Feed: edReformer - AggScore: 45.4

Should corporations run publicly funded online schools?

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Private enterprise should be eligible for statewide operating contracts for public schools and programs. Private companies have the unique ability to provide quality services at scale. Private enterprise has three unique benefits compared to government agencies and nonprofits. The ability to raise and invest capital is critical to building quality content and learning platforms--investments that can easily exceed dollarsignr100 million. The ability to rapidly respond to increased demand and operate at scale is another key advantage. The third benefit is the ability to manage to outcomes--data driven decision making combined with operational flexibility.

Making AP a Bigger & Better Competency-Based System

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Two million high school students took AP tests this month. AP may be the world's largest competency-based learning system. There are at least five opportunities to make it bigger and better.

Can Music Really Aid Math Learning?

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Most of us heard of the correlation between math and music – musical structures are mathematical in nature, of course, but can learning, or listening to, music really help us to learn math? Or are there specific musical techniques we can use to help our brains to process the learning techniques involved in decoding math problems?

Q&A: Classroom Coding Creates Trajectory Toward Career Application

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Educator Chris Bartlo at Wilson High School in Portland, Ore. joins us today to discuss the programs at his school and the importance of computer science for students’ futures.

From Chronology to Competency

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This competency-based stuff sounds logical—kids should learn what they’re supposed to learn and show what they know—but tradition runs pretty deep. Parents that want their kid to have the best shot at a good college believe grade point is everything and they want junior to have the ability to earn that A with a little extra credit. The shift to competency rather than chronology as the foundational element of our education system is a more complicated shift than the tradition to digital. Here’s ten blogs on the subject of competency-based learning from the last 8 weeks.

Innovations High: Tour the Future of Education

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This May I had a personal tour of the future of education. I toured Innovations High School in Salt Lake City, Utah. I left supercharged by the potential and, honestly, a little bewildered that a traditional school district had actually created this blended learning marvel I witnessed.

The Promise & Practicality of Entrepreneurship Alliances For Students

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The prospect of finding employment for the recent graduates has become increasingly more difficult and desperate in today’s economy. The majority of college and university programs are designed for students to take a job when they graduate with a degree. A much more exciting, and practical, alternative exists when those same students are able to create a job after graduation.

Good Work: A Dose of Reality

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Mission-driven organizations are susceptible to avoiding market realities. Outside consultants can help impose a dose of reality during a planning process. Organizations are a lot like people when it comes to self-evaluation. It is hardest to tell yourself the truth.

Korsmo’s EdNews Roundup: Charters in WA?

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Edsters!  Before you pack up the kiddos, unplug the toaster and forget your hiking boots here’s all the news that any terrifically ed-worthy reader will need to get through a long weekend. Charterlicious: A broad coalition that includes LEV has filed an initiative for this fall’s ballot that will lift the ban on public charter schools [...]

When Glee Meets FIRST for Coffee and Leaves With an AA

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College Board should develop CBFlex, a school-in-a-box offering featuring all the stuff in CBSchools but in a high access flex format. Imagine a school that looks more like Starbucks with a black box theater and a project lab—Glee meets FIRST Robotics for coffee. When students attend competitions, no problem, the school goes on the road. The whole school is cloud-based and completely portable.

Staff Picks: Coleman, Parent Website, Flex Schools, Writing Feedback, College Readiness

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Tom Picks “Why Coleman’s Move to College Board is Big” Tom says, “This weeks most exciting news was that Common Core co-author David Coleman will be taking the helm of the Common Core in the fall–a great thing for the organization and for America.” Karen Picks “Create a Website to Connect With Parents” Karen says, “Love [...]

10 Reasons Every District Should Open a Flex School

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Using a flex model, every community can afford to have a great high school. Every community should have a flex option that provides a fully supported individualized pathways to graduation. Every community should use a flex model to leverage local resources and meet specific needs. Every district should open a flex model so that everyone can visit and experience the future of education.

SmartTech Roundup

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Blended Schools & Tools Online learning is on its way. Results from the SREB Educational Technology Cooperative survey suggested that three-quarters of all districts in the SREB region will offer online learning options by 2015. Avoid the little spinning wheel, get more broadband now!  The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) released the new report [...]

10 Elements of Competency-Based Learning

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Students should meet learning expectations and show what they know. Competency-based systems are fundamentally different than traditional batch processing by birthday. Here's 10 elements of a blended and performance-based system.

Create a Website to Connect With Parents

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To connect with parents, your class needs to be transparent. The easiest way to kickstart this process is to have your own web site.