After four years of SXSWedu I've learned some important lessons about getting around the wonderful City of Austin. Since I moved here in 1998 the population has grown by almost 40% in the metro area, outpacing most cities in the USA. With that kind of growth there are many growing pains, and one that has hit Austin especially hard is transit. The road system quickly became outdated and our municipality hasn't moved fast enough (or planned well enough) to develop a public transportation system to satisfy the growth while still remaining accessible and efficient.
In the same light, the massive amounts of data points now available to educators and instructional support, especially those utilizing a digital devices and assessment tools, populate the landscape. With no long-term plan in place, many districts are watching the data fly by but not using it effectively. Even districts that use it well, such as my current employer, always have room for improvement. Data Interoperability I love educational buzz words, and this one takes first prize this year. While the basic definition- work together- is fairly simple to understand there is a complex world of acronyms and jargon that turn most educators off. As Mike Baur (Michael & Susan Dell Foundation) explained at a couple of sessions I attended, the true path to data interoperability isn't the responsibility of the teacher, but instead the responsibility of district coordinators purchasing from vendors- or commercial partners as Richard Culatta from ISTE described them- that have committed to open APIs and standards set forth by agencies such as the Ed-Fi Alliance. Several times I heard about a new movement- Project Unicorn- that provides vendor and school resources for districts willing to pledge to only use vendors committed to data interoperability. As valuable as data points and observations are it is difficult for teachers to access several platforms that will answer questions to aid personalized learning. Allowing data sharing through structured API commitments could lead to the rise of a all-in-one platform that tells the student's whole story in a glance. With focused consumer power this can be a reality in the near future. Personalized Learning The optimal use of all of these data points is to create a personalized learning experience for students. When the City of Austin recently updated the bus lines in Austin they took into account the statistics of riders and population distribution to account for the majority. In education this is often the utilitarian route- what instructional strategy is the best for the most people? Focusing on blended learning models driven by formative and summative data teachers can create a personalized learning experience for students in the virtual world. Couple this with collaborative, student-centered strategies such as Project Based Learning, and students are getting the maximum instructional value from their educational experience. TASA held a discussion with district leaders from the Texas High Performing Schools Consortium- which my current district is a part of- to discuss their research and findings. The question was posed- How do we change education so that students LOVE it? The answer lies in student-centered practices and personalized learning from integration of data based on the whole-student experience, not simply academics. Promoting student agency (love those buzz words!) with instructional design that focuses on facilitating students collaborating to attain insights and realizations replicate higher education and the industries that we are preparing our students for. It should be a top priority of our K-12 institutions to redefine what instruction and success look like, no matter the perceived complications of real instructional change. David Crusoe of the Boys and Girls Club of America integrated research studies from the retail sector to provide a digital experience for patrons of the organization expanding their focus outside of specific experiences to what happens before and after the experiences. Expanding our understanding of what our learners' expectations are and what they take away from the experience are valuable tools in personalizing the learning experience. His research on retail organizations were translated in five areas of focus- motivation, expectations, environment, interactions, and memory. Focusing on one or more of these can assist in expanding the personal experience of our students in their learning pursuits. As the conference wraps up I'm faced with traffic and road rage on the way home. Changes in these behaviors won't happen overnight, but a focus on using what is happening to influence what you want the end result to be will at least be a step in the right direction. No two drivers are alike, but there isn't a good way to provide a personalized road for each of us. We possess the tools to create this in education, but understanding the construction and maintenance of the system will provide a lasting shift in the way we educate.
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