Leadership Blog

Reinventing K-12 Learning

This blog was written by Patrick Larkin, the assistant superintendent for learning for the Burlington Public Schools in Massachusetts. He served 15 years as a high school administrator and was a 2012 winner of the Digital Principal Award from the National Association of Secondary School Principals. This blog is no longer being updated.

College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Personal Privacy Is a Concern for All Tech Users
How can technology users take control of their own digital information?
Patrick Larkin, February 8, 2017
1 min read
School & District Management Opinion CentennialX: A Summer Program that Ruined School for Our Students
The problem, we believe, is well documented: students trained to memorize content, following strict guidelines, ticking off rubrics, working in isolation, staying clean with sleeves buttoned down, all with little encouragement or opportunity to think outside the proverbial box. Next stop is the workforce or university, where expectations of collaboration, innovation, and problem-solving are paramount for success.
Patrick Larkin, February 6, 2017
7 min read
Classroom Technology Opinion Three Great Resources to Help Students Fight Off Fake News
Students need to develop the ability to delve into blog posts and articles and determine where things veer from fact to fiction.
Patrick Larkin, December 16, 2016
1 min read
Classroom Technology Opinion Forget Fake News
Let's stop talking about fake news, an exercise that may lead us down an inescapable rabbit hole, and start talking about reliable sources of information.
Patrick Larkin, December 7, 2016
2 min read
School & District Management Opinion Inexperience Can Be An Asset For Students
Build skills even if you do not know what you want to do with them. Skills are universal. Don't focus on specific knowledge.
Patrick Larkin, November 14, 2016
1 min read
Curriculum Opinion The OER Landscape has Something for Every District
Under the right circumstances - which include meaningful district support and investment - I've seen firsthand that OER curation can lead to powerful shared assets and professional learning.
Patrick Larkin, November 3, 2016
5 min read
Curriculum Opinion Pressing The Reset Button On OER
As I reflect on what the Go Open movement can learn from our experiences, I think we underestimated the capacity-building that needed to be done with teachers to get them comfortable creating curricular resources.
Patrick Larkin, October 3, 2016
4 min read
Curriculum Opinion Three Keys To Gaining Traction With #GoOpen This Year
The #GoOpen District Launch Packet provides a comprehensive outline for schools and districts to organize their efforts to infuse their curriculum with openly-licensed educational resources.
Patrick Larkin, September 24, 2016
2 min read
Professional Development Opinion Raising The Bar On Professional Development
Not surprisingly, the thing that has made the biggest impact for us in providing more meaningful sessions for staff members has been putting structures in place that allow staff members to have a more active voice in developing the schedule.
Patrick Larkin, September 3, 2016
2 min read
Assessment Opinion Testing On Devices Ensures Inequity
In a day and age where the public perception of teachers, schools, and school districts is tied more closely than ever to the results of state tests, we cannot afford unknown variables contributing to the final judgment.
Patrick Larkin, July 29, 2016
1 min read
Equity & Diversity Opinion #Educolor Is A Critical Resource For School Leaders
I am concerned that the most prevalent sound bytes that we hear are ignoring the voice of people of color and leading to an imbalanced perspective.
Patrick Larkin, July 20, 2016
1 min read
College & Workforce Readiness Opinion Life Animated Provides An Important Message Regarding All Learners
From the trailer of Life Animated, it certainly appears that this movie is a must-see that will raise awareness of the personal struggles that families deal with when it comes to autism.
Patrick Larkin, July 14, 2016
1 min read
Classroom Technology Opinion How Many Educators Are Really Literate?
The biggest problem tackling the deficit of skills that our students have in the area of digital literacy is the fact that the so many educators have the same deficits.
Patrick Larkin, July 13, 2016
2 min read
Classroom Technology Opinion Our Students Can't Be "Quiet" on Social Media in School
If students in our schools aren't among the scores of people accessing social media and using it to become leaders, then we have some work to do.
Patrick Larkin, June 30, 2016
1 min read