When Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, completes his purchase of The Washington Post in October for $250 million in cash, it will represent something larger than a business transaction. It will defy convention. Amazon did not exist 20 years ago, but its success allowed Bezos to buy the venerable Post , a product of 19th-century innovation struggling to cater to the changing needs and desires of a 21st-century public.
There is a parallel in education. Over the next decade, our education system will experience the kind of deep disruption and reconfiguration that Amazon, iTunes, and Zipcar brought to their respective industries. The concept of “school” will take many forms where learning is no longer defined by time and place. Radical personalization will become the norm as learners and families create individualized learning “playlists” and educators embrace new roles defined by growing relationships with the community and changing credentials.
This future can appear daunting, but the path to success is apparent, thanks to hundreds of districts in 39 states that have begun the transformation to “competency education,” also known as “proficiency-based learning.” This new approach to education is centered on student mastery of knowledge and skills, instead of the amount of time a student spends...
Already have an account? Please login.
No comments:
Post a Comment