EdTech 10: What You’re Missing During the Hour of Code

Students, teachers and EdLeaders are hard at work this week celebrating Computer Science Education Week and Hour of Code. We’ve been busy sharing how to bring making into Hour of Code, 10 not-to-miss coding blogs, and why learning to code is necessary for college and career readiness. Here are the EdTech news stories to know as the rest of the field is wrapped up in the STEM celebration.

Cool Schools & Tools

Across The Atlantic. New from The Atlantic is The Art of The Lesson Plan, a short series on innovative ways teachers are rethinking the traditional lesson plan. The Atlantic also shared how many schools across the country, like Big Picture, are ditching traditional structures.

“.@bigpiclearning… bucks the traditional model of high-school learning.” https://t.co/9dQWiNV6WC via @TheAtlantic

— tyler (@post_west) December 7, 2015

Beginning to blend. Upon return from the iNACOL Symposium, The Learning Accelerator (TLA) assembled specific questions that school districts and state leaders should ask as they begin to blend. TLA was among the 50+ learning leaders at #iNACOL15.

Qs that district & state leaders should ask as they begin to blend https://t.co/N0ERDrjWHn via @LearningAccel #BlendedLearning #EdTech10

— tyler (@post_west) December 7, 2015

Digital Developments

On the download. Evergreen Education Group’s Keeping Pace 2015 is now available for download as a PDF. This report provides important insights in the progress of online learning policy and practice. The report is sponsored by learning leaders such as Global Personalized Academics and Connections Education.

Woo-Hoo! Keeping Pace 2015 now available online! Summary & full report here: https://t.co/3FxyeJcvSG @KeepingPaceK12

— Carri Schneider (@CarriSchneider) December 2, 2015

Practice makes perfect. We’ve recently explored the innovative pedagogies and practices of schools like Roots Elementary and Summit Public Schools. The Open University and SRI Education examined 10 innovations in Innovating Pedagogy 2015, the fourth report on new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators and policymakers.

.@OpenUniversity & @SRI_Intl dissect 10 innovative pedagogies https://t.co/G2ZBcsUxN9 #edchat #EdTech10

— tyler (@post_west) December 7, 2015

GenDIY

When college doesn’t cut it. It’s true…  students, now more so than ever, are hacking their way through their education to careers they love. This is the topic of our GenDIY project, and the focus of a blog on Mashable that shares how in a growing number of cases an unconventional education is trumping a 4-year degree.

Freshman-year freedom fades amid the potential of ending up back where you started — your parents’ basement https://t.co/vh4cETBASj #GenDIY

— tyler (@post_west) December 7, 2015

Smart Planet

Going global. Tata Trusts and Khan Academy are teaming up for a five-year partnership to develop localized resources across India by providing a “personalized, mastery-based learning experience,” according to ForbesIndia.com. Also, new international focused partnership opportunities now open with Qatar Foundation’s WISE Awards.

New #EducatingIndia partnership from @khanacademy & @tatatrusts https://t.co/bL7vHIahIR #SmartPlanet #blendedlearning #edtech #edtech10 — Carri Schneider (@CarriSchneider) December 7, 2015

Dollars & Deals

Personalized likes. When Zuckerberg and Pricilla announced that they will give away almost all of their Facebook shares to charities, the couple wrote that their initial focus would be in personalized learning alongside curing disease, connecting people and building strong companies. Looking for ways to scale your non-profit? Here are 10 tips we shared as part of #GivingTuesday.  

And just like that “Personalized Learning” is a household term. Thanks Mark & Priscilla 🙂 https://t.co/SgeDY4MJV5 via @TIME @haleybureau — Carri Schneider (@CarriSchneider) December 2, 2015

Opportunity seized. Udacity landed $105 million this week from investors that include Google Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz. Exponential technologies have created eight opportunities for Edupreneurs, including opportunities in certification granting platforms.

.@Udacity Leads #MOOC Makers’ Push Into Online Biz Education With $105M Investment https://t.co/qbsdFac3pU via @businessbecause #EdTech10 — tyler (@post_west) December 7, 2015

Stem Gems

Above and beyond. Okay so we know it’s Computer Science Education Week, and thousands of students will participate in the Hour of Code. But, it’s worth thinking about how the hour of code and CS Ed Week are so much more than singular events, as Greg Garner from the Friday Institute said, “The very idea of learning to program is a fundamental change in education as we’ve known it.”

“We’re all at least marginally aware that we can’t just stop with a single hour.” –@classroom_tech https://t.co/qcO3drtTZO #HourOfCode — tyler (@post_west) December 7, 2015

Movers, Shakers & Groundbreakers

Ocean State or bust. Richard Culatta is resigning as EdTech Director at the U.S. Department of Education. He is returning to Rhode Island to work on similar goals at the state level. Culatta led and supported many successful initiatives at the Office of EdTech including the Future Ready Project, EdTech Developer’s Guide and the ConnectED Initiative and #GoOpen campaign.

Back to the Ocean State. @rec54 resigns as #EdTech Director at @usedgov, returns to RI https://t.co/nWL2YYGd9X via @EdWeekEdTech #EdTech10 — tyler (@post_west) December 7, 2015

For more EdTech 10s, check out:

• EdTech 10: Change is the Only Constant
• EdTech 10: Giving Thanks Where Thanks is Due
• EdTech 10: Signaling Supreme Confidence

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