Scholarity has moved forward in the virtual learning world at a rapid pace this year. We have had a lot of great meetings, began the launch of our first test preparation product in India and are poised to launch even more products in 2010. We continue to expand and refine the website based on your input and recently added more on how the Scholarity education software can help math students.
This new decade will bring even more rapid changes to education. As education organizations have to find more inexpensive ways to teach students with an incredibly wide variation in knowledge and skills we know that we will be a big part of the solution.
We are looking forward to the challenge.
Have a great New Year from the Scholarity Team!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Algebra Homework Help
Scholarity is moving rapidly towards launching a homework helper for Algebra students which is pretty exciting news. As a parent one of the most frustrating things to me was that the textbook didn't have enough practice problems to really help students get comfortable wtih the material and even if there was, there was no way to see if students were on track with the problem.
The Scholarity homework helper will have some great practice problems and help on every step of the algebra problem - not just a righ or wrong answer at the bottom - but actual help throughout.
Stay tuned as we hope to have this launched in late February!
The Scholarity homework helper will have some great practice problems and help on every step of the algebra problem - not just a righ or wrong answer at the bottom - but actual help throughout.
Stay tuned as we hope to have this launched in late February!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Education Technology Progress
A pretty amazing week at Scholarity as we begin to see some amazing responses to the education technology platform we have built. We already have a partnership with an Indian test preparation provider and have two more partnerships close to moving forward. This will allow us to allow people to see a better demonstration of the power that dynamic insight technology can bring to a curriculum.
We will keep you posted!
We will keep you posted!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Online practice improves teaching
ABCTE is finding that in order to improve their program they should have all of potential teachers teach an online lesson in their subject area. This would help reinforce the subject matter, help others that might be struggling with that subject matter and give teachers some experience with online teaching. Just as all teachers now have some experience with ELL, special needs and gifted students, they will all soon have to teach a virtual class.
Now it turns out there is some research that says this is the right path according to the Chronicle of Higher Ed story: Learning from Online. Researchers at Purdue University at Calumet believe that learning how to do distance education properly can make professors better at designing and administering their classroom-based courses. It really reinforces what they are working towards.
From the article:
“Since most professors have spent their lives holding forth from the front of a lecture hall, many have not had to engineer their lesson plans with the sort of rigor required of a well-designed online course, Buckenmeyer says.When teaching online, she says, “You have to pay more attention to the navigation of the course, the clarity of the course, the objectives of the course, the reason why you’re assigning activities and assessments, [and make] certain everything is perfectly clear to the students. In a face-to-face situation, you can get by with just coming in and not having prepared and winging a class session. You can’t do that online.”
Teaching in the virtual world not only does prepares teachers for hybrid schools of the future, but will make them better teachers in a brick and mortar classroom as well.
Now it turns out there is some research that says this is the right path according to the Chronicle of Higher Ed story: Learning from Online. Researchers at Purdue University at Calumet believe that learning how to do distance education properly can make professors better at designing and administering their classroom-based courses. It really reinforces what they are working towards.
From the article:
“Since most professors have spent their lives holding forth from the front of a lecture hall, many have not had to engineer their lesson plans with the sort of rigor required of a well-designed online course, Buckenmeyer says.When teaching online, she says, “You have to pay more attention to the navigation of the course, the clarity of the course, the objectives of the course, the reason why you’re assigning activities and assessments, [and make] certain everything is perfectly clear to the students. In a face-to-face situation, you can get by with just coming in and not having prepared and winging a class session. You can’t do that online.”
Teaching in the virtual world not only does prepares teachers for hybrid schools of the future, but will make them better teachers in a brick and mortar classroom as well.
Monday, December 14, 2009
FREE
In addition to staff training on Tribes last week I spent a lot of time with the ABCTE team discussing FREE: The Future of a Radical Price by Chris Anderson who also wrote The Long Tail (Free ironically cost me $26.99 at the book store). The important premise for Scholarity is that digital content will all be free at some point. Companies that survive will find alternative ways to make money. It dovetails nicely with Liberating Learning by Chubb and Moe which claims that publishers will no longer be able to charge for digital content but will have to find ways to help students learn in order to make money. The winners will win on content delivery - not the content.
The demand for inexpensive digital content for education or for wiki-like education materials is going to radically change the dynamics of the education publishing business. It will take cutting edge concepts of digital delivery to create a new revenue stream for those who are really paying attention.
Free education content is already here and rapidly taking over the industry. It remains to be seen as to which publishers can survive the onslaught.
The demand for inexpensive digital content for education or for wiki-like education materials is going to radically change the dynamics of the education publishing business. It will take cutting edge concepts of digital delivery to create a new revenue stream for those who are really paying attention.
Free education content is already here and rapidly taking over the industry. It remains to be seen as to which publishers can survive the onslaught.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Student Customization
I was fortunate enough to attend AEI's Education Entrepreneurship conference this week. It was fortunate because it reinforces the need for more technology to create truly customized learning for every student. This has become the mantra of education reform as of late. If we don't customize and fully leverage technology, we cannot hope to advance. If you watch the conference video you will see this as a prevailing theme from many of the speakers.
And Scholarity has that customization ready - we just need some great content.
We already have a parnter in India to create customized test preparation and we are presenting like crazy here in the states to other content providers who understand this need. After the AEI conference, we have even more opportunities coming our way.
It always takes time, but customized learning is coming to students - and coming fast.
And Scholarity has that customization ready - we just need some great content.
We already have a parnter in India to create customized test preparation and we are presenting like crazy here in the states to other content providers who understand this need. After the AEI conference, we have even more opportunities coming our way.
It always takes time, but customized learning is coming to students - and coming fast.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Cyber Monday!
ABCTE is running a Cyber Monday promotion. Always great to see online programs fully leveraging the web to build their business.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Getting the blog out
Doing a little push with Technorati on the blog to boost our presence - ZRQ569JVMACQ
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Cyber Monday for Teachers
The great team we have at ABCTE continues to push the digital envelope when it comes to marketing. Since they are an online teacher training program, they are launching a Cyber Monday deal to provide a $150 discount on the full program price. Since this is a widely searched term, it once again increases traffic and sales at a time when sales are normally slow.
ABCTE Cyber Monday for teachers - just another great way to get the word out about a great program
ABCTE Cyber Monday for teachers - just another great way to get the word out about a great program
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tipping Point for Digital Texts - Teacher Approval
At the VSS2009 conference this week someone asked Pearson if they, as a publisher, were really on board with the digital revolution in learning. Of course he answered yes - but also clearly stated that text book approvals at the state level happen every six years basically creating a huge barrier for innovation in the text book arena. At least Texas has begun the process of opening the door to digital textbooks.
So in order for innovation in digital texts to happen, text book approval has to decentralize. When I first started writing this, I was going to advocate for moving it to the district. But even that doesn't make sense as rapidly as technology is changing in education.
We will have true innovation when the teacher decides what text to use. We will truly serve each student when the teacher can pick chapters, or even pages, from the texts they want in order to meet the standards for that particular subject. Then student learning can really be customized. So if teachers know what has to be taught from solid state standards and have access to great digital content, they can put together some amazing lesson plans each year.
Instead, they are stuck with a text book that was approved 5 years ago by a state board that has no idea what is going on each classroom.
So in order for innovation in digital texts to happen, text book approval has to decentralize. When I first started writing this, I was going to advocate for moving it to the district. But even that doesn't make sense as rapidly as technology is changing in education.
We will have true innovation when the teacher decides what text to use. We will truly serve each student when the teacher can pick chapters, or even pages, from the texts they want in order to meet the standards for that particular subject. Then student learning can really be customized. So if teachers know what has to be taught from solid state standards and have access to great digital content, they can put together some amazing lesson plans each year.
Instead, they are stuck with a text book that was approved 5 years ago by a state board that has no idea what is going on each classroom.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The future of online learning
Interesting session yesterday on the future of online learning. I have posted the notes I took below. The main takeaway is that explosive growth could cause problems for virtual schools if poor schools stay open. The other take away is the commoditization of virtual content as a result of the incredible growth. Schools, content providers, LMS and others are all going to have to find new ways to innovate to survive. Very exciting time to be in virtual education.
See the report here: http://www.kpk12.com/
Online Learning – issues and opportunitiesChallenges:
• Movement of online courses to district level – groundswell of districts offering their own programs in blended learning model – the challenge is finding data from those programs
• Past the novelty phase – now a real player and much higher expectation for accountability and will be forced to compare to brick and mortar students
• Getting people to understand that there really are a lot of different programs and the laws need to appreciate those differences
• Quality - how to measure, who will measure, especially with multiple delivery models• Districts is where most education reforms have to move to scale – but there are so many competing priorities that it will make it incredibly difficult
• Continual struggle with sustainability in light of drastic budget cuts at the state/district level
• Missouri virtual school lost all funding - - can this spread and is this a highlight of sustainability issues?
• Too much choice with low quality programs could be problematic delivering low cost in a tight market – will overall hurt online learning and students
Opportunities
• No K-8 supplemental and it is time and we will see this expand in the upcoming year
• More interest for supplement programs at the district level
• Florida funding creates a more stable model that more states need to look at to create sustainability
• FTE funding dollars can create sustainability
• Small rural school districts can sustain through online learning to be competitive – and without it could fail
• Giving students a choice - especially over dropping out
• ARRA – influencing education and creating choice and could provide a moveHow do we counter quality issues?
• Consumer awareness and increased data is key
• Need to say to consumers; “here is what you need to see in order to make the buy decision”
• Low cost provider may be a solution – but districts, parents, teachers all need to know what they are buying
• We don’t have enough research to say what a quality online experience actually is – we need a lot more research to test the standards
• Need longitudinal data on how students are succeeding all through school
• The data is usually 3-4 years old so it is not really applicable to the situation we have now since online learning is accelerating
Why are we holding virutals to a higher level of scrutiny than other delivery models?
• Because it is so different - - price is driving a commoditization of virtual but districts are getting much smarter, much faster and reviewing more for quality and leaving price last
• School Districts and states learning that they have to very clearly define what they want due to the number of options
• Course review processes are getting much more rigorous looking for teaching, interactivity, content and process in order to increase quality – Texas is helping define
• Not just evaluating online courses – we are evaluating a cultural shift - have to involve students since they are the digital natives
Are publishers moving with us?
• Moving from publisher to a solution provider - every dollar invested is how to get content to students through education as a service
• Pearson is looking at the world in an entirely different way
• Students may want it as a text book and virtually
• Textbook processes at the state usually keep a text for 6 years and cannot change and that has to change
What is the online learning experience?
• Constantly changing because all the ways people are using it and the report updates the definitions continuously – wont ever have a final definition
• “online learning” actually hurts us – it is using the internet to deliver instruction that carries over to all learning to individualize instruction – need to stop sticking ourselves in that box
Any progress on the seat time requirements that are hurting online schools?
• Wyoming was able to go to milestones and away from seat hours
• Michigan is fighting districts and budgets and having difficulty in this area
• Seat time and achievement – will move more towards mastery and further away from time as the main factor
Key emerging trends for online learning?
• We haven’t addressed the mobile device and we know it is what students want – might not be 2010 but in 18 months we will see mobile devices
• We will continue to see the conversation changing from what is it to how we manage it
• We will see integration into special education in much greater numbers
• We will see more states require online learning experience - MI, AL already have this
• Several different waves are coming – growth in elementary, blended learning – adults needing a high school diploma are a huge audience coming to virtual schools
• Within corporate training, we will see more cohort based collaborative learning in the corporate world
• More multiple pathways to learning – more ability to just in time resources to support the learning that needs to happen for students
• All states will finally have online learning and the discussion will dramatically change
This is the wave, the wave is coming – you either ride the wave or wipe out!
See the report here: http://www.kpk12.com/
Online Learning – issues and opportunitiesChallenges:
• Movement of online courses to district level – groundswell of districts offering their own programs in blended learning model – the challenge is finding data from those programs
• Past the novelty phase – now a real player and much higher expectation for accountability and will be forced to compare to brick and mortar students
• Getting people to understand that there really are a lot of different programs and the laws need to appreciate those differences
• Quality - how to measure, who will measure, especially with multiple delivery models• Districts is where most education reforms have to move to scale – but there are so many competing priorities that it will make it incredibly difficult
• Continual struggle with sustainability in light of drastic budget cuts at the state/district level
• Missouri virtual school lost all funding - - can this spread and is this a highlight of sustainability issues?
• Too much choice with low quality programs could be problematic delivering low cost in a tight market – will overall hurt online learning and students
Opportunities
• No K-8 supplemental and it is time and we will see this expand in the upcoming year
• More interest for supplement programs at the district level
• Florida funding creates a more stable model that more states need to look at to create sustainability
• FTE funding dollars can create sustainability
• Small rural school districts can sustain through online learning to be competitive – and without it could fail
• Giving students a choice - especially over dropping out
• ARRA – influencing education and creating choice and could provide a moveHow do we counter quality issues?
• Consumer awareness and increased data is key
• Need to say to consumers; “here is what you need to see in order to make the buy decision”
• Low cost provider may be a solution – but districts, parents, teachers all need to know what they are buying
• We don’t have enough research to say what a quality online experience actually is – we need a lot more research to test the standards
• Need longitudinal data on how students are succeeding all through school
• The data is usually 3-4 years old so it is not really applicable to the situation we have now since online learning is accelerating
Why are we holding virutals to a higher level of scrutiny than other delivery models?
• Because it is so different - - price is driving a commoditization of virtual but districts are getting much smarter, much faster and reviewing more for quality and leaving price last
• School Districts and states learning that they have to very clearly define what they want due to the number of options
• Course review processes are getting much more rigorous looking for teaching, interactivity, content and process in order to increase quality – Texas is helping define
• Not just evaluating online courses – we are evaluating a cultural shift - have to involve students since they are the digital natives
Are publishers moving with us?
• Moving from publisher to a solution provider - every dollar invested is how to get content to students through education as a service
• Pearson is looking at the world in an entirely different way
• Students may want it as a text book and virtually
• Textbook processes at the state usually keep a text for 6 years and cannot change and that has to change
What is the online learning experience?
• Constantly changing because all the ways people are using it and the report updates the definitions continuously – wont ever have a final definition
• “online learning” actually hurts us – it is using the internet to deliver instruction that carries over to all learning to individualize instruction – need to stop sticking ourselves in that box
Any progress on the seat time requirements that are hurting online schools?
• Wyoming was able to go to milestones and away from seat hours
• Michigan is fighting districts and budgets and having difficulty in this area
• Seat time and achievement – will move more towards mastery and further away from time as the main factor
Key emerging trends for online learning?
• We haven’t addressed the mobile device and we know it is what students want – might not be 2010 but in 18 months we will see mobile devices
• We will continue to see the conversation changing from what is it to how we manage it
• We will see integration into special education in much greater numbers
• We will see more states require online learning experience - MI, AL already have this
• Several different waves are coming – growth in elementary, blended learning – adults needing a high school diploma are a huge audience coming to virtual schools
• Within corporate training, we will see more cohort based collaborative learning in the corporate world
• More multiple pathways to learning – more ability to just in time resources to support the learning that needs to happen for students
• All states will finally have online learning and the discussion will dramatically change
This is the wave, the wave is coming – you either ride the wave or wipe out!
Monday, November 16, 2009
The future of online learning
Great panel discussion on the Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning report.
I kept up with the discussion on the wikispace dedicated to the event which was a good discussion. A lot of information on virtual schools.
I kept up with the discussion on the wikispace dedicated to the event which was a good discussion. A lot of information on virtual schools.
Web 2.0 in the Classroom
Here at the iNACOL Virtual Schools Symposium and it is THE highest energy education conference I have ever been to. These are the people that will transform education and it shows. Entrepreneurs working closely with outstanding educators with an incredible focus on students.
Yesterday I attended a Web 2.0 session and it was pretty cool. The number of tools available to teachers today is just outstanding. He demonstrated the following which can really bring any class to life:
GoAnimate.com - great way to animate
Xtranormal.com - text to video so cool
The Week in Rap - amazing current events
Moviestorm - 3D video
Wikispaces - great way for students to collaborate
LearnCentral - amazing teaching community
These are great ways to create improved learning – not just using technology for technology sake. And so very cool - -
Yesterday I attended a Web 2.0 session and it was pretty cool. The number of tools available to teachers today is just outstanding. He demonstrated the following which can really bring any class to life:
GoAnimate.com - great way to animate
Xtranormal.com - text to video so cool
The Week in Rap - amazing current events
Moviestorm - 3D video
Wikispaces - great way for students to collaborate
LearnCentral - amazing teaching community
These are great ways to create improved learning – not just using technology for technology sake. And so very cool - -
Friday, November 13, 2009
Online Education Expansion
Great new online education statisitcs from iNACOL just updated in time for the conference.
K-12 Online Learning and Virtual Schools Expanding Options
- K-12 online learning is a new field consisting of an estimated
$300 million market, which is growing at an estimated annual
pace of 30% annually. - 45 of the 50 states, plus Washington D.C., have a state virtual
school or online initiative, full-time online schools, or both - 24 states, as well as Washington, DC, have statewide full-time
online schools. - Many virtual schools show annual growth rates between 20 and
45% - 35 states have state virtual schools or state-led online programs.
- As of January 2007, there were 173 virtual charter schools
serving 92,235 students in 18 states. - 57% of public secondary schools in the U.S. provide access to
students for online learning. - 72% of school districts with distance education programs
planned to expand online offerings in the coming year. - 14.2 million computers were available for classroom use in the
nation’s schools as of the 2005-2006 school year. That works out
to one computer for every four students.
Scholarity is looking forward to being down in Austin and getting more great information on the impact of virtual classes!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Education Technology Fail
The “coolest education map ever” award has to go to the Leaders and Laggards report on education innovation from AEI, Center for American Progress and the Institute for a Competitive Workforce. Besides being very slick, it presents some interesting information on education innovation. It will be really cool to see if the billions spent actually move any of the state grades on innovation.
We care about technology so it is good to some of the states with strong technology in use scoring high. They used four indicators to rate states on technology and assigned a grade. The first was students per high speed Internet connected computer with 3 being the highest grade – so still not all that great. The second was an established virtual school (oh yeah!). The third was computer based assessment for students and the final indicator was requiring teachers to demonstrate technology competence (not mastery - let's just get some basic competence to start).
Only one technology fail which was Nevada. Sad as the requirements to pass were really low. A lot of states receiving a D including Washington and California - so the tech capitals of the US can’t put tech in their schools. Really sad. Other D states include Utah, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware and DC.
Hopefully this is a wake up call to these states and with all the money floating around they can at least get to average. Wow – striving for a C – that just doesn’t feel right.
Note: ABCTE just received a grant to create a course for using technology in the classroom! So give them a call to boost your tech grade.
We care about technology so it is good to some of the states with strong technology in use scoring high. They used four indicators to rate states on technology and assigned a grade. The first was students per high speed Internet connected computer with 3 being the highest grade – so still not all that great. The second was an established virtual school (oh yeah!). The third was computer based assessment for students and the final indicator was requiring teachers to demonstrate technology competence (not mastery - let's just get some basic competence to start).
Only one technology fail which was Nevada. Sad as the requirements to pass were really low. A lot of states receiving a D including Washington and California - so the tech capitals of the US can’t put tech in their schools. Really sad. Other D states include Utah, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Tennessee, Indiana, Alabama, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware and DC.
Hopefully this is a wake up call to these states and with all the money floating around they can at least get to average. Wow – striving for a C – that just doesn’t feel right.
Note: ABCTE just received a grant to create a course for using technology in the classroom! So give them a call to boost your tech grade.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Distance Learning Week
Apparently it is National Distance Learning Week! A great way to recognize the millions of students in the US who are studying online. Also kind of a nice way to build the excitement for the other online learning group, iNACOL, as they kick off their annual meeting.
Scholarity is looking forward to finding that forward thinking organization looking for a truly adaptive platform for their amazing content. Let us know if you would like a demo while you are at iNACOL.
Scholarity is looking forward to finding that forward thinking organization looking for a truly adaptive platform for their amazing content. Let us know if you would like a demo while you are at iNACOL.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
iNACOL VSS
Always love the acronyms in education. But we are pretty excited to be heading down to San Antonio for the International Association for K12 Online Learning's Virtual School Symposium. Since Scholarity has developed state of the art education software to deliver a tutor like experience for students, we will be working to demonstrate this product to some of the great content providers at the conference. If you are interested, please let us know by going through the Scholarity site.
There is some great content and some great content management and even some great delivery. Combine those with dynamic insight technology and you could rule the web.
There is some great content and some great content management and even some great delivery. Combine those with dynamic insight technology and you could rule the web.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Drupal vs Joomla a cage match
One of the toughest things to stay on top of right now is our web strategy because everything changes so fast. What worked a year ago no longer works now. Creating websites in-house made sense but now it is so cheap that doing it with contractors seems to make more sense. Right now you can have a group design and launch a new website cheaper and faster than you coudl do it on your own and you can then maintain it in-house with the great tools that exist today.
Right now we have a mini-test going on to see two things;
We are deploying the full social media push as well as everything we have learned on SEO on this site as well as revamping our core site. Very excited to track the data to see how this will impact our future online strategy.
Right now we have a mini-test going on to see two things;
- Is Joomla or Drupal better for us as an organization
- Does having a micro-site with a real purpose help traffic to our original site
We are deploying the full social media push as well as everything we have learned on SEO on this site as well as revamping our core site. Very excited to track the data to see how this will impact our future online strategy.
Friday, October 30, 2009
School budgets cutting to the bone
Budget cuts are threatening innovation and 47% of ARRA funds are not innovating – just filling holes as reported by eSchool News. I don’t think this is surprising as budget cuts hit everyone. But when you cut charter school per pupil funding and they are already funded at a lower rate than other public schools, it really hurts. They are also going after the virtual schools.
The next two years are going to be painful for innovation budgets. All the billions of dollars the feds are pouring into states and districts are just going to be used to try to stem the hemorrhaging.
As for student achievement – don’t expect much with these deep cuts.
The next two years are going to be painful for innovation budgets. All the billions of dollars the feds are pouring into states and districts are just going to be used to try to stem the hemorrhaging.
As for student achievement – don’t expect much with these deep cuts.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
$40M Reasons to Digitize Texts
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt just signed a $40 million multi year deal to sell a computer based teaching system it developed with Microsoft to connect teachers, students and administrators. It is a shift away from textbooks!
There are some texts but it mostly involves a customized interactive classroom. So in order to survive in the new world of textbook publishing, they are bringing together the best of learning management systems and content to schools.
Over at ABCTE we have an RFP for LMS and are fascinated with how many systems are out there. The group that really puts together a "best of" content, content delivery, and management will be the new leader in the business formerly called textbook publishing.
Now we just need to get them some Scholarity to create a tutor-like experience for students through software and we can really watch this take off!
There are some texts but it mostly involves a customized interactive classroom. So in order to survive in the new world of textbook publishing, they are bringing together the best of learning management systems and content to schools.
Over at ABCTE we have an RFP for LMS and are fascinated with how many systems are out there. The group that really puts together a "best of" content, content delivery, and management will be the new leader in the business formerly called textbook publishing.
Now we just need to get them some Scholarity to create a tutor-like experience for students through software and we can really watch this take off!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Kindle replaces library books!
The Kindle is coming! One school at a time is what it is going to take. But when you do the numbers, this is a financial decision that comes with so many benefits that you cannot deny the need. Our kids are digital natives who demand technology and will see getting a Kindle as already behind the times.
The next wave of textbooks/libraries will be fully interactive. So while I applaud this move by one school moving to digital libraries and textbooks, we need to really think about the next step and the book-lovers need to stop freaking out. I yearn for the day that kids no longer tote backbreaking books home every night.
As a side note, I just signed up for the iNACOL virtual school symposium in Austin – hope to see you there to learn even more about the next step in online learning!
The next wave of textbooks/libraries will be fully interactive. So while I applaud this move by one school moving to digital libraries and textbooks, we need to really think about the next step and the book-lovers need to stop freaking out. I yearn for the day that kids no longer tote backbreaking books home every night.
As a side note, I just signed up for the iNACOL virtual school symposium in Austin – hope to see you there to learn even more about the next step in online learning!
Monday, October 26, 2009
School District Spending Cuts
The school spending bubble is about to burst and the cuts taken last year are going to seem minute compared to what will happen in two years when the stimulus money is gone. Already schools are taking drastic action cutting sports, charging more for students services (now $200 for the right to park at school in Loudoun County, VA) and cutting staff. In Utah, districts sharply cut overhead positions and those who were affected went back into teaching positions putting a freeze on any new hiring. But there isn't much overhead left to cut and the numbers are going to be large - so where are the savings going to come from?
Schools don’t work like a business. If a business is faced with steep revenue reductions they look to create efficiencies in their operations to ensure that the output can improve with less cost. There are many efficiencies that teachers can realize through technology and maybe, as the cuts get even deeper, we will actually see some of these. We are already seeing California move to digital textbooks – can digital classes be far behind?
School district spending cuts don’t have to reduce student learning as long as we finally leverage technology in the classroom. I think school districts will finally be forced to blow up the current staffing model due to budget shortfalls and finally use computers in the classroom to provide truly differentiated instruction.
Schools don’t work like a business. If a business is faced with steep revenue reductions they look to create efficiencies in their operations to ensure that the output can improve with less cost. There are many efficiencies that teachers can realize through technology and maybe, as the cuts get even deeper, we will actually see some of these. We are already seeing California move to digital textbooks – can digital classes be far behind?
School district spending cuts don’t have to reduce student learning as long as we finally leverage technology in the classroom. I think school districts will finally be forced to blow up the current staffing model due to budget shortfalls and finally use computers in the classroom to provide truly differentiated instruction.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Virtual Charter Schools Held Back
NACSA held a pretty good conference here in Utah this week. A lot of talk about holding charter schools accountable including how to replicated great charter schools and close the weak. Virtual charters were a large part of the discussion since charter authorizers have to figure out ways to ensure that they can manage the growth in online learning.
That lead to some revelations on the insanity that in US charter laws. The first that obviously affects ABCTE teachers is that in some states there are requirements that all virtual teachers be state certified – sometimes at a higher percentage than in brick and mortar schools. The second is that seat time takes precedence over subject matter mastery for students.
Both are ridiculous. Online learning is supposed to fully leverage great talent regardless of geographic location. If a great physics teacher in Pennsylvania is available to inspire future scientists in Utah – they shouldn’t have to jump through hoops in all 50 states to become a teacher.
The real beauty of online learning is truly differentiated instruction. But in our system, if the student masters algebra in 3 months, they don’t get credit unless they sit in front an algebra course for 180 days.
Our laws need to help technology work to increase learning – not hold it back so that the adults can feel better.
That lead to some revelations on the insanity that in US charter laws. The first that obviously affects ABCTE teachers is that in some states there are requirements that all virtual teachers be state certified – sometimes at a higher percentage than in brick and mortar schools. The second is that seat time takes precedence over subject matter mastery for students.
Both are ridiculous. Online learning is supposed to fully leverage great talent regardless of geographic location. If a great physics teacher in Pennsylvania is available to inspire future scientists in Utah – they shouldn’t have to jump through hoops in all 50 states to become a teacher.
The real beauty of online learning is truly differentiated instruction. But in our system, if the student masters algebra in 3 months, they don’t get credit unless they sit in front an algebra course for 180 days.
Our laws need to help technology work to increase learning – not hold it back so that the adults can feel better.
Monday, October 19, 2009
Digital Texts
Having paid way too much for college text books for my daughters, I appreciate the fact that the economy is driving more schools to use digital texts. In this Washington Post article on digital textbooks, it points out that California is moving that way but meeting some resistence.
How can their be resistence when so many students are digital savvy and the current cost is so high? It is the publishers with a $7 billioni industry trying to protect their livelihoods.
In Liberating Learning the authors say that digital content will be offered for free and it is the support materials that will make publishers money. I don't think it will ever be free, but the price will come down and the support materials will be much more important.
How can their be resistence when so many students are digital savvy and the current cost is so high? It is the publishers with a $7 billioni industry trying to protect their livelihoods.
In Liberating Learning the authors say that digital content will be offered for free and it is the support materials that will make publishers money. I don't think it will ever be free, but the price will come down and the support materials will be much more important.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Florida Virtual Schools - Innosight
Another great summary by Innosight on the Florida Virtual Schools. Last year they had over 154,000 students in online learning in Florida. Having seen Gov. Jeb Bush at the Excellence in Education conference last week talk about how well Florida is doing in closing the achievement gap through all reforms, you can't help but realize that online learning has been a part of this.
Thanks to Innosight, we can keep seeing these great success stories to help make the case for more online learning so that every student has the chance to succeed.
Thanks to Innosight, we can keep seeing these great success stories to help make the case for more online learning so that every student has the chance to succeed.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Technology Catching up with Students
It really is crazy that it is taking so long for education to catch up with students when it comes to technology. A kindle costs less than some text books yet we (parents like me) still pay top dollar for books that rarely get used. Instead of full texts, why aren't professors buying sections of the text just like we buy only the songs we want from an album on iTunes?
It is good to see articles like this in the USAToday - but frustrating to see the pace so slow and the coverage only talking about a few schools.
It is good to see articles like this in the USAToday - but frustrating to see the pace so slow and the coverage only talking about a few schools.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Online education statistics
EPI Today has a great "did you know" section every day. It puts the education debate into a great factoid of the day complete with statistics. Monday's EPI article is about a USA Today article on virtual education . From EPI:
"The online education sector grew 13% last year and had been growing at about 20% in previous years. Nearly one in four students take at least some college courses online, up from one in 10 in 2002. Two million students older than the traditional 18-22 year-old undergraduates take all their courses online and two million more take one or more online course. Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults have a college degree, fewer than in many other industrialized nations. Only about 40% of Americans who start college graduate. The price of higher education, which rises by an average of 8% a year, contributes to the high dropout rate."
Lower costs improves access and improved availability could increase graduation rates. We continue to see the disruptive innovation in the university system. Let's hope it moves faster in K12.
"The online education sector grew 13% last year and had been growing at about 20% in previous years. Nearly one in four students take at least some college courses online, up from one in 10 in 2002. Two million students older than the traditional 18-22 year-old undergraduates take all their courses online and two million more take one or more online course. Twenty-nine percent of U.S. adults have a college degree, fewer than in many other industrialized nations. Only about 40% of Americans who start college graduate. The price of higher education, which rises by an average of 8% a year, contributes to the high dropout rate."
Lower costs improves access and improved availability could increase graduation rates. We continue to see the disruptive innovation in the university system. Let's hope it moves faster in K12.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
College Placement
Computer adaptive tests are coming to college placement testing. McCann has created a series to help 2 and 4 year universities place students in the right courses. It is a little sad that we cannot rely on high schools to ensure that all students are properly prepared to enter college. But we are getting the right fixes in place to make sure we get students up to speed faster.
The next step is to place these students in online courses that get them where the need to be in the most efficient and cost effective manner.
Which is why Scholarity is working so hard.
The next step is to place these students in online courses that get them where the need to be in the most efficient and cost effective manner.
Which is why Scholarity is working so hard.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
When will universities change?
Great article on online learning republished from the Chronicle of Higher Ed in Free Dominion on “Will Higher Ed be the Next Bubble to Burst?” by Cronin and Horton. The point I like best about this is it calls out the
The story highlights Brigham Young which has lowered tuition! From the article:
“Brigham Young University-Idaho charges only $3,000 in tuition a year, and $6,000 for room and board. Classes are held for three semesters, each 14 weeks, for 42 weeks a year. Faculty members teach three full semesters, which has helped to increase capacity from 25,000 students over two semesters to close to 38,000 over three, with everyone taking one month (August) off. The president, Kim B. Clark, is a former dean of the
Monday, September 14, 2009
Virtual Revolution
There was an interesting article in the Sunday Washington Post about the virtual education revolution. It is interesting because the revolution is getting a huge boost from the economy and it is puzzling to me that bricks and mortar institutions are not figuring this out at all.
Students have less money to go to school so institutions have to find efficiencies in their system or they will lose customers. At the same time, institutions are getting significantly less money from the state and feds. But we have more kids wanting to go to college. The result is more crowded classrooms and kids having to stay in school longer because the classes they need are full.
My own daughter had significant problems putting together her schedule at JMU this semester. And all I could think of was why don’t they offer more online courses so the timing wouldn’t be so difficult and it would save everyone some money. The article makes the great point that many of the classes taught are “commodities” that can be accomplished with high volume, low cost methods that virtual classes can provide.
The university systems need to wake up or they will be left behind.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Online learning scores again
Excellent piece by Matt Ladner who is becoming increasingly convinced that the only way to save education is through virtual schooling. He has a great summary of some of the data points that support the argument that education is really in the midst of a disruptive innovation. We could not agree more.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Finally Digital?
In an earlier post I reviewed the book, Liberating Learning by Terry Moe and John Chubb and pulled this quote from their predictions on the future:
Textbooks and other print resources will be free but online companion courses and tutoring will earn the money
And now we have McGraw-Hill Connect doing just that. They are producing online textbooks for college students with a host of add-ons including lecture capture, non-linear options for reading the material, instant grading and more. And the best part is that it is less than half the price.
We pay over $500 per semester for books so if every college professor provided this option it would save each college student $2,000. That is HUGE!!
So you save money, get more features, more customized learning and when the new edition comes out we don’t waste millions of trees making it far more environmentally friendly options.
Can we please get this nationwide now????
Friday, September 4, 2009
Virtual Education Making the News
The economy is driving business to online schools. Nothing surprising here but it is great to see CNBC covering it. It is not just happening in higher ed – it is a phenomenon in K-12 as well. The only amazing thing is that it has not happened faster.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Blog Carnival of Education innovation!!
The new Blog Carnival of Education Innovation is up at ABCTE - - give it a read and find out what is going on in the blogosphere. With a Scholarity posting!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Innosight primer on virtual schools
The Innosight Institute is releasing case studies of online education. Note that the Innosight team is behind the book "Disrupting Class". The first case study they released is on the Alpine School District in
I found it fascinating from a number of different points. The first is to see a school district striving to meet the needs of home-school parents by marketing a product that they want. How many school districts use business-like responses to issues affecting student enrollment? Second, it is pretty fascinating to see how quickly they are able to get a virtual high school up and running (with K12 Inc). Third is that virtual schools really can save a considerable amount of money and still get results.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Save the parents - digitze the textbook
Last week I paid $150 for a college Algebra 2 text book. There isn’t a used one available because this is the first of the new edition of algebra 2 text book because of all the radical developments going on in algebra right now – none of which I can find in any google search. With college expenses so high and technology making everything else much more affordable, why are we forced to shell out this kind of money for a basic college course?
It is 2009, our kids are used to reading everything online yet we still have new editions of college texts that they are forced to purchase. But change is coming fast and by 2012 we may be referring to text book publishers the way we talk about buggy whip manufacturers.
As Edutopia points out, economics are will drive this change. Publishers are going to have to find ways to create different revenue streams from their content. I don’t think open source will replace them but it is going to force them to radically change their business models.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The Website is LIVE!!
Please check out the brand new Scholarity website as it just went live so that you can really get a feel for what we are doing. This is 'game changing' software designed to provide a tutor-like experience for any student.
Let us know what you think! http://www.scholarity.com
Let us know what you think! http://www.scholarity.com
Sunday, August 9, 2009
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