsoft “Nerd Center.”
Legislators toured the legendary MIT Media Lab, letting them peer behind the curtain at the future of innovation and discuss philosophical and ethical issues around the use of technology in the classroom. The MIT Media lab goes beyond conventional boundaries and disciplines, encouraging the most unconventional mixing and matching of seemingly disparate research areas. Their research has sparked innovations that led to the Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook; LEGO Mindstorms; Guitar Hero; and the One Laptop Per Child XO Laptop. During the tour, participants experienced three amazing labs:
- Lifelong Kindergarten: A lab focused on developing new technologies that, in the spirit of the blocks and finger paint of kindergarten, engage people in creative learning experiences. Turn play-do into a computer interface, empower students to create their own interactive games, stories/simulations, and teach kids how to create apps.
- Object-based Media: A lab developing sensing, understanding, and new interface technologies that can change everyday life, the ways in which we communicate with one another, storytelling, and entertainment. This is truly next-generation, science-fiction-esque projects that take the possibilities of entertainment and education to an incredible new level. 3D hologram chairs that take virtual conference calls to the next level, augmented reality to the living room TV and a room that responds to storytelling.
- Fluid Interfaces: This focuses on integrating the world of information and services more naturally into our daily physical lives, enabling insight, inspiration, and interpersonal connections. This is all about how to merge everyday objects into our digital experiences. The classroom of the future will borrow heavily from the ideas and experiments here.
After the lab, attendees then went to the Microsoft NERD Center for a focused discussion around blended learning and finance. Tom Vander Ark led a fast-paced and thoughtful discussion alongside leaders from policy and industry. It was a great chance to have a frank and uncensored discussion and lead to some practical takeaways for the legislators.
As Tom writes in his recap of the event,
“As the education landscape shifts from school as a place to learning as a service–a series of experiences that will soon be blend on online learning and local supports–I mentioned that it will be important for states to update school finance policies to Fund Options, Students, and Achievements.”
The full summit kicked off the next day, and while the strategy sessions and keynotes crackled with energy and thoughtfulness (stream all of them here), two sessions specifically focused on the challenges and promise of digital learning.
“Education’s New Normal: Mass Access to The Best Courses and Teachers in the World Through Technology” explored how massive online open courses (MOOCs) are changing the way students of all backgrounds and across the world are learning through free online courses. These courses offer the same quality of teaching found in America’s Ivy League schools, including Harvard, MIT and Berkeley. Attendees heard about the untapped opportunities and policy challenges related to the use of MOOCs in public school settings. The session included the following participants:
Moderator: John Bailey, Executive Director, Digital Learning Now!
Panelists:
- Anant Agarwal, President, edX
- Erin Knight, Senior Director of Learning and Badges, Mozilla
- Hadi Partovi, President and Co-founder, Code.org
Dr. Agarwal discussed the revolutionary ability to bring high-quality content to students in every country across the world. Partovi talked about the need to increase vital skills for 21st century jobs and Code.org’s work in encouraging states to offer computer science courses in schools. And Knight shared Mozilla’s work in developing badges that would give students the ability to increase their public display of skills and talent through verified, portable credentials.
“A Customized Education: Extreme Choices through Digital Learning” highlighted how students in an increasing number of states, including Louisiana and Utah, are benefiting from expanded choice in education. By providing options down to the individual course level, course access allows students to tailor their education to their own learning style, interests and schedule. The session included the following participants:
Moderator: Michael Horn, co-founder and executive director of education at Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation
Panelists:
- Ken Bradford, Assistant Superintendent, Louisiana Department of Education’s Office of Content
- Susan Patrick, President and CEO, International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL)
- Howard Stephenson, Utah State Senator
Bradford provided an overview of the Louisiana Course Choice program. Patrick spoke of student-driven instruction and success measures. And Senator Stephenson shared his experience in passing course access legislation in Utah. Also in attendance, a full-time high school student from Florida Virtual School shared her experience with online learning. She spoke of the added flexibility an online education has offered her, with personalized courses allowing her to advance at her own speed and learn from any location.
Make sure to check out all of the videos from the National Summit here and download our free ebook, Navigating the Digital Shift