Monday, April 30, 2012

Public Education 3.0


What is the 3.0 learning system?  It is a continuous learning system for all learners as a fixture in flexible and multiple school learning environments.  Emerging digital technologies will continue to create an “abundance” of improvements for accessing knowledge, for obtaining skills, for improving instruction and for improving self.  The 3.0 education environment will feature the following in our schoolhouses in the near future:

·       A flexible 24/7 blended learning system for all students available through mobile technology devices, online coursework, digital textbooks, digital curriculum resources, software/apps, social networking and a flexible brick and mortar classroom

·       Individual education plans for all students with access to “instant” student achievement data for guiding and intervening with student achievement needs

·       A “move on when ready” system that seeks to promote and move students to higher achievement levels when academically and emotionally prepared

·       A K-12 college/career ready curriculum with rigor reinforced throughout with instructional best practices that include constant checks for understanding, extensive writing, student engagement practices and student self-accountability practices

·       A K-12 system that regularly assesses students for college/career achievement and skill benchmarks  

·       A community that implements a birth-age 4 program accessing and supporting all infants toward school readiness development resources.

·       A 24/7 professional development program for educators to access and participate working within a continuous, collaborative professional learning environment

·       A consistent system of student support, during and after the school year,  recognizing that for all learners “ learning is constant, time is the variable”

·       A system that recognizes and empowers staff and students to practice the power and energy of “high expectations” for “deeper learning.”

 If 3.0 is not now, it will be soon for school systems will either restructure or fail from the continuous expansion of charter schools, online schools and private school vouchers.  It is not a question of “if” rather the realization that the public school iceberg structure, embedded for over a century, is melting and will collapse with the advancement of new learning platforms, of new digital technologies and of our new digital learners found in our 21st Century Information Age.