Published Articles & Media
Why Stanford Online High School Matters (and two ways it could matter more)
Sunday’s New York Times story broke the news that Stanford University, one of the world’s most prestigious research institutions, is putting its brand squarely behind a full-time, degree-granting online high school program. It’s just one more reason to set aside the silly debate about whether online education can possibly be effective for high school students.
The Nation’s Online Learning Omission
The Nation’s recent online learning expose, How Online Learning Companies Bought America’s Schools, in its zeal to connect various dots into a narrative of a corporate public education takeover, makes critical errors. It falsely equates K-12 online learning with privatization, leading to an incomplete and flawed political analysis. More importantly though, the article makes a credibility-killing factual omission.
Rhode Island’s Landmark Pension Reform
Last night, by overwhelming margins, the Rhode Island legislature passed what may be the nation’s most comprehensive state public employee pension reform ever.
Review of New Fordham Digital Learning Papers
Teachers in the Age of Digital Instruction and School Finance in the Digital-Learning Era, two new working papers in the Fordham Institute’s series on digital learning, are welcome additions to the often narrow debates around online learning.
Educators Answer Questions About the Flipped Classroom
I’ve received a number of questions and comments on my recent article, The Flipped Classroom. Most gratifying have been the rich exchanges in comment threads and on twitter, primarily from educators explaining their experiences, challenges, and discoveries from “flipping” their classrooms.
The AT&T Teacher Retention Strategy
Let’s stop relying on financial handcuffs and design teachers’ roles so they want to stay.
Standardized Testing’s Foreign Aid Problem
Spend any time listening to talk radio and you’ll hear countless stories about “billions wasted” on foreign aid. Politicians seizing on painless ways to cut the deficit reinforce this perception of massive spending, and Americans believe them: In surveys, they estimate that as much as one out of four dollars spent by the federal government goes to foreign governments.
Laura Johnson’s Unhappy Online Learning Journey
If we are going to offer students new options — and we should — policymakers must first do whatever they can to mitigate the risks borne by students.
State Online Learning Reports Reveal Growth, Concerns
Two new reports, from Minnesota and Colorado, offer additional insights into online learning’s rapid and rocky growth. These reports, combined with data from bothPennsylvania and Ohio, reinforce the necessity for policymakers, educators, and online learning advocates to pay as much attention to quality as they do to expansion.
