At Plymouth-Canton Community Schools’ Virtual Academy, we’ve embarked on a journey to redefine virtual learning. Our goal is to offer a flexible, engaging, and student-centered learning environment that serves our diverse student population. Central to this transformation has been our commitment to listening to our stakeholders – students, parents, and teachers – and ensuring we […]
This blog was originally published on EdSurge. When new colleagues start work at The Learning Accelerator (TLA), they’re often surprised that one of the first “required” organizational readings is actually a 2014 video called “Conference Call in Real Life.” It humorously manages to cover the slightly charming but, more so, annoying aspects of remote work, […]
This blog was originally published on the Brookings Brown Center Chalkboard. I’ll bet you’ve read something about technology and learning recently. You may have read that device use enhances learning outcomes. Or perhaps you’ve read that screen time is not good for kids. Maybe you’ve read that there’s no link between adolescents’ screen time and […]
This blog was originally posted on Education Week. One of the most valuable yet scarcest resources we have in our school systems is teacher time. Inundated with countless demands – lesson planning, preparing materials, meeting with families, after school meetings and functions, and teaching itself–teachers are left with very limited, precious time to spend on […]
This blog was originally published on the Brookings Institution’s Brown Center Chalkboard. Blended learning research is at a very interesting crossroads when it comes to interests of the public school system, nonprofit organizations, corporate entities, private research firms, and traditional academic institutions. There are several ongoing initiatives dedicated to disseminating research to practitioners with the […]
Nestled in north central Texas is Cisco Independent School District, a rural school system implementing high-quality blended learning. Those making their way across Texas on Interstate 20 are likely to compare the district to a scene from Friday Night Lights, but a closer look reveals a district fiercely dedicated to improving teaching and learning for […]
Having taught high school and middle school for almost ten years, I still have many friends who are educators and administrators throughout the country. Recently I visited a school and was able to reconnect with some of them, talk about life, and chat about education. As we caught up in the teacher’s lounge, I was […]
At this year’s iNACOL symposium, there was increasing consensus around the idea that understanding the effectiveness of blended and personalized learning in different contexts can no longer be put off into the future or left to researchers and think tanks alone. Several speakers agreed that we need these answers today and a broad group of […]
In previous posts, I illustrated to edtech developers and educators how they can contribute to our shared understanding of if, when, and how blended learning is effective through TLA’s Measurement Agenda for Blended Learning. In this post, I focus on researchers, and how their role can be expanded out of the traditional boundaries of “evidence […]
