31.Dec.2009 Stuck on OER (and somehow quotable)
One of the things on my bucket list is to be referred to (some day) as an expert. You know, like those quacks on FoxNews in the split screen with the green screened cityscapes behind them. For some reason that seems glamorous to me. Getting quoted by a reputable blogger/educator only helps me take the [...]
19.Nov.2009 Outsourcing in Schools (how to focus on improving instruction)
Education Sector released a new report on school design last week titled Teachers at Work: Improving Teacher Quality Through School Design (free pdf download). The report focuses on a new type of school design getting some traction in NYC, the Generation Schools. These schools are focusing specifically on improving instruction by giving teachers more time [...]
08.Oct.2009 Quote – Jamie Oliver (the Naked Chef)
I have to agree…but it certainly makes for harder assessment’s in the traditional sense: “Look, I think the brilliant and beautiful thing in life is that anyone can do anything,” he said. “When I used to go to special needs, we got laughed at, but we’re not supposed to all be academic. What is education? [...]
28.Sep.2009 Student Load vs. Teacher Quality
The debate continues. As a master’s student at UVM my thesis focused on Vermont’s historical trends in educations which contributed to and set the stage for our high ranking public school system (at the time, according to certain resources). I placed particular emphasis on the fact that Vermont’s long standing traditions and demographic arrangements had contributed [...]
03.Sep.2009 All you can learn for $99 a month
Buffet-style education? Heck yeah. The company is probably one you’ve never heard of (I hadn’t) but I already see it’s value and foundation: efficiency + quality + freedom = a better way for motivated learners to get degrees. The company is StraigtherLine (based in DC) and it provides a carte blanche approach to education for [...]
25.Aug.2009 Rhee's new plan: "D.C. Public Schools Teaching and Learning Framework"
I’m a big fan of the reforms happening in DC. I like it for a lot of reasons (it’s cutting edge, it’s gutsy, it’s far reaching implications, etc.) but mostly because Michelle Rhee has vision (and the cajones) to bring her ideas to fruition. The Wapo recently wrote an article about how Rhee expects to [...]
17.Aug.2009 Franklin's 13
From Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography, freely available at your local library or from Dailylit.com. These were the main tenets that he lived his life by, adapted from the Presbyterian church (though he claims not to have been a serious, church going man). I propos’d to myself, for the sake of clearness, to use rather more names, [...]
28.Jul.2009 Education costs trending towards zero
There’s a lot of talk about how the cost of education is decreasing year over year because of the advances in technology. Free courses, free text books, free content available from the most prestigious universities in the world, all online, accessible all the time to anyone anywhere. Josh Catone of Mashable wrote a quick article [...]
08.Jul.2009 Malcolm Gladwell Does NECC
One of my favorite writers, Malcolm Gladwell (The Outliers, Blink, and The Tipping Point) gave one of the keynote addresses at NECC in Washington DC this year. It’s a great talk that ambles along to touch on the 10,000 hour rule (read Outliers for his complete piece about that), Fleetwood Mac and what it really [...]
06.Jul.2009 How do you measure "Teacher Performance"?
From Open Education today… In a major speech to the members of the National Education Association today, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan insisted it was time to not only rethink teacher seniority and tenure, it was time to tie those elements and pay to teacher performance. Whether you’re on this side or not. We can [...]
