Inspiration
"In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists" - Eric Hoffer
Sir Ken Robinson
"Changing Education Paradigms" Connected Learning
"Everyone, Everywhere, Anytime" |
The UN Global 17
"The World's Largest Lesson" Most likely to Succeed
"Most Likely to Succeed" Trailer |
Connected Learning Movement
"Making Learning Relevant" Michael Moore
"The Finnish Education System" |
Local Highlights
AltSchool
Palo Alto, SF, NY The Crucible
Oakland Degreed
SF, Digital Platform Design School X
Oakland |
D-Tech High School
Redwood City LRNG
Local cities, Digital Platform |
Online G3
Digital platform Outschool
SF+, Digital Platform Riekes Center
Menlo Park Singularity XYC
Moffett Field Stanford Online High School
Digital Platform |
SJUSD Independent Study
San Jose The Tech Shop
San Jose, Mid Peninsula+ Waldorf High School
Mountain View, SF+ Workshop Weekend
Oakland |
What we have known for a long time...
Recent Quotes
"New technologies, work patterns, and practices are disrupting how we learn, where we learn, and what we need to learn. The definitions of teacher and student are becoming fluid, and education itself is moving out of episodic experiences in traditional institutions and their classrooms, into learning flows that course through our daily lives. People of all ages dip in and out of these flows, engaging in continuous learning channels that are contextually relevant and always available. Opportunities and resources for learners are no longer scarce but abundant; they are pervasive rather than localized. Such a transformation calls on educational institutions, learners, and our society as a whole to challenge the assumptions, structures, and principles that have worked thus far." - Marina Gorbis, Institute of the Future
"Society has become too focused on grades, test scores, and performance, leaving little time for kids to develop the necessary skills to become resilient, ethical, and motivated learners...Families and schools need tools to create a more balanced and academically fulfilling life for kids. After all, success is measured over the course of a lifetime, not at the end of a semester."- Denise Pope, Challenge Success
"Society has become too focused on grades, test scores, and performance, leaving little time for kids to develop the necessary skills to become resilient, ethical, and motivated learners...Families and schools need tools to create a more balanced and academically fulfilling life for kids. After all, success is measured over the course of a lifetime, not at the end of a semester."- Denise Pope, Challenge Success
Other Notable Schools and Programs
Fusion Academy
California+ High Tech High
San Diego Lennon Bus
Nationwide |
Millennial Train Project
Nationwide New Tech Network
Los Gatos, San Jose+ Nu Vu Studios
Cambridge Real World Retreat
Colorado |
Roadtrip Nation
Nationwide Semester Schools -Conserve
Wisconsin Summit Schools
California+ The Workshop School
Philadelphia |
Boyinaband: "Don't Stay in School"
A rap video challenging school curriculum and what is relevant |
Fine Brothers Entertainment
Parents React to Don't Stay in School |
More Good Stuff...
Shift in College Admissions
Harvard School of Education : "Turning the Tide...", Jan 2016
"Inspiring Concern for Others and the Common Good through College Admissions" |
The Education Conservancy: "College Admissions, What are Students Learning", 2015
"An exploration of how the selective college admissions experience is shaping student attitudes and behaviors" |
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation: "True Merit", Jan 2016
"Being admitted to a selective institution is actually harder for the high-achieving, low-income student than for others " Colleges that Change Lives
"CTCL is dedicated to the advancement and support of a student-centered college search process" |
The Atlantic: "The Absurdity of College Admissions", Mar 2016
"How did getting into an elite school become a frenzied, soul-deadening process?" |
Gap Year Programs and Entrepreneurship
TeenLife: Gap Year Programs
"Parents, teens, and educators can't say enough about the benefits of taking a gap year before college." Entrepreneur: "StartUp or Start School? The Degree Debate", Aug 2011
"If you don’t have drive, determination and perseverance, for instance, no amount of higher education is going to help you make it in the business world." |
Uncollege
"Helps young people pursue their interests through learning relevant skills and gaining real world experience." Forbes: "Education vs. Entrepreneurship: Which Path Wins?", Jun 2015
"Trending away from the either-or mentality around entrepreneurship and education and towards a more mutually supportive relationship." |
Initiatives and Movements
The World's Largest Lesson
"Global Goals for Sustainable Development. 17 goals to achieve 3 extraordinary things in the next 15 years"
"Global Goals for Sustainable Development. 17 goals to achieve 3 extraordinary things in the next 15 years"
Connected Learning Initiative: Relevant Education for Today's World
"A world where all young people have access to participatory, interest-driven learning that connects to educational, civic, and career opportunities"
"A world where all young people have access to participatory, interest-driven learning that connects to educational, civic, and career opportunities"
Institute of the Future - Extreme Learners
"Extreme learners are currently at the fringes of the educational landscape. But they are illuminating the path for the rest of us"
"Extreme learners are currently at the fringes of the educational landscape. But they are illuminating the path for the rest of us"
Born This Way Foundation: #EmotionRevolution Summit
"Committed to supporting the wellness of young people, and empowering them to create a kinder and braver world"
"Committed to supporting the wellness of young people, and empowering them to create a kinder and braver world"
Stanford 125: Thinking Big About Learning event, Oct 2015
"Research and discoveries that are transforming the way we think about and approach teaching, learning and education"
"Research and discoveries that are transforming the way we think about and approach teaching, learning and education"
Hewlett Packard Foundation: Deeper Learning Initiative
"Deeper learning focuses our students’ education on developing the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college, careers, and life"
"Deeper learning focuses our students’ education on developing the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in college, careers, and life"
White House Summit: "...$375 million in Public and Private Support for Next-Generation High Schools", Nov 2015
"First-ever White House summit on next generation high schools"
"First-ever White House summit on next generation high schools"
XQ Super School Project
"Competition to reimagine the next American high school"
"Competition to reimagine the next American high school"
Sugata Mitra: Hole in the Wall
"In the absence of supervision or formal teaching, children can teach themselves and each other, if they’re motivated by curiosity and peer interest"
"In the absence of supervision or formal teaching, children can teach themselves and each other, if they’re motivated by curiosity and peer interest"
Workshops for Schools, Educators, Parents and Students
Challenge Success
"Provides schools and families with the information and strategies they need to create a more balanced and academically fulfilling life for their kids." Institute of the Future - Future of Learning
"IFTF has developed a provocative workshop process that will help you design and prototype new impactful offerings for the coming decade" K12 Lab Network: School Retool
"School Retool is a professional development fellowship that helps redesign school culture using small, scrappy experiments called 'hacks.'" |
EQ Schools
"Provide practical and powerful emotional intelligence trainings to teachers, administrators, parents, and students" The Greater Good Science Center - Education
"Empower education professionals with research-based practices for fostering social, emotional well-being... in themselves and students" SixSeconds
"Teaching the skills of emotional intelligence...needed for people to become more aware, intentional, and purposeful so individuals..." |
Recent Inspiring Articles
The Atlantic: "Educating an Original Thinker", Feb 2016
"How teachers and parents can identify and cultivate children who think creatively and unconventionally"
"How teachers and parents can identify and cultivate children who think creatively and unconventionally"
Edsurge: "Signature Experiences: The Moments When We Fall in Love with Learning?", March 2016
"Signature experiences motivate students to keep learning, to take initiative, and to carve out a future path for themselves and the world around them."
"Signature experiences motivate students to keep learning, to take initiative, and to carve out a future path for themselves and the world around them."
EdSurge: "AltSchool Launches Partner Program AltSchool Open", Mar 2016
"Teachers, administrators or anyone interested in developing a new school model—whether “micro,” private, parochial, charter or public—can apply..."
"Teachers, administrators or anyone interested in developing a new school model—whether “micro,” private, parochial, charter or public—can apply..."
Quartz: "How Elon Musk is educating his children", May 2015
"Musk says he decided to start his own school because other schools 'weren’t doing the things that I thought should be done.'"
"Musk says he decided to start his own school because other schools 'weren’t doing the things that I thought should be done.'"
Uncollege Newsletter: "Predictions For What Education and Employment Disruption Actually Looks Like, Mar 2016
"The future of work and learning are integrally linked, in ways you aren’t expecting. Here are 12 ways we will see that transpire..."
"The future of work and learning are integrally linked, in ways you aren’t expecting. Here are 12 ways we will see that transpire..."
Happiness is Here blog: "Education does not equal School Curriculum, Sept 2015
"Education is individual. It can be different for everyone... people are not all interested in the same things."
"Education is individual. It can be different for everyone... people are not all interested in the same things."
Psychology Today, Peter Gray blog: "Five Myths about Young People and Social Media", Feb 2014
"Teenagers have always been attracted to public spaces where they can hang out with friends, find new friends, and talk endlessly with peers about matters that concern them..."
"Teenagers have always been attracted to public spaces where they can hang out with friends, find new friends, and talk endlessly with peers about matters that concern them..."
Education Week Blog "Amid Internet Addiction Fears, 'Balanced' Tech Diet for Teens Recommended", May 2016
"in a society in which opportunities for [face-toface] interactions are increasingly limited, teens are turning to technology to express typical developmental needs around social connections with peers."
"in a society in which opportunities for [face-toface] interactions are increasingly limited, teens are turning to technology to express typical developmental needs around social connections with peers."
Whole Family Learning blog, "The Self-Directed Learning Difference", Mar 2016
"...all children, all people, are self-directed learners. It is a natural part of being human. We are born with the instinct to explore and discover and synthesize our world."
"...all children, all people, are self-directed learners. It is a natural part of being human. We are born with the instinct to explore and discover and synthesize our world."
Edutopia blog: "Recess for High School Students", Feb 2015
"The short break provides an opportunity to connect with one another and teachers in a new way..."
"The short break provides an opportunity to connect with one another and teachers in a new way..."
Organizers
Lisa Betts-La Croix, Founder
Community Organizer |
Marcy Delgado, Co-founder
CoderDojo Silicon Valley |