University of Michigan strives to lead the way in rethinking colleges of education

PHILADELPHIA, PA. — Here’s a irony: University of Michigan, one of the nation’s premier research universities, is a national leader in pushing teacher-training programs out of the realm of theory to put considerably more emphasis on practical. hands-on experience. And it’s a change that’s badly needed, several experts agreed at the annual convention of the  Education […]

Social Entrepreneurs Try to Offer Solutions to K-12 Problems

Competition for financial backing is intense … “These people are fueled by passion, drive, and commitment, and we can see evidence of their work all over the educational landscape,” Jennifer Carolan, the seed fund co-director at the NewSchools Venture Fund, based in Oakland, Calif., said of social entrepreneurs. “They’re making meaningful social change—we often say […]

Goalbook – Social IEPs for everyone? Actually, yes

Goalbook could revolutionize how we approach differentiated instruction and outcome-based education. Four of my five kids have been on IEPs (Individual Education Plans) at one point or another. Two of them still are and I have little doubt that my youngest will be too once she hits school. She’s only two, but she’s already dropping […]

LearnZillion, One of the Scrappy Startups Making D.C. a Hotspot

A new Washington, D.C., incubator, The Fort, debuted its first cohort of startups today. TechCruch

The Educators

Christina Hall and Jennifer Green work to train better prepared, better informed city teachers. “Staggering.” That’s the word Jennifer Green uses. And she repeats it: “It’s staggering to realize you have students who have made it to the eleventh grade without being able to decode words on a page.” … The problem that UTC seeks […]

Startups Seek to Master the Education Market

The increasing flow of venture capital into K-12 and heightened interest in educational technology are creating opportunities for market newcomers Less than a year ago, Sam Chaudhary and Liam Don met at the University of Cambridge in England during a so-called startup weekend, an event where would-be entrepreneurs, Web designers, and software developers gathered to brainstorm […]