How Do I Blend My Network? And Other Great Questions From an Ohio Safari

Last week I spend the day at a pretty weird safari-themed waterpark in Sandusky Ohio….which is about two hours from a real airport in any direction. The good news is that I was in good company at the Ohio Alliance of Public Charter Schools annual conference. Here are a couple of the topics we discussed.

What should charter school leaders anticipate in EdTech in the next 5 years?

• More broadband and cheaper devices

• Smarter (adaptive) richer content

• Better platform options that personalize learning and power competency based progressions–particularly learner profiles & gradebooks

What are the most promising innovations you’ve witnessed across the country?

• Summit Public Schools and the EAA in Detroit–two great examples of personalized learning platforms and competency-based blended school models.

What are the top two opportunities in the next decade?

• The combination of Common Core standards and blended learning models pose big implementation challenges and great opportunities to better serve more students. It’s great to see improved ability for teachers to share tools, resources and strategies across state lines.

If you could wave a magic wand, what would you have happen in the next few years that would improve and expand public charter schools?

• Weighted, flexible, portable funding

• Separating facilities and school operations

• Differentiated authorizing

• Recruit and train great boards

How do we blend our network?

• Read the Blended Learning Implementation Guide and go visit some model schools

• Update your goals–especially about the kinds of learning experiences/sequences you want for kids

• Study Opportunity Culture and develop/adapt a school model

• Pick a platform–here’s a list of 20 Learning Platforms. Like Houston, start with Edmodo and work in phases.

• Review content options, including open resources, and only pay for engaging game-based, standards-aligned, smart/adaptive content. See Rob Waldron’s 10 Ways to Save on Money on EdTech.

• Leverage teacher leadership and create time and on-demand resources for those that need more support.

In small schools how do we staff specialists and hard to fill courses?

• Use online learning and distributed staffing strategies.

What’s the most important thing that charter leaders can do to ensure the success of the movement?

• Not suck