Exploring innovation in education (by Kevin Mandeville)
John Taylor Gatto is a true pioneer of education. He has worked in the trenches for decades & has instituted revolutionary practices both in & out of the classroom. He first demonstrated the power of empowering students with responsibility & field application (much like we’ve seen in Chris Lehmann). I love this short documentary, Classrooms of the Heart, showcasing his work. He just gets it. Every time I watch this urges me to finally read Weapons of Mass Instruction by the man himself.
We have enormous innovation in education technology right now. However, the majority is focused on what’s happening outside the classroom. Very few are tackling issues inside of it.
This is where I am most intrigued, as I believe it is the area prime for most disruption. Specifically, real-time integration with new mobile technology shows tremendous promise.
A recent study shows two-thirds of students who try educational mobile apps perceive positive learning, with 100% of students motivated to integrate them into the classroom.
As part of a mobile initiative at Abilene Christian University, the entire student body was given a smartphone device. In a faculty survey, 92% of respondents reported that they are comfortable having students use mobile devices for a required class activity and 83% reported regular use of mobile devices in class. Most faculty saw positive results from using mobile devices in courses, including increased levels of communication and elevated student engagement. More than 94% of faculty labeled the program “successful.”
My new venture, Amplio, is aimed at leveraging mobile apps to enhance the learning experience in higher education. We have identified basic, fundamental problems & pain points for processes inside the classroom. Current inefficiencies we are developing simple solutions for include: attendance, professor evaluation, & participation/polling.
Though we’re just getting started, it’s an exciting journey to be on. I hope we see more entrepreneurs & educators alike combine their efforts to improve the experience inside the classroom.
What are other areas of inefficiency you see & pain points you have for processes inside the classroom?
I am absolutely in love with this TED Talk. He exemplifies everything in which I believe, speaks to everything that I think is wrong with schools, and proposes solutions that I believe in. Every time I get discouraged from going after my dream of starting a charter school, I should watch this video.
Chris Lehmann represents all that is right with education. Not only does he preach, he practices. He is applying his methods & achieving groundbreaking results. What I love most is how much he empowers his students to critically think & take action. I strongly feel that our current system of education undermines the ability & potential of our youth. Expectations are too low, based off the standards of the past. Students today now have more access & resources to accomplish what past generations could only dream of. They have the power to change the world. We should treat them as such.
P.S. If you’re not as passionate as Chris Lehmann, get out of education. Now.
P.P.S. Chris Lehmann is one of the organizers for the 140edu Conference next week in NYC. Don’t miss out. I, along with Ariel Norling & other cool cats, will be in attendance. Will you?
(Source: deserttrumpet)
I just downloaded this rap about graphing linear equations. My students are going to dieeeee.! It’s pretty good and they have other subjects as well!
Let me know what you guys think!
Did math just become ‘cool’? A mark of a great teacher is providing students with supplementary content that connects with & excites them. With today’s plethora of media, there’s no excuse not to leverage such content for a more engaging learning experience. (Props facciodellefoto)
These node chairs look pretty cool. I wish they had them when I was in college.
This is how you adjust for & reinvent a new age classroom.
(via jonathanjoyner)
Management deals with efficiency. It is a measure of how well you execute. For instance, a good manager grades papers quickly & properly.
Leadership deals with effectiveness. It focuses on having the correct vision & direction. For example, a strong leader asks whether a paper is necessary to achieve learning objectives.
You need both. Management is useless without leadership, & vice versa. But, leadership must come first. A clear, defined vision is needed in order to execute.
The state of education seems to be obsessed with a management mentality. We harp on statistics & figures such as test scores, dropout & unemployment rates, & budgets, wondering how we can improve them.
Certainly, we have demonstrated immense inefficiency in our management & execution. However, I contest the problem stems more from our lack of leadership.
We need to start asking questions like, ‘Are tests indicative of learning? Are textbooks necessary? Is accreditation important?’ Asking the tough, hard questions will help us re-define our approach to education in the 21st century.
By focusing on leadership, our management will improve. Then, we just might find the results we’re looking for.
American taxpayers invested more than $536 billion on K-12 education between 2005 and 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Education, with an additional $373 billion in taxes going to fund higher education nationwide. The educational pie is enormous, and anyone who can get his or her hands on even a small slice can expect to reap huge returns.
The New York Times recently published the article The Master’s As The New Bachelor’s, in which they chronicle the diminishing value a bachelor’s degree holds in today’s economy.
Simple economics tells us the increased supply of bachelor’s degrees has certainly degraded its value while simultaneously creating heightened demand for a master’s degree.
We are experiencing extreme academic inflation. As the article mentions, “in 20 years, you’ll need a Ph.D to be a janitor.” Sarcasm aside, at this rate, degrees may be created that even surpass the Ph.D level.
Even with the current model, the dilemma is the process becomes cyclical upselling. Students amass more debt & lose out on valuable real-world experience. Schools become the big winners, as they derive more value than the students. The market is simply taking advantage of a competitive economy by hiking unnecessary requirements.
Furthering one’s education is admirable so long as it is for the right reason. In the article, however, we see reasoning such as “this will make you more marketable.” With this mentality, students have already lost. It creates an endless pursuit for higher credentials. As Seth Godin writes, “I’m not sure we need them (students) to be better labeled or more accredited.”
Schools need to provide students with the skills & knowledge they need to go & make a difference in the world. The aim should be to achieve this as fast as possible.
Education should last a lifetime, but schooling shouldn’t. The purpose shouldn’t be to create more schooling. The goal should create less.
Perhaps a degree isn’t worth as much anymore, but perhaps we have wrongly subjected our ability & potential to the amount of schooling we need as well.
Design is critical for any institution. The illustration above highlights the difference of design between Apple & Google. Apple designs by dictatorship. Google designs by committee.
The result? Apple has a faster, more intuitive user experience. Google is slower & heavier.
We see this scenario play out in business. Many corporations become so large they cannot innovate rapidly. Smaller startups are the ones that drive innovation.
The same can be said for education. The majority of private schools outperform public schools, in part due to better centralized authority that acts faster.
Public schools have scaled too large for effective management. The bureaucratic system is inefficient. As analyzed by sociologist Max Weber, bureaucracy works best with a strong command of authority & when performance is judged by productivity. Education, however, has become too layered. It also introduces ambiguity in attempting to measure intangible skills.
In contrast, private schools are leaner & more agile. They can evolve & adapt quickly. This ability enables a refined focus & produces higher performance.
Decentralization & ownership is highly important in education. However, when it comes to design, an involved & democratic process will always detract from the user experience. Control is the better method.
Simplicity & speed will always win.
Next week, on August 2nd & 3rd, I will be in NYC for the #140edu Conference.
The changes in the way we live our lives must create change in the way we teach and learn. The real-time web should create profound changes in the way we think about what, how and why students and teachers can do, create and communicate. The very nature of what we consider “school” should be radically different given the powerful reach of the communicate tools our students have at their disposal. #140edu is dedicated to exploring and expanding that change.
As a student, I was able to sign up for just $15.00! Educators can also apply for just $1.40 here!
Don’t miss out on this awesome opportunity. Are any of you going?
