Four Milestones For Edtech in 2014

Boulder Creek, nestled amid the great redwoods of California’s Big Basin state park, was once a logging town. In this rural outpost, pavement still gives way quickly to dirt roads. But on the edge of town, there’s a coffee shop with free Wifi, and when my errands brought me there at the end of 2013, a snaggletooth man with a bandana wanted to chat. He gestured at the battered notebook computer in front of him.

“Oh, these computers are great,” he enthused. “My son taught me all about it. I didn’t want to learn. But he made me. And I’ve thanked him several times. Why, I can get all kinds of books on this thing. And I looked up lots when I was dealing with my lung cancer.”

When old loggers remake themselves as learners, a new epoch is upon us. Call it the “learning era.” More and more of us--in the US and around the world--will make our living with our wits rather than our muscles. To do so, we will have to learn--actively and always.

And that means our framework for thinking about “learning” will stretch and bend in a thousand previously unimaginable ways.

At EdSurge, we asked leading educators, entrepreneurs, investors and others their predictions for education in 2014. You can read the full collection here. A few excerpts:

* Stacey Childress (Gates Foundation): Expects to see "personalized learning" go mainstream--and less of a "dictomy" between tech and teachers;

* Michael Horn (the Clayton Christensen Institute): Expects to see a backlash against "technology for tech's sake" -- and a thoughtful turn toward mastery based learning;

* Tom Vander Ark (GettingSmart): Expects to see a "continued surge of international edtech venture investments, particularly in Brazil and India";

* Barnett Berry (Center for Teaching Quality): Sees a growing need for "teacherpreneurs," and less teacher bashing as we evolve a more "nuanced" conversation around teaching;

* Daphne Kollar (Coursera): Hopes to help redefine what it means for students to be "successful" and then build more structure (in MOOCs starting with Coursera) to help students meet their goals;

* Alex Hernandez (Charter School Growth Fund): Wants to see "hyper-personalized learning environments," designed around kids not "classes" or age-based grades;

* Esther Wojcicki (Palo Alto HS): Worries we'll see "hysteria" over failing standardized test scores but sees a "glimmer of hope" in new blended learning models.

As I read through these reflections, the resounding message that leaps out is that our framework for thinking about “learning” is stretching and bending in a thousand previously unimaginable ways. And 2014 will be the year when we start to figure out just what--and when--technology is a useful lever to unlock learning for everyone, anywhere, and at any time.

What I’ll be looking for this year are milestones of progress toward our goals of creating a culture of learning. Among them:

  • Schools where teachers and students are collaboratively learning and making smart use of technology to reach goals that they have set;
  • Teachers who are together learning and helping move their local communities to new ideas about what school and learning can be;
  • Technology that is flexible enough that learners and teachers discover ways that it supports their goals that surprise even the people who developed it;
  • Administrators who demonstrate their support for the culture of learning in their schools and districts by giving more autonomy to leading educators.

What about the business of edtech, you ask? As we reach those milestones, the entrepreneurs and companies that build tools to support learning will flourish.

And one wish for the New Year: A great anthem for learning. Something less anxious than Alanis Morisssette and more of the spirit and cadence of Michael Franti & Spearhead.

Let’s rock 2014!

Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Andrew Tarsy

Boosting the impact of leaders and leading organizations

9y

Amen! Check out the many startups at Learn Launch in Boston for examples of this phenomenon.

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I was raised by an educator who "loved" her work and was conscious of the fact that every student was an individual with specific skills...some that they didn't realize they had. It was her goal to bring out the best in each student. As I have watched the progression of education in this country, I am saddened that teachers are not as respected as they once were and these large independent school districts have become part of the political mainstream. We need to recognize than 'learning' is the goal in all of its forms...not just the 3-Rs and we must, for our own benefit, drive education away from politics.

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Michael T.

Where Business Meets Advocacy & Philanthropy | Private Sector, International Affairs & Intergroup/Interfaith Advocacy | Award-Winning x-HR Head to Nonprofits & Tech Startups | Poet with A Top 1% Ranked Book on Amazon

9y

So proud that we at Educate Online are there already and have been for over a decade; providing personalized online learning that is competency - based and part of the K-12 blended classroom landscape. www.educate-online.com

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Michael T.

Where Business Meets Advocacy & Philanthropy | Private Sector, International Affairs & Intergroup/Interfaith Advocacy | Award-Winning x-HR Head to Nonprofits & Tech Startups | Poet with A Top 1% Ranked Book on Amazon

9y

At Educate Online we are doing just that and have been since 2000. Competency - based assessment to identify skill gaps and then create individual learning plans in reading and math covering concepts that are not mastered. We see significant grade level improvements and do this through live online instruction. We partner directly with Superintendents and Principals across the USA. Check us out: www.educate-online.com.

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