ReHess x3

Rick Hess set a record—three posts this week worth commenting on. He’s not always first, not always popular, but more often than not makes me think.
His edtech dichotomy—unbounded vs scripted—is of some value.  Being decidedly in both camps, I’m pretty sure we can and should have it both ways.
We can create sophisticated customized playlists of highly personalized learning experiences that meet the needs of individual learners.  Adaptive math products like Dreambox and Reasoning Mind and adaptive games like MangaHigh show the way.
Open ended virtual experiences like Evoke and ‘digital tools change everything’ efforts like OLPC illustrate the benefits of open ended exploration.
Today we launched the Digital Learning Council, a policy development effort, co-chaired by Gov’s Jeb Bush and Bob Wise, that will help state policy makers get the most out of education technology.  The most important work will be getting out of the way of online learning opportunities.
Rick’s post on the EduJobs bill was thoughtful counterpoint supported by Katie Haycock’s outrage at cutting food stamps to placate union bosses.
And finally, while many (like me) were jumping on the bandwagon, Hess took a deep breadth and offered a thoughtful review of the LA Times value added analysis.

Tom Vander Ark

Tom Vander Ark is the CEO of Getting Smart. He has written or co-authored more than 50 books and papers including Getting Smart, Smart Cities, Smart Parents, Better Together, The Power of Place and Difference Making. He served as a public school superintendent and the first Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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