Boston, MA – Digital Learning Now! (DLN), a national initiative of the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd), and Getting Smart today brought together education and technology experts, business leaders and senior policymakers to discuss the advancement of digital learning to better support students and teachers.
There is growing momentum among private and public sector leaders that digital learning can transform America’s K-12 education system. But there are crucial questions about how to use blended learning, fund new models of education, and ensure high levels of quality of content and courses.
The Digital Learning Roundtable, held prior to ExcelinEd’s National Summit on Education Reform, began with a tour at the legendary MIT Media Lab that has sparked innovations such as ebook readers, LEGO Mindstorms, and the One Laptop Per Child initiative. Participants then traveled to Microsoft’s New England Research & Development Center for discussions about blended learning and ways to effectively finance the digital shift. The event also featured a special presentation from Code.org, the nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting computer science education that has called on every K-12 student in America to join an “Hour of Code” this December.
These discussions build on the DLN Smart Series and the ebook “Navigating the Digital Shift: Implementation Strategies for Blended and Online Learning” that provide specific guidance regarding the adoption of the Common Core State Standards and the shift to digital learning.
ExcelinEd’s National Summit on Education Reform annually convenes the best and brightest from across America and around the world to share strategies to improve the quality of education for all children. In its sixth year, the event brings together nearly 850 state, national and international education leaders in Boston on October 17-18, 2013. Digital learning sessions include a keynote from Dr. Clayton Christensen – professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School and co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation – and discussions on data and privacy, online learning, MOOCs, personalized learning, and course access.
Join the Conversation!
- Follow @ExcelinEd on Twitter for the latest news and updates, and use #EIE13 to join the National Summit conversation.
- Download the official #EIE13 app to your device for information on speakers, the Summit agenda and strategy sessions.
- Watch keynote speeches and general sessions streamed live at ExcelinEd.org/SummitLive.
- Check out TheEdFlyBlog.com for the latest discussions on education reform.
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The Foundation for Excellence in Education thanks the following organizations for their support of the 2013 National Summit on Education Reform: Achiever Level: Amplify, The Dick & Betsy DeVos Family Foundation, ExxonMobil, Microsoft, The Oberndorf Family Foundation; Reformer Level: Doris & Donald Fisher Fund, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Intel, K12, Pearson, The Charles & Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, Scantron, Scholastic and Target; Scholar Level: Academica, The Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation, CharterSchools USA, Edgenuity, ETS, Morgridge Family Foundation, Renaissance Learning, ResponsiveEd, SAS, State Farm and The Travelers Companies, Inc.
The Foundation for Excellence in Education is igniting a movement of reform, state by state, to transform education for the 21st century economy by working with lawmakers, policymakers, educators and parents to advance education reform across America.
Digital Learning Now! is a national initiative of ExcelinEd, with the goal of advancing state policies that create a high-quality digital learning environment to better equip all students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in this 21st-century economy. The policy framework stems from the belief that access to high-quality, customized learning experiences should be available to all students, unbounded by geography or artificial policy constraints.