Skye Morishita working on the robot she programmed at a recent CoderDojo session in Boston. On a recent Saturday, a squad of Lego robots fitted with markers limped, hopped and spun dizzily across the table. The freedom to mess up, repeatedly, is a core appeal of this club known as CoderDojo , a loosely-connected global network of coding workshops for kids ages 6 to 18, including this Boston outpost that meets in the borrowed offices of the tech company LogMeIn. MORE

” Online Education (The Once and Future “MOOC”). Via The New York Times : “ Udacity , an Online Learning Start-Up, Offers Tech Job Trials.” Related, from the Social Media Collective : “Spike in Online Gig Work : Flash in the Pan or Future of Employment?” There’s some data on the growth of online education at private colleges in the research section below. Firefly Learning has raised $5.63 MORE

Online Education (and the Once and Future “MOOC”). Via Chalkbeat : “After flying under the radar, school districts’ online programs attract attention – and scrutiny.” ” Via Techcrunch : “ Amazon opens its internal machine learning courses to all for free.” This one is probably my favorite: “How California’s New Online Education Pilot Will Change Higher Ed Forever.” MORE

Companies include an AI robot, student incubator and a startup called Pie for Providers. Who Does Online Education Really Serve? Online education was supposed to provide access to quality education for those who can’t attend or afford traditional college. But it’s become increasingly unclear if online learning is living up to its promise for students, as concerns persist over quality, inequitable disparities in digital-learning participants and outcomes. MORE

In fact, the busier it is, the better—whether it’s kids experimenting with the Makey Makey circuitry or uploading designs to a 3D printer, or a class learning media literacy or a student seeking advice on a video she’s editing at one of the computer workstations. It became clear quite quickly that an investment in stuff, in boxes that plug in, is not really going to pay off with a lot of learning or classroom innovation unless there’s somebody to guide that process.”. MORE

NEW ORLEANS — A few years ago, with little fanfare or announcement, the New Orleans education system began a massive experiment that’s reshaping how kids learn across the city. Many charter networks here, including Crescent City Schools, Firstline, ReNEW, and KIPP, have embraced an educational philosophy known as “personalized learning.”. Supporters in New Orleans say that, so far, personalized learning has been transformative. Future of Learning. Mississippi Learning. MORE

” Online Education and the Once and Future “MOOC” The LA Times asks , “ In this digital self-help age, just how effective are MasterClass ’s A-list celebrity workshops?” Important thoughts here on social emotional learning and structural racism. ” “ Personalized learning ” equals cutting the teacher workforce in Oklahoma. Via NPR : “Students Compete In First-Ever International High School Robotics Competition.” MORE

Innovative Educators understand the value of high-quality professional learning opportunities. They take what they learn and put it into practice in their schools and classrooms. But if it hadn’t been for the technology professional learning opportunities they attended, students never would have had the opportunity to dream big and engage in work that is worthy of the world. That makes teaching the workshop back at their school to even more teachers possible. MORE

In one class, Danusis introduces me to a lanky child in rain boots, who clicks through an online math program while chatting about a baby goat that’s being weaned in her backyard. In another room, children rotate through learning stations, sometimes at screens, sometimes putting pencils to paper. Danusis and her teaching staff practice personalized learning, an individual-comes-first approach, usually aided by laptops, that has become a reformist calling card in education. MORE

In 2012, Pearson, Cengage Learning, and Macmillan Higher Education sued Boundless Learning, claiming that the open education textbook startup had “stolen the creative expression of their authors and editors, violating their intellectual-property rights.” Boundless’s materials have been archived by David Wiley’s company Lumen Learning. The] literature [on online education] was preoccupied with what I call ‘roaming autodidacts’. Online Grade Portals. MORE

” Via the Journal Sentinel : “More than 300 Kettle Moraine parents sign petition against online learning platform.” ” That’s a school district in Wisconsin , and the learning software in question is the Summit Learning Platform , created by the Summit charter school chain and built by Facebook and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. Online Education (and the Once and Future “MOOC”). We just learned it was a fraud.” MORE

I was there for a few reasons, starting with having the fine opportunity to lead a pre conference workshop, followed by presenting on two panels, helping out with a Twitter component, and reconnecting with dozens of friends and colleagues. Preconference workshop. I helped start the conference with a half-day workshop on “How Technology Can Enhance Liberal Education: The State of the Art in 2016.” Online learning is on the rise. MORE

Topics ran the gamut from the latest tech tools and personalized learning strategies to funding, supporting, and sustaining district technology initiatives. FETC 2020 offered sessions and workshops, interactive spaces, an extensive expo hall, and purposefully-chosen dynamic, energizing, and inspiring keynote presentations. Related content: 5 reasons to integrate STEM into online learning. Student engagement and empowerment were evident at FETC 2020 in Miami, FL. MORE