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| "Blow It Up" (to take things to another level) |
| posted by: Jill | May 11, 2011, 05:00 PM |
|
"Weʼre headed for radical choice–not just school choice but choice to the lesson level. Weʼll soon have adaptive content libraries and smart recommendation engines that string together a unique ʻplaylistʼ for every student every day. These smart platforms will consider learning level, interests, and best learning modality (i.e.,motivational profile and learning style to optimize understanding and persistence). Smart learning platforms will be used by some students that learn at home, by some students that connect through hybrid schools with a day or two onsite, and by most students through blended schools that mix online learning with onsite support systems. Choice between physical schools will increasingly be about the learning community they create in terms of the applications and extracurricular opportunities and guidance and support systems. Families will gain the ability to construct a series of learning experiences that fit family needs, schedules, preferences, and interests." Blow it up, Mr. Vander Ark! He has the vision! Does this prognostication provide a different scene for education than you imagined while sitting in your college education courses and teacher in-service days? Yes and no. As teachers, we help our students be as successful as possible, and that means addressing their needs. But what if student improvement requires us to change how we teach? (It will.) What if it requires us to gain additional skills? (It will.) What if it means leaving some of our learning behind and adapting different methods and roles? (It will.) Are we still on board? I say yes; to see results we've never seen, we've got to adopt practices and technologies that we've never done. Our time is now. Look at Utah. Legislators have passed a bill which allows high school students to enroll in a maximum of two online courses as part of their public schooling. Blowin' it up! And Innosight Institute reported last month that current trends indicate drastic and continual growth of the number of students participating in blended learning environments as opportunities become available. To be specific "Over 4 million K-12 students took at least one online course in 2010...and this space is growing now by a five-year compound annual growth rate of 43 percent..." Boom! In fact, while we're busy blowin' up student education like never before, let's address professional development also. It seems only natural that Vander Ark's statement apply to educators and their ongoing training. Allow me to use this post's introductory paragraph with a few slight changes directed towards ongoing teacher training. "Weʼre headed for radical choice–not just [topical] choice but choice to the lesson level. Weʼll soon have adaptive content libraries and smart recommendation engines that string together a unique [professional development] ʻplaylistʼ for every [teacher] every day...[Teachers] will gain the ability to construct a series of learning experiences that fit [their professional] needs, schedules, preferences, and interests." If we're asking teachers to learn again, then we must provide them with the same learning opportunities and choices which their students will access. So let's get to it and let's Blow. It. Up. (Hat tip to Matthew Ladner for the Vander Ark quote.)
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