"Houston, unlike other cities, is insanely entrepreneurial and optimistic. It incubates the hell out of new ideas," said nonprofit leader Rhetta Detrich. She would know; she helped build Education Pioneers national network. Lacking the provinciality of East Coast cities, "Houston exists because it was founded on the premise of outsiders bringing good ideas and industry." Read Full Post >
Two years ago I made 40 predictions. I said, "The education sector has not historically been very dynamic, but this year (2010) things changed. Despite the recession, we have seen more start-ups and more cool applications than ever before." Read Full Post >
New York City schools have been among the most innovative in the country as discussed last week. NYC is home to the most education industry leaders and the second most prolific tech startup and EdTech hotspot on the planet (after the Bay Area). Read Full Post >
"New York City is probably the UR-example of a creative city. It has always been about creating the substrate conditions on which innate aspirational energies could anchor and thrive," said Steven Hodas, tech entrepreneur now serving as Executive Director of InnovateNYC for the NYC Department of Education. Read Full Post >
While there are millions of happy democrats this week, a critic sees a landscape "littered with rubble and ruin and wreckage on all sides" in an open letter to the President. Elections leave aggrieved poles, but I live in a much more optimistic place. In particular, I'm optimistic about five things. Read Full Post >
You can extend your impact with social media. Schools, districts, networks, nonprofits, providers and startups, can leverage social media to efficiently communicate, effectively build brand awareness, and gathering feedback on customer experience. Read Full Post >
"The future of our education system and the future of the country are inextricably tied," said Imagine K12 co-founder Tim Brady. He said transformation is "not a matter of if, only how" and #ik12 plans to be part of "ushering in the how, keeping student outcome front and center." Read Full Post >
"Instead of 'fixing' K-12, let's build something better," said Alex Hernandez from Charter Growth Fund (@ThinkSchools) who opened a conversation among experts in the future of learning. "Blended learning is not about technology, it's about personalizing learning for students. We can give students the instruction they need, when they need it." Read Full Post >
Matt Candler is growing people that are growing educational solutions. His New Orleans-based incubator, 4.0 Schools, is based on a process that most organizations start as an idea and go through a five-stage process: itch-->hunch-->test-->launch-->scale. Read Full Post >
I visited schools and edtech startups in the Bay Area Friday. As my partner and I reflected on what we liked about the two companies we visited, he said, "That young CEOs has real mangement chops." I knew immediately what he meant about the combination of knowledge, skills, and abilities. Read Full Post >
