Virtual Viewpoints

Fuse Architect - An interview with Highlander Institute on school progress by MVLRI

This episode is the fifth in our series documenting the Fuse Architect Project, a collaboration between the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Highlander Institute, and several other Rhode Island-based stakeholders endeavoring to design and pilot systems that promote student centered learning. In this episode, we’re excited to talk with Emily Zilly, science teacher at Rodgers High School in Newport, Rhode Island, and four of her students who are participating in some student-centered learning models. We also talk about their work for the upcoming science fair, an example of a project-based, student-directed learning experience benefitting from the Fuse Architect influence.

This episode is the fifth in our series documenting the Fuse Architect Project, a collaboration between the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Highlander Institute, and several other Rhode Island-based stakeholders endeavoring to design and pilot systems that promote student centered learning. In this episode, we’re talking with Pegah Rahmanian, the Executive Director of Youth in Action. Pegah and her team have been working with two participant schools of the Fuse Architect program to help ground their work in conversations around equity and social justice. Pegah also notes that through working on this initiative, their own organization has learned and grown in areas as well.

In this episode, we’re joined by two researchers affiliated with the Digital Media and Learning Research Hub – Mimi Ito from UC Irvine and Justin Reich from MIT. First we’ll get acquainted with their work more generally and learn about the unique research topics they’re pursuing at their respective institutions. Then, we talk extensively about a recent publication that they authored that was published through the Hub, called From Good Intentions to Real Outcomes: Equity by Design in Learning Technologies. We talk about the process of producing this report, including convening stakeholders from many different organizations involved in education technology and online learning, and the challenges and strategies identified with regard to equitable use of learning technologies in K-12 settings.

This episode is the fourth in our series documenting the Fuse Architect Project, a collaboration between the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Highlander Institute, and several other Rhode Island-based stakeholders endeavoring to design and pilot systems that promote student centered learning. In this episode, we’re talking with Roberto Gonzalez of the Rhode Island-based nonprofit STEAM Box. Roberto shares with us some inspiring stories that come out of the work that he does with Fuse Architect schools and other programs, and gives us insight on his process that puts students at the center and grants them control of their learning.

In this episode, we’re joined by Jordan Rickles, principle researcher at the American Institutes for Research. Jordan’s work focuses on K-12 education, and has recently examined outcomes of virtual learning for credit recovery. We talk about some of the big questions being researched in a recently launched initiative with Los Angeles Unified School District aimed at studying the efficacy of online learning solutions in a credit recovery setting.

John Jacobs, the Director of the Wisconsin eSchool Network, joins us for this episode. He paints for us a picture of the digital learning landscape in Wisconsin and explains how his organization fits into that landscape, helping multiple entities across the state form a holistic approach to digital learning in the K-12 public school space. He talks with us about the benefits of partnering with the Wisconsin eSchool network and the exciting research efforts that they are undertaking in the coming year.

In this episode, we’re talking with two researchers about a project they are currently working on to develop a tool to assess readiness for blended teaching. Charles Graham from Brigham Young University and Jered Borup of George Mason University join us to discuss the first phase of this project, including how it came about, how it’s being developed, and how it might be practically applied in an educational setting.

In this episode, we are joined once again by John Watson of the Evergreen Education Group. Since the last time John joined us, he and his team have produced some new research reports, three of which we discuss in our conversation today. As always, Evergreen’s work does a great job painting an overall picture of what’s happening in K-12 blended and online learning, including how providers of online courses are evolving, the reasons that students are giving for enrolling in blended and online schools, and the ways that teachers are incorporating technology and digital learning tools into their instruction.

In this episode, we’re talking with Kim Loomis of the Clark County School District in Clark County, Nevada. Kim serves as the Director of Online and Blended Learning, and shares with us the history and evolution of digital learning in the district over the past 15 years or so. We also discuss the many structures and supports in place to serve both teachers and students in one of the largest school districts in the country.

This episode is the second in our series documenting the Integrated Learning Systems project, a collaboration between the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Highlander Institute, and several other Rhode Island-based stakeholders endeavoring to design and pilot systems that promote student centered learning. In this episode, we talk with Stephen Osborn of the Rhode Island Department of Education and Daniela Fairchild of Rhode Island’s Office of Innovation. During our conversation, Stephen and Daniela provide some background on each of their offices’ work around personalized learning, and touch on their own roles in the Integrated Learning Systems initiative. We also talk in more detail about what each of their hopes are for this grant program’s accomplishments

This episode is the third in our series documenting the Integrated Learning Systems project, a collaboration between the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, the Highlander Institute, and several other Rhode Island-based stakeholders endeavoring to design and pilot systems that promote student centered learning. In this episode, we’re talking with Paula Dillon, the Assistant Superintendent of Barrington Public Schools in Barrington, Rhode Island. Paula talks with us about some of the challenges and opportunities that her staff and students have faced while implementing their iCreate lab, specially carved out space for students to pursue individualized learning and creation.

This is the second installment of a series examining district-level accountability and teacher effectiveness related to virtual learning in Michigan. Each of these podcasts is accompanied by a blog post summarizing the conversation with our guests, hosted at mvlri.org/blog. In this episode, we’re talking with Cindy Leaman, Principal at the A2 Virtual+ program of Ann Arbor Public Schools. Cindy shares with us many of the detailed process and procedures that her program has in place to ensure accountability at many different levels, including those for students, instructors, mentors, and course providers.

This is the first installment of a series examining district-level accountability and teacher effectiveness related to virtual learning in Michigan. Each of these podcasts is accompanied by a blog post summarizing the conversation with our guests, hosted at mvlri.org/blog. In this first episode, we’re talking with Rebecca Jackson, who runs the online learning program at Grand Ledge High School in Grand Ledge, Michigan. Rebecca shares with us some of the accountability measures that are in place for her program, and we also explore some interesting ideas that she’d like to see in place as the growth of online learning continues.

This episode is the third and final installment in our series exploring the use of online learning for credit recovery here in the state of Michigan. In this episode, we’re talking with Cindy Swem, guidance counselor at Buchanan High School in Buchanan, Michigan. Cindy gives us an overview of how their program functions and shares some of her own insights into what she thinks makes it a successful program.

This episode is the second in our series exploring the use of online learning for credit recovery here in the state of Michigan. In this episode, we’re talking with Jared Herron, the Director of Online Learning at Kenowa Hills High Schools of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Jared shares with us quite a lot of details about the procedures and structures built into their credit recovery program, and why their online learning program is so important to the district as a whole.

This episode is the first of a series that MVLRI is undertaking to explore the practice of the use of online learning for credit recovery here in the state of Michigan. In our first episode of the series, we’re talking with Dallas Bell, the co-founder of Success Virtual Learning Centers, originally based in Berrien Springs and Escanaba, Michigan. Dallas paints a picture for us on how at-risk students attend school through SVLC and receive both instructional and personal support in their journeys toward a high school diploma.

In this episode of Virtual Viewpoints, we’re talking with Dr. Barbara Treacy, an instructor at Harvard University and Digital Learning Consultant. Those two titles certainly don’t do justice to all of the important work and service that Barbara has provided for the field of K-12 online and blended learning over her career. During our conversation, we touch on her work in providing online professional development for teachers, serving on the Digital Learning Advisory Council for the state of Massachusetts, teaching graduate students at Harvard, and working to develop leaders in blended learning with the Friday Institute.

In this episode, we talk with Bi Vuong, the Director of Proving Ground at Harvard University. Bi gives us some details on how she and her team provide school districts and states with rapid-cycle research services to help them tackle specific issues facing their program. We chat for a bit about the work that the Proving Ground project has done to date around educational technology software implementation, and then talk about the direction of the program going forward.

In this episode, we’re chatting with Amy Valentine, the Executive Director of the Foundation for Blended and Online Learning. Amy joins us to talk about all of the major initiatives that her foundation has undertaken since it launched not long ago, providing needed funding for students toward postsecondary tuition, for educators doing innovative work in their classrooms and districts, and for researchers exploring questions around blended and online learning.

In this episode, we’re joined by not one but two guests: Keith Krueger of the Consortium for School Networking and Samantha Becker of New Media Consortium. They’re both here to talk about a joint project between their two organizations called the Horizon Report, an annual initiative focused on identifying the technological trends that are driving educational change, sponsored by Share Fair Nation via a grant from the Morgridge Family Foundation. During our conversation, we touch on the research process behind the report, some trends and other information called out in this year’s report, and the companion toolkit that helps K-12 leaders steer conversations around harnessing emerging technologies identified in the report.

In this episode, we get the opportunity to talk with Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, the Assistant Superintendent of K-12 Teaching and Learning at Santa Ana Unified School District in Santa Ana, California. Michelle’s district has made a commitment to innovating the educational process by focusing on personalized and competency-based learning, flexible and engaging learning environments, and effective technology integration. We talk with her about the strategies involved in deploying such an approach to personalized learning and learn what’s made them so successful.

In this episode, we’re talking with David Rose, the Deputy Chief of Educational Technology and Library Programs at Washington, D.C. public schools. David and I discuss how his district has been able to find success with its blended learning initiative, effectively bringing it to scale across a number of buildings in the district, and the comprehensive strategy behind continuing its success.

In this episode, we’re talking with Dr. Michael Barbour, the Director of Doctoral Studies at Sacred Heart University. Dr. Barbour has been involved in the field of online and blended learning research for over a decade, and offers us plenty of insights on how he’s observed the field grow and evolve over that time. He also brings an international perspective, having lived and conducted research in Canada for quite some time. We also talk about how researchers, practitioners, and policy makers can tweak their processes in order to better reflect what’s been demonstrated through research.

In this episode, we talk with David Cook, the Director of the Division of Innovation and Partner Engagement at the Kentucky Department of Education. David and I get into some exciting conversations around two very innovative programs that his division oversees: school districts of innovation and the non-traditional instruction program. Through these initiatives, Kentucky is reshaping the way we think about how to educate students.

In this episode, we’re talking with John Watson, the founder and head of the Evergreen Education Group. John and his organization are well-known within the field for producing their annual Keeping Pace report, which examines trends in policy and practice in online and blended learning in all 50 states. John and I talk about how his report has changed and evolved over the years to reflect the constantly changing landscape in K-12 digital learning, and touch on some of the exciting changes in the report’s structure for future editions.

In this episode, we are talking with Dr. Jim Rickabaugh, the Director of the Institute for Personalized Learning in Wisconsin. Jim brings a ton of experience and lots of insights to his current role, and his organization is taking on the ambitious goal of helping schools redesign their models to put learners at the center of the picture.

In this episode, we’re talking with Mary Ann Wolf, the Director of Digital Learning Programs at the Friday Institute at NC State University. We talk about a number of exciting initiatives that Mary Ann oversees and contributes to, including the digital learning plan for the entire state of North Carolina, efforts to increase capacity around blended learning leadership, and ways to rethink professional development approaches for digital learning implementation.

This episode's guest is Grace Magley, the Director of Online Learning at Natick Public Schools in Natick, Massachusetts. Grace wears a number of different hats when it comes to administering and promoting high-quality online and blended models in Massachusetts. We talk a bit about how she’s able to work with so many educators in her district to control for high-quality online content and develop effective teaching strategies, as well as helping to change the leadership mindset around the state when it comes to possibilities of online and blended learning.

In this episode, we talk with Denise Airola, the Director of the Office of Innovation for Education at the University of Arkansas. Denise and her team are incredibly knowledgeable around how schools can be flexible and innovative to try to better face challenges in their own contexts and meet the needs of the students they face. We talk about policy factors that influence how schools embrace innovation and what sorts of targeted supports her office can offer those who looking to do things a little different in their own educational environment.

In this episode, we’re chatting with Kristin Fontichiaro, a Clinical Assistant Professor of Information at the University of Michigan’s School of Information. Kristin and I spend some time talking about a current project of hers focused on building student capacity to interpret data and statistics, working with librarians throughout the state of Michigan to develop and implement professional development modules for that effort. We also chat about another passion of hers, makerspaces, and how they can be used to engage learners in creative and stimulating ways.

This episode features an engaging conversation with Dave Lefkowtith, perhaps better known as Lefty, of the Louisiana Department of Education. As the Assistant Superintendent at the LADOE, Lefty worked on the launch and oversight of that state’s course choice program. During our conversation, we get a good sense of the political context in which the program was formed, and how the program changed over time to reflect different objectives. We also get into some of the program’s detailed specifics and look at how it might be expanded and improved going forward.

In this episode, we chat with Rose Colby, who is involved in a number of different initiatives at the state and national level concerning competency-based education. We ask Rose exactly what people mean when they’re discussing competency-based education, and how a shift to such a model can take place with the facilitation of technology. We also chat briefly about an exciting pilot project in New Hampshire aimed at assessing competency-based learning systems and how such a project might shape the movement going forward.

Our guest for this episode is actually a returning guest: Christine Fox, Director of Educational Leadership and Research of the State Educational Technology Directors Association, or SETDA. Christine shares with us some great new resources exploring the shift in different states to digital instructional materials, and we talk about how the project was conceived and what its goals are. You can view the paper, Navigating the Digital Shift, and its accompanying resources at http://www.setda.org/priorities/digital-content/navigating-the-shift/

In this episode, we sit down with Jeff Gerlach, of MyBlend, to reflect on a year of podcasting, sharing our insights, listening to clips from some previous episodes, and highlighting some of the biggest takeaways we've gained from our respective podcast projects. Happy New Year! Song Credits: http://ccmixter.org/files/Benjamin_Orth/30523 http://ccmixter.org/files/VJ_Memes/40622

Our guest for this episode is Saro Mohammed, Partner at the Learning Accelerator. The Learning Accelerator, or TLA, works directly with school districts and states to develop implementation strategies for blended learning, doing so with a focus on conducting and disseminating rigorous research to support their work. Saro talks with us about efforts to measure blended learning to determine if, when, and how blended learning is effective in achieving its goals, and shares some insights on how that measurement takes place.

This episode's guest is Joel Rose, the Co-Founder and CEO of New Classrooms Innovation Partners. Joel and his team at New Classrooms are striving to implement personalized learning models in schools across the U.S. Joel delves into what the New Classrooms model entails, called Teach-to-One, and paints a picture for us, describing the flow and process in a teach-to-one school.

Our guest for this episode is Julia Freeland Fisher, Director of Education at the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation. Julia and I discuss some of her recent work focusing on helping close the gap between what educational technology firms provide and what tech-forward school systems need, as well as her work around digital learning’s capacity to help students build social capital through the development of personal networks. Lastly, we discuss some of the overlap, or lack thereof, in the philosophies behind blended and competency-based learning.

Our guest for this episode is Beatriz Arnillas, the Director of IT and Education Technology at the Houston Independent School District in Houston, Texas. Beatriz provides some insight into what it’s like to run the technological infrastructure, as well as the efforts of instructional technology integration and digital learning initiatives, in the seventh largest school district in the United States. She also shares with us her story of discovering the importance of interoperability when it comes to digital learning, and her efforts to ensure ease of use for practitioners in her district through interoperability standards.

Our guest for this episode is Paul Curtis, the Director of Curriculum for the New Tech Network. Paul touches on some of the history of the organization, one that has been around for a surprisingly long time, and shares a bit about what makes the curriculum of New Tech schools stand out. We also talk some about the research that influences the New Tech model, as well as the organizations efforts to help bring out systems change when it comes to thinking about the educational process.

Our guest for this episode is Sarah Luchs of NGLC, Next Generation Learning Challenges. NGLC is a challenge grant strategy initiative of Educause, dedicated to accelerating educational innovation through applied technology and improving college readiness in students across the United States. Sarah provides an overview of some of the exciting work that their grant recipients are doing to advance personalized learning through the use of technology.

This episode of our podcast is the first in our series examining course choice programs across a number of states who have implemented such a practice in recent years. These programs aim to give students access to a wider variety of learning options through online course offerings. In discussing the details of these initiatives with people responsible for their oversight or implementation, we hope to learn more about the challenges and benefits that arise from them, as well as be able to identify some common or divergent themes across the state. In this episode, we talk with Kate Loughrey, who is the statewide Texas Virtual School Network Coordinator. Kate gives us a very detailed picture of the ins and outs of the Texas course choice program, and we talk a little about the work that still lies ahead for the program to realize its full potential.

In this episode, we’re talking with Tom Driscoll, a high school social studies teacher and instructional technology consultant based in Connecticut. Tom is on a mission to better and more efficiently serve his students through the use of flipped learning and competency-based education practices. The combination of these two strategies has come to be known as “flipped mastery”, and it’s clear that Tom sees this methodology as a way for him to innovate and fundamentally change his interactions with students. Tom discusses the unique challenges that are presented when trying to implement such a bold and innovative initiative, and touches on the rewards of overcoming those challenges.

In this episode, we talk with Christine Fox, the Director of Educational Leadership and Research for SETDA. Christine and her team face a lot of challenges in a constantly changing setting, as the policy landscape is always shifting in each state where her member constituents reside. Being able to support their diverse needs is a big priority for SETDA. On the research side, she works closely with the state leader membership as well as district leaders for large data collection efforts and to find out what sorts of needs administrators and practitioners are facing in the area of technology. You can find the Guide to Implementing Digital Learning, which we talk about briefly in the interview, at http://digitallearning.setda.org/

In this episode, we chat with with Jeff Renard, Director of Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative. We gained quite a bit of insight as to how virtual learning is structured in Vermont public schools, and heard about some of the unique challenges that VTVLC faces given the small size and rural nature of many of its schools. Jeff also shares about some of the other initiatives of the VTVLC including its focus on professional development through workshops and its annual conference.

In this episode, we chat with Cathy Cavanaugh, Director of Teaching and Learning at Microsoft Worldwide Education. Dr. Cavanaugh provides us with a glimpse of some of the exciting research that’s being done at Microsoft, including the examination of leaders and leadership traits in the education world, as well as the advancements in data analysis that are empowering everyone from practitioners to policymakers when it comes to education.

Our guest is Michelle Licata, Global Curriculum Coordinator for FLVS Global. Michelle’s work is focused upon engaging educators and administrators in training and conversations about appropriate use of digital technologies to meet specific learning goals. She shares with us her touching and personal story of how she came to work in this field and how providing equal opportunity and care to all students drives her work.

In this episode, we chat with Aubrey Francisco, Director of Research at Digital Promise. Digital Promise is involved in a number of different projects aimed at improving the opportunity to learn for all Americans, children and adults, through technology and research. Their initiatives are designed to empower educators to use technology to personalize learning, inform developers with key education research findings, and help researchers produce results that are readily accessible and consumable for all along the education spectrum. Aubrey was kind enough to sit down with us to talk about a number of Digital Promise initiatives and share her vision on where educational innovation through technology can lead us. With that, let’s dive right into the interview.

We sit down with Christina Jean, Innovation and Blended Learning Specialist with the Colorado Department of Education’s Office of Blended and Online Learning. The work of the office involves supporting the responsible growth of online and blended learning throughout the state by providing pertinent information and data to various schools, programs, students, parents and other stakeholders, helping them shape policy and practice. Christina was kind enough to sit down with us and talk about some the systemic shifts that she is witnessing in her state in regard to personalized learning and competency-based education.

We sit down with Shawn Rubin, the Director of Blended Learning for the Highlander Institute, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit organization providing professional development and other educational services across a variety of areas. Shawn has a wealth of experience in integrating technology into instruction and harnessing its capabilities to do a better and smarter job of educating students.

In this episode of Virtual Viewpoints, we sit down with Dr. Tracy Weeks of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, who sheds some light of the progress of digital and online learning in her state, how research has played a major role in shaping the landscape there.