EdTech Review By Nichole Husa of Tek-nis-cient.

The new strain of standardized testing spreading across the country is exposing a collective weakness in Math: The ability to conceptualize. Much of the Edtech universe is designed to strengthen computation and memorization skills, so what is a school to do?

How would a visionary design a school if starting today? Clean slate. No limits from tradition or the past.

What attracts students to your school is shifting from curriculum and safety to connection and relevance. Schools have used viewbooks, brochures, websites, and social media pages to market their "Excellence in Education," but what people seem to be emphasizing in their search for a school is the experience.

School operational design determines the leadership's capacity to economically and logistically accomplish the mission. This is especially true for those schools that pursue more advanced instructional strategies like blended learning. Incorporating technology such a personalized approach lets teachers get back to why they got into the teaching profession in the first place: to see the lights come on by providing a spark of inspiration. Blended, personalized learning should allow the teachers to focus more on each student, freeing them up to be the architects of the learning experience in the classroom. The 9 areas of school Operations design are outlined below.

In the School Growth February webinar series we're featuring the design elements of blended, personalized learning. Innovation through technology is core to this school design, but student ownership of the path and pace of learning is one of the most radical parts of effective implementation.

Getting the Talent Right

Through our experience in implementing personalized, blended learning in schools over the last few years, we have learned at least a few best practices for implementing such a technology-enabled learning platform in a way that provides a higher degree of faculty and parent engagement, as well as achieving student growth and improved performance.

At least half of the jobs that will be common when the current middle school students graduate college do not exist today. So fulfilling the goal of 21st century skills means schools have to go beyond the minimum of proficient academic ability in the core disciplines of reading, writing, math, science, history, and other humanities.

"Blended learning is your destiny, Luke!"

Sounds like the kind of quote you'd hear in a movie called, "School Wars," doesn't it?

At the iNACOL Conference this week I had the opportunity to visit with several education technology vendors offering solutions for schools that provide virtual and/or blended instruction. This includes learning management systems, digital content/curriculum, student information systems, professional development, student assessments, and a myriad of other tools.

This week we had the privilege of visiting Merit Preparatory Charter School in Newark, New Jersey. Highly personalized education through blended live and technology-based learning is the core strategy being used there to inspire a population of inner-city middle school students who face a sizable learning gap for a variety of reasons.

As in other schools that are implementing these instructional strategies, finding the right class schedule has been a challenge. The schedule has already been changed four times in only the second year of operation, now utilizing four two-hour blocks and weekly Playlists that are tracked in the Canvas LMS for guiding student work and progress. Adjustments to the master schedule are primarily motivated by logistical challenges such as managing hallway and stairwell capacities for student movement, recharging computers, and limited common areas.