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Digital Curriculum
Editors Note Contents Commentary
As schools integrate digital tools into the 10 10 Ways to Use Quality
classroom, educators are finding new 2 The Evolving World 7 Algorithmic Bias a Rising Digital Curriculum
ways to customize lessons for students. Of Curriculum Concern for Ed-Tech
Field, RAND 11 How to Be More
In this Spotlight, see how educators are 4 Learning Via Playlists Efficient In Integrating
evaluating growing curriculum choices, Researchers Say
Digital Tools Into the
consider the potential and drawbacks of 8 How Should Reading Be Classroom
algorithm-driven playlists, and learn how Taught In a Digital Era?
districts can deploy a high-quality digital 12 7 Ways to Break Bad
curriculum. Blended Learning
Digital Curriculum /edweek.org 2
Published March 29, 2017, in Education Weeks Special Report: Navigating New Curriculum Choices
E
Kingsley, the assistant superintendent
ducators tasked with finding for academics of theWake County, N.C.,
instructional materials for schools. Theres a lot of sorting through
their districts and classrooms the forest for the right materials.
face a dizzying array of op-
tions these days.
Classroom resources are available in
Nationwide Curriculum Review
print, digital textbook formats, and on- Certain states have long had curricu-
line. They can be paid for, subscribed to, lum-review panelsbut some of the most
or downloaded for free. Theyre available influential ones, including California,
as comprehensive, yearlong curricula; in- have in recent years ceded their power
dividual thematic units; and single activi- over materials to the districts.
ties and games. Now, a growing number of national
Several forces have collided to bring efforts are underway to help teachers
the market to this confusing, yet ulti- and administrators wade through the
mately academically promising point: The curricular muck.
majority of states are now using theCom- The nonprofitEdReports.org, launched
mon Core State Standards, meaning two years ago, reviews K-12 math and
there are more opportunities to share English/language arts curricula for align-
materials across state lines. States are ment to the common core, which sets ex-
increasingly letting districts choose their pectations for those subjects and,despite
own instructional materials, rather than some pushback, is being used in nearly
forcing them to select from an approved 40 states. EdReports.org has come un-
list. Theres been a recent push, includ- der some criticism from publishers and a
ingfrom the federal government, to make math teachers group for its methodology.
online instructional materials free and Even so, the ongoing reviews may be
open to the publicknown as open educa- proving influential: In Palo Alto, Calif.,
tional resources. the school board initially rejected a pilot
And advances in digital technology for one of three educator-recommended
have made it easier to personalize learning math curricula because that particular
materials for individual students needs. curriculum hadnt yet been reviewed
The trick is choosing well. In selecting by EdReports.org. (It subsequently was
instructional materials, teachers and ad- deemed to partially meet academic
ministrators have to ask: Do the resources standards, and approved in February
Im considering align with my states stan- for a trial run.)
dards? Do they have enough supports for If were not explicit about what were
English-learners? Can they be modified to looking for in terms of curriculum align-
fit a classrooms unique needs? And, per- ment, what were left with is trusting
haps most importantly, will they really peoples gut feeling about whether or not
lead to student learning? they like something, said Daniel Gohl,
As it turns out, that last question is an in- the chief academic officer of theBroward
credibly thorny onetheres as little agree- County, Fla., schools. That like needs
ment on what makes a curriculum good as to be defined and articulated.
there is on what makes a teacher so. Learning List, a for-profit company
And yet, with the varied influx of cur- based in Austin, Texas, analyzes digi-
ricular materials, districts are scrambling tal and print educational resources for
to deduce what will work in classrooms. alignment with states standards as
Teachers across the country are try- well, though it is a paid-subscription
ing to figure out how to find materials service.
that are standards-aligned for increas- TheState Educational Technology
Digital Curriculum /edweek.org 3
Directors Associationhas become a re- three and led to nontrivial gains in who are going to be using them every
source for state officials with a web- student performance at a very low cost. day, Kingsley said.
based print to digital guide to high- Some districts have tried to assess
quality instructional materials. And curriculum effectiveness on their own.
Johns Hopkins University researchers The Wake County district used a back-
Creating Lessons In-House
have created awebsite for school ad- wards mapping approach to determine In light of the bewildering number of
ministrators that rates instructional what instructional resources have led to resources available and few agreed-on
programsfor K-12 reading and math the best student outcomes. measures of quality, some districts have,
based on the criteria for judging their ef- Starting with students work prod- in a sense, gone off the grid.
fectiveness that is laid out in theEvery ucts in a particular classroom, and In Louisiana, the state education de-
Student Succeeds Act, the new federal comparing them to available resources, partment decided to have teachers craft
education law. the question was asked: Did these re- a curriculum of their own. The result-
Individual researchers are taking on sources naturally lead to teaching to the ing program, which is voluntary, was
curriculum effectiveness as well, though mastery of our standards? released across the state last year, and
on a smaller scale: Arecent studyby Co- This helped us build some system- about 80 percent of districts there are
rey Koedel, an associate professor of eco- wide priorities of areas we need to en- using it so far.
nomics and public policy at the Universi- hance our curriculum and in some Recent state test results show signs
ty of Missouri, and Morgan Polikoff, an cases, procure new curriculum, said it may be helping improve student out-
assistant education professor at the Uni- Kingsley of the Wake County district. comes, though some teachers say they
versity of Southern California, looked at Now in the market for English/lan- need more help differentiating the units
the impact that textbooks have on stu- guage arts and math curricula, Wake for students of all needs. The curricu-
dent achievementsomething very few County also held print and digital lum, hosted on the LearnZillion cloud-
studies have attempted to do. playground sessions for educators, based platform, is free and open for any
Koedel and Polikoff found that one of students, and parents so they could school across the country to use.
the four most popular math textbooks give feedback about their impressions The District of Columbia public
used in California from 2008 to 2013 of the instructional-material finalists schools are doing something similar.
consistently outperformed the other in each category. These are the people In theMiddletown, N.Y., district,
educator-created open educational re-
sources are being organized in a scope
and sequence onto a Learning Path
platform that Superintendent Ken East-
wood plans to make available to dis-
tricts nationwide as well.
On the other end of the curricular
spectrum, some schools have turned to
curriculum playlists, some of which
use computer-based algorithms, rath-
er than teachers, to gather online les-
sons tailored to individual students
learning gaps.
The future is
Curriculum-as-a-Service
Watch the CaaS video
READ MORE
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moreinfo@learnzillion.com | learnzillion.com
Digital Curriculum /edweek.org 4
For many educators, a key ingredient tional language, would be called supple- proven to be more complex and expen-
sought in an instructional program is mentary materials, he said. sive than first envisioned, said Jay Dis-
flexibility. Gohl is looking for modularity, the key, the executive director of the Asso-
Were telling vendors we do not want ability to easily manipulate compo- ciation of American Publishers PreK-12
a basal textbook, said Gohl, the Bro- nents of the curriculum in a digital Learning Group.
ward chief academic officer. His school environment. Moving to digital personalized
system is working on a social studies Publishers say theyre hearing this learning is something quite different
adoption now. What we want is the op- kind of request more and more. from what schools had been doing,
portunity to procure materials that are The evolving needs and demands he said. It really is a sea change in
aligned with standards that, in tradi- of the print-to-digital transition have learning.
Published March 29, 2017, in Education Weeks Special Report: Navigating New Curriculum Choices
B
ack in 2009, Joel Rose and
his team used spreadsheets
to manually produce custom-
ized playlists for 70 New
York City middle school stu-
dents each day. The goal was to always
give each child the best possible content,
delivered in the optimal manner, at the
best possible time.
Figuring out how to make that happen
took 11 hours every night.
Now, Roses New York-based nonprofit
S
lesson isnt an option.
ome innovators want to use Who gets to design the playlists?
The algorithms final daily output
playlists to link young people to Right now, the answer is mostly adults
consists of a preview schedule that fits
their passions, to each other, and and experts at various groups that LRNG
all the pieces of the puzzle together. New
to opportunities to make an impact in partners with, including a new set of
Classrooms human scheduling team re-
the world. grantees financed to develop playlists on
views those algorithmic recommenda-
Curriculum playlists are often such topics as digital literacy and career
tions, makes tweaks as necessary, and
thought of as algorithm-driven systems preparation. But eventually, Yowell said,
sends each school suggestions on how its
for matching students with content the goal is for young people to be able
classrooms should be organized the fol-
and learning experiences that can best to create and share their own playlists.
lowing day.
help them master prescribed learning
Teachers on the ground get final
standards as efficiently as possible. How do you make playlists matter?
saywhat if the algorithms want to
But proponents of the connected The connected-learning movement
put two feuding students into the same
learning movement are taking playlists is heavily focused on out-of-school
small group?
in a different direction: They want to and informal-learning opportunities.
When students walk back into the
connect young people to their passions, Proponents are generally not interested
classroom the next day, their playlists
to each other, and to opportunities in measuring effectiveness with
have already been updated, and large
to make a real impact on the world. standardized-test results. So what exactly
flat-screen TVs point them to the sec-
My concern about the do young people get out of completing
tion of the room where theyll spend the
current approach to algorithms and an LRNG playlist? Right now, the answer
period.
personalized learning in schools is is mostly digital badges, with some
that were still so tied to traditional additional real-world opportunities,
Algorithmic Bias? notions of curriculum and what content such as an internship with a local
needs to be taught, said Constance partner organization, sprinkled in.
Teach to One has come a long way,
Yowell, the CEO ofCollective Shift,
but theres still plenty of room to grow,
a nonprofit organization spun off by How do you get young people to
said Rose, the New Classrooms co-
the MacArthur Foundation in 2015. access and use the playlist platform?
founder and CEO.
If you put four healthy foods in Currently, it happens mostly through
On the technology side, other com-
front of a young person, but they hate mentors, such as teachers or program
panies, such as New York City-based
all of them, which one they choose is staff at a local Boys & Girls Club. A mobile
Knewton, are already leveraging the
not all that interesting, Yowell said. app is on the horizon. But even after
power of machine learning to help make
Collective Shifts biggest project is LRNG manages to draw young people
their own playlist-creation systems
LRNG, a platform intended to provide in, questions remain. One biggie: how
smarter.
students with tailored opportunities to strike the right balance between
Logistical challenges also remain.
to pursue their own interests through recommending learning experiences
When the District of Columbia school
a wide variety of often-informal to users versus letting them discover
system tried Teach to One at one of its
learning experiences, ranging from such experiences for themselves?
middle schools, for example, experienced
museum trips to wearable-technology LRNG is still in beta, and
teachers ended up feeling limited by the
projects to online coding tutorials. theres a long way to go.
technology, because they wanted the free-
Its still early days for the project. But Yowell said the vision is clear.
dom to plan more than one day ahead.
Some of the challenges Yowell and We want LRNG to be an
When the rubber met the road, there
her team are wrestling with: infrastructure that enables in-
were just so many little practical chal-
school and out-of-school learning
lenges to making it work, said John
to work together, she said.
Rice, the districts director of educa-
tional technology, who helped make the
decision to drop the program last year.
Then there are the growing number might find that their atypical mental But for the time being, at least, New
of questions about the role algorithms processes are not reflected in the soft- Classrooms does not have any built-in
play in society more broadly. ware that shapes their instruction. checks to ensure that its technology is
In fields such as criminal justice, Algorithms are inherently optimized free of bias.
concerns have been raised about al- for some people, said ONeil, the author Figuring out how to ensure public
gorithmic bias. Formulas used to help and activist. trust by making that happen is just
determine criminal sentences, for ex- For his part, Rose turns the ques- one of the hurdles the group will have
ample, have been found to produce tion around: Students with learning to overcome if it wants to take its cur-
unfair outcomes for African-American disabilities are often poorly served in riculum playlists from the margins to
defendants. traditional classrooms, he said, and the mainstream.
One fear for K-12 schools is that as internal metrics show the 600 or so Our long-term vision is wed love to
the algorithms behind playlists become special-needs students in Teach to One see personalized learning be the way
smarter and more efficient, students classrooms have made significant aca- kids learn, Rose said. And wed like to
with special needssay, dyslexia demic growth. be one of the models.
Digital Curriculum /edweek.org 7
F
rom criminal sentencing to write. But too often, they say, the public to choose what types of instructional
credit scores, algorithms and ascribes objectivity and neutrality to content and learning experiences stu-
artificial intelligence in- algorithms and artificial intelligence, dents have each day in the classroom.
creasingly make high-stakes even though most function as a black Weve also looked at algorithm-driven
decisions that have big impli- box, and some have been shown to re- tools for providing career- and college-
cations for peoples freedom, privacy, and sult in different outcomes for different guidance and for hiring teachers.
access to opportunity. groups of people. What if such tools are biased against
Despite the almost-blind faith we of- students of color, or students with special
ten put in such artificial agents, its no needs? How would educators, parents,
secret that they are often biased, accord- and students even know?
ing to a new report from the RAND Cor- Such questions are both realistic and
poration. important for the field to be asking,
And more than ever, RAND re- Osoba and Welser said.
searchers Osonde Osoba and Bill On the K-12 side of the equation,
Welser said in an interview with Educators need to not cede com-
Education Week, its important plete control to the computer,
to raise awareness about the Welser said. That means being
role that algorithms play and aware which products used in
to push for a public account- the classroom, school, or dis-
ing of their impactparticu- trict rely on algorithms and
larly in areas that involve artificial intelligence to
the public interest, including make decisions; understand-
the field of K-12 education. ing what decisions they are
For the longest time, any making; and paying atten-
time questions of bias came tion to how different groups
up, hardcore researchers in of students are experiencing
artificial intelligence and algo- the products.
rithms dismissed them because But what about algorithm-
they were not engineering con- driven products that are now in
cerns, Osoba said. That was OK use in hundreds of districts
for commercial toys, but the moment across the country? How can the
the switch was made to applying algo- public know if there is some kind of
rithms to public policy systems, the issue systematic bias at work in how stu-
of bias no longer became a triviality. dents are being assigned classroom les-
The new RAND report, titled An In- sons, or given advice about their post-
telligence in Our Image: The Risks of secondary plans?
Bias and Errors in Artificial Intelli- Generally speaking, Osoba said, the
gence, does not focus on education. In- Where does such bias come from? keys are for developers to make their algo-
stead, the authors lay out examples The individual humans who program rithms more open and transparent on the
such as the algorithmic bias in criminal the artificial agents, who may have biases front end, then to conduct tests for dispa-
sentencing (as documented in a series they are not even aware of; a pool of com- rate impact on the back end.
by nonprofit news organization Pro- puter- and data-scientists that is far less Its too early to try to regulate the field
Publica) and the problems with Tay, a diverse than the populations their prod- or mandate such testing across the board,
chatbot developed by Microsoft that was ucts eventually impact; and biases in the Welser said.
supposed to learn the art of conversa- data that are used to train the artificial But now is the time for the conver-
tion by interacting with Twitter users agents to learn by finding patterns, sation to begin happening in earnest,
and quickly began spewing racist and RAND concluded. he said.
vulgar hate speech. All those issues are found in abun- There should be a shared idea about
Artificial agents can process the im- dance in the ed-tech field. when you do disparate impact studies. Is
mense streams of data now running Earlier this year, Education Week it when 300 children use your product?
through society in ways that humans took a look at the growing field of cur- Or 100,000 children? Welser said.
cant, making them a necessary tool for riculum playlistseducational soft- People in the ed-tech space havent yet
modern society, the RAND researchers ware programs that rely on algorithms really put their heads around this.
Digital Curriculum /edweek.org 8
Published November 8, 2016, in Education Weeks Special Report: ing how to operate the devices, navigate
The Changing Face of Literacy online tools, manage distractions, and
maintain their own safety and privacy.
Its challenging. As teachers, were
How Should Reading Be Taught just realizing how much our own reading
and writing lives have changed, said
W
One of the best ways to teach tech-
ith the many enhance- websites on a daily basis or nearly every nical skills is through modeling, many
ments to mobile devices, day at school. About 30 percent of stu- said. Teachers can show students how
multimedia websites, e- dents in 4th grade classrooms never, or to use technology by using it themselves
books, interactive graph- hardly ever, use computers to access such and talking out the process.
ics, and social media, reading material in school. This week, we might be reading a
theres no question that the nature of read- Think about what happens in the real paper book [for a read aloud], and next
ing has changed during the past decade. world, and school is not there, regretta- week, I might read something off my
But has the way reading is taught bly, Turner said. Kindle, said Kristin Ziemke, a 1st grade
in elementary schools changed as well? Brenda LeClerc, an elementary read- teacher at the Academy of St. Benedict
And what should teachers be doing to ing specialist in Lincoln, R.I., who at- the African in Chicago, who also con-
get students ready for the realities of tended a digital-literacy institute at the sults with other urban schools as a
modern reading? University of Rhode Island this past sum- learning-innovation specialist. I want
For now, theres no consensus on ex- mer, said students in her classes have them to see what it looks like to turn the
actly how digital skills should be incorpo- generally read really only print-based page, to go back.
rated into literacy instruction. Practitio- materials. She is working to expand her Students, especially the youngest
ners have few guidelines, and many are own digital skills because everything ones, dont each need their own device to
simply adapting their lessons as they see outside of school is not print-based for the do that, either. One device and the pro-
fit. But many literacy experts do agree on most part, she said. I feel like I need to jector changes everything for kids and
at least one thing: that all students should be more comfortable with it. for teachers, she said.
be learning with a mix of print and digital The transition from looking at words
textseven the very youngest. and text in print to viewing it on screen
Just like we teach nonfiction and fic-
Print Skills Plus isnt hard at all for young students, said
tion at a very young age, I think we can Adding digital reading to the already- Karen Pelekis, a 1st grade teacher in
talk to preschoolers and kindergartners tough task of teaching elementary stu- Scarsdale, N.Y. Its just a natural exten-
about different kinds of textsthis is one dents foundational print skills can be sion of how they already see the world.
where we turn the pages, and this is one daunting, though. Its what theyre already exposed to.
where we click on the different pages, Even students born in a digital age Teachers can also use modeling to
said Kristen Hawley Turner, an associ- need to learn a host of new skills, includ- show young children how to navigate an
ate professor of English education and
contemporary literacies at Fordham Uni-
versity.
Exposing students to both print and
digital reading early on in school is a way
of reflecting what authentic reading looks
like, many said.
It is the way people read, write, com-
municate, and learn in the world, so kids
should be learning it from the beginning,
said Bridget Dalton, an associate profes-
sor of literacy studies at the University of
Colorado at Boulder. You dont wait till
theyre proficient in one to do the other. Its
a simultaneous development.
But unfortunately, experts said, the
transition to that way of instruction has
been slow going in many places. The word
reading in elementary classrooms often
still refers mainly to print.
According to survey data from the
2015 National Assessment of Educational
Progress, only about 1 in 10 4th graders
use computers to access reading-related
Digital Curriculum /edweek.org 9
online space, such as a web-based article found that 3- to 6-year-olds who read with digital reading [as with print].
with hyperlinks and multimedia. interactive e-books with their parents Ziemke now recommends introduc-
We talk about text features in recalled significantly fewer narrative ing 3rd graders and up to a half-dozen or
booksindentation, the big first letter details than children who read the print so vetted educational websites, such as
at the beginning of a chapter, what a version of the same story. Wonderopolis and Tween Tribune, and
chapter means, said William L. Bass But some educators chalked that up giving them free time to search within
II, the innovation coordinator for in- to students not getting explicit instruc- those for texts theyd like to read.
structional technology, information, tion on how to navigate online text and By 5th grade, though, Bass says stu-
and library media for the Parkway transfer those print comprehension dents should have opportunities to really
district in Chesterfield, Mo. But what skills. I once had a kid say, I didnt search the web on their own.
about those text features that are in- know we were allowed to think when we
side of web pages? What is this under- read online, said Sibberson. They need
lined blue thing? Why did the author to see its the same thingsometimes
Authentic Reading vs. Games
choose to make that a link? with online stuff, they think of play. There are countless online games and
Young students also need instruction apps available to help students practice
on how to self-regulate and manage dis- their foundational reading skillspho-
Nonlinear Texts tractions in the online worldwhen to nics, sight words, vocabulary, among
Perhaps the biggest difference be- ignore links, close tabs, and stay on one themand teachers have been using
tween print and online reading is that text or app rather than jumping around them for years. But digital-literacy ex-
the latter introduces decisionmaking. to others, for example. perts caution that theres a difference be-
Print reading is very much theres If you dont start thinking early tween using games and having students
a dead endits isolated reading, said about managing distractions, youre go- do authentic online reading.
Katharine Hale, the instructional-tech- ing to be building bad habits, Fordhams People ask me whats the best sight-
nology coordinator at Gunston Middle Turner said. word app for 2nd grade, and I say I dont
School in Arlington, Va. Digital reading know, I dont use tech like that, said
is more like a choose your own adven- Ziemke. Im not against games by any
ture. You can click on something else
Search for Texts Online means, but when I look at where we need
and continue on again. Just as young students learn to to start, we can do so much with mod-
In other words, reading goes from be- choose books from the library, many eling daily work and authentic ways of
ing a linear experience in print to being experts said they should also learn to using tech.
a nonlinear one online. Teachers need to search for texts online. But, of course, Many games and apps arent much
be direct about that difference, experts surfing the web is rife with safety and more than souped-up worksheets, ac-
said, showing students that sometimes privacy issues, so elementary students cording to Hale, the instructional-tech-
its OK to stop and click on a link or will need to do that in a more limited nology coordinator in Virginia.
watch a video in the middle of an article environment. More-authentic digital-literacy in-
if it will help them understand the con- Pelekis sets up wiki pages with links struction would have students working
tent better. related to whatever her 1st graders are with the technology that readers and writ-
We need to teach young children dig- studyingfor instance, students can go ers use all the timeblogs, social media,
ital text is hyperlinked and networked, there to get more information on chicks movie-making apps, bookmarking tools,
and you go from one place to another, during a unit on the egg-to-chicken life audio recorders, virtual bulletin boards,
and its not left to right, said Turner. cycle. and annotating tools, educators said.
Ive had students successfully do that She avoids search engines altogether. There are isolated skills you can
in early elementary by having them click I know some people do [use them] but learn nicely on the computer, but over-
on hyperlinks and talking about, where ... I did once, and its a bad mistake Im all for me, reading is all about thinking,
did that take me? The idea is being very not making again, she said. Even You- and the more I can get them to think,
explicit and not just assuming they have Tubes education channel can turn up explore, be curious and interested, and
the knowledge. inappropriate content, she said. (And have a desire to read and learn, the tech-
At the same time, students need to dont even think about having students nology helps you be able to capture that
see that, while the format is different, Google the word chicks, she mentioned and extend what they can do in the class-
the purpose of reading remains the offhandedly.) room, said 1st grade teacher Pelekis.
same. When you think about compre- That said, some teachers want to
hension strategies, they work whether maintain authenticity in how students
youre reading a blog post or watching search for information online, both be-
Classroom Barriers
video or reading a print book, said Sib- cause they will need those skills later Needless to say, incorporating digital
berson, who co-wrote a book with Bass and because giving students a choice can skills into early reading is easier in some
in 2015 calledDigital Reading: Whats motivate them to read. situations than others.
Essential in Grades 3-8. So often we say, go to National Geo- For starters, theres the issue of ac-
Some studies have shown that stu- graphic Kids, open the article on gi- cess to digital devices. Many teachers
dents struggle more with comprehension raffes, and read it, said Ziemke, who said they simply dont have the internet-
on digital devices than print materials. co-wrote a 2015 book calledAmplify! connected tools they need to get going
A2012 study by the Joan Ganz Cooney Digital Teaching and Learning in the with online reading.
Center at Sesame Workshop, a research K-6 Classroom. I noticed I wasnt giv- We do have iPad carts and laptop
organization for childrens digital media, ing students that same choice piece carts, but teachers have to sign up to use
ADVERTISEMENT
T
o date, the mental model for curriculum But if curriculum is provided as a serviceone
has been the textbook. If a school powered by technology and human expertise
district adopts a textbook, its clear what instead of via textbooks, getting these jobs done
the curriculum is. But what if a school district starts to look very different:
adopts a curriculum and nobody uses it? Does
the district still have a curriculum?
Expand image
The job of a curriculum leader is to support make a distinction between means and ends. As
high-quality, coherent instruction across the Jim Shelton, the President of Education at the
district. This is challenging if teachers are Chan Zuckerberg Initiative explained this fall in
grabbing content from sites like Pinterest. the 2016 iNACOL keynote, Too often when you
say personalized learning, people think a kid, a
Where are your teachers getting screen, alone.
their curricular resources?
The RAND Corporation recently released a
Personalized learning as a means
series of surveys looking at how K-12 teachers This is personalized learning as a means. Its
understand and are implementing state learning that is focused on one modality for
standards, and 87 percent of elementary learning: the independent modality. Each
teachers listed Pinterest as a top resource. student gets a stream of learning objects that
matches his/her needs and each student works
Given this change, districts need to think
independently through the streams.
differently about curriculum. If they continue
to treat curriculum as a static product, they There is something exciting about this notion.
fail to address the Pinterest problem. With a Schools have traditionally functioned as one-
systems-thinking approach, they bring this size-fits-all factories, so it feels subversive
problem out into the open. They recognize that to imagine flipping the script and using
when teachers go to Pinterest, theyre doing technology to customize an experience for each
so because theyre trying to get a job done. student.
Teachers want to find, create, and curate more
But personalized learning as a means is
engaging material.
limiting. As a parent of three kids, I want
But instead of letting this work just sit in a lot more from school. I want my kids to
classroom silos, districts can harness this play, to interact with peers, to problem solve,
teacher energy, steering it through a process of to find meaning in the world, and to learn
planning deliberate, well-crafted lessons: what it means to contribute. I dont want
their educational experience to take place in
1. Source material from inside and outside the
isolation, even though I know that independent
district
learning should be part of the equation.
2. Develop a process for working with that
source material Personalized learning as an end
3. Through that process, create high-quality
This is the problem with defining personalized
exemplars that define excellence
learning as a means. It undermines the broader
This process results in both professional concept of personalized learningpersonalized
development for teachers and high-quality, learning as an end. Personalized learning as
district-specific curricular materials. an end is about engendering ownership over
learning; its about connecting learning with
Does Curriculum-as-a-Service students lives in meaningful ways and treating
support personalized learning? each student as an individual who has distinct
Yes, but to understand why, its important to interests and needs.
ADVERTISEMENT
LEAP Innovations defines personalized traditional, paper-based format is inherently
learning as: one-sized-fits-all. It wasnt designed to enable
Learner connected: It connects learning to and encourage adaptation or fluid movement
families, communities, and networks between modalities. As a result, teachers have
Learner focused: It understands each to create adaptations on their own if they want
individual learners needs, strengths, to personalize the curriculum, a feat which
interests, and approaches to learning requires close to superhuman effort.
Learner demonstrated: It allows learners
But what if flexibility across modalities was
to progress at their own pace based on
the default? What if curriculum made elegant
demonstrated competencies
adaptations easy for teachers?
Learner led: It enables learners to take
ownership of their learning so that it can When curriculum is in the cloud, it suddenly
dynamically adjust to their skills, curiosity, becomes possible to support teachers in moving
and goals flexibly between the three core modalities in
the service of personalized learning.
When we define personalized learning as an
end, the notion of all-independent, all-the-time The same content can be expressed in the
doesnt make sense. teacher-led modality, the independent modality,
and the collaborative modality. This not only
What this is about, explained Jim Shelton
saves teachers time, it frees them to think
in his 2016 iNACOL keynote, is empowering
strategically about what mix of modalities
teachers. Its about finally giving teachers the
will best serve their class and their individual
tools to do what theyre asked to do each day
students.
change lives.
Once a core curriculum is in the cloud, it
Bringing personalized learning to life
becomes possible to collect data on teaching
If you want to achieve personalized learning as and learning and help teachers test and
an end, you need a mix of expert explanation augment their intuition. Teachers can then
(new concepts or skills), independent learning ask: Which balance of modalities most highly
(the chance to connect the new with what you correlates with student engagement and
already know and then practice with it) and learning?
collaborative learning (the chance to apply it in
the context of a team or community). Of course, Eric Westendorf is the co-founder and CEO
of LearnZillion
different learning outcomes call for a different
mix of the three.
READ MORE
Unfortunately, core curriculum in its
T
or from the district, she said. And and bolster student learning. Digital
students can learn the basics they heshift to digitallearning is curriculum can provide morepersonal-
need when a teacher projects the a historic opportunity to re- ized learning than a studentis getting
device on a screen and models how think school. Quality curricu- otherwise. Quality control is essential
to use it. lum, inexpensive devices, and for schools and educators in blended
A bigger issue is that teachers blended and online learning learning environments. Educators
feel hamstrung by policies that dont models have extended the benefits of per- want to know that students are cover-
necessarily promote digital read- sonalization to many American students. ing core content, meeting standards
ing, some said. Standardized tests Evidence ofdeeper learning outcomesas a and that student online learning is
do take place on computers now in result of digital learning also continue to personalized and meaningful.
most states, but they dont mea- fuel school and district support. 3. Supplement in blended cours-
sure authentic digital skills, such Houston Independent School Dis- es.Adaptive tutorialsand assigned
as navigating websites and using trict(HISD), serving over 200,000 stu- units can supplement teacher devel-
search engines. And in many cases, dents with a wide range of needs, has oped core content in a blended course.
because authentic online reading been a leader in the shift to digital. While Tutorials can also be useful supports
tasks arent being assessed, teach- phasing in a technology infrastructure, for a project-based approach.
ers in tested grades may not priori- HISD held community conversations 4. Credit recovery.Students often de-
tize teaching them. about preparing all students forcollege, cide dropping out is a better option af-
In addition, many elementary work and life. ter they realize how difficult itcan be to
teachers are uncomfortable with In a recent presentation we did togeth- make up failed courses. Digital courses
their own technology skills, which er, Natalie Blasingame, HISD Assistant that provide students credit recovery
makes them hesitant to start digital Superintendent for Academic Interven- can be a huge relief and solution. Stu-
reading with students. tions, described many ways they have dents can take courses again on their
For the most part, we were not deployed digital curriculum fromApex own time and do not have to wait until
trained as educators to teach kids Learning. And the folks at Apex agree the next time a course is offered.
who are reading in digital spaces that curriculum should match the district 5. Expand AP options.Most high
thats not part of most teacher-prep learning goals and ought to includestu- schools can only afford to offer a couple
courses, said Bass, the innovation dent engagement strategies, assessment Advanced Placement courses. With ac-
coordinator in Chesterfield. We fall and support.
back and rely on the way we were Building on the HISD list, following
taught, and thats a barrier. are 10 ways a district can deploy a high-
There are also some mindsets quality digital curriculum.
that hold teachers back from teach-
ing digital reading. Ive been in 1. Online courses.Learning online is
classrooms where its not happening thenew normalfor students of all ages.
at all, said Ziemke, the 1st grade There are endless options to advance
teacher and consultant. There are or get your degree, learn a new skill
people that are waiting it out [until and connect with others. High-quality
they leave teaching] or saying, Im content and user experiences are what
going to go to a school thats not as differentiates some courses from the
techy. rest. Online courses in middle and
And some educators areunder- high school are particularly helpful as
standablystill attached to the idea we move away from the hyper-struc-
of falling in love with print books. tured school day and move towards
Theres still something very moreblended environmentsandproj-
magical about holding a book and ect-based learning. Students who do
being able to flip the page in your not attend a traditional school that
hands, said Hale. But reading isnt need to earn credits on their own time
just reading print text anymore. also benefit from access to high-quality
Reading is reading the world. digital courses.
Digital Curriculum /edweek.org 11
cess to digital courses online, students head straight into the workforce. With 9. Expand language learning.Dis-
anywhere can have the opportunity to the decrease in funding for vocational tricts looking to supportlanguage
have AP learning--including thenext ed and career and technical education learningoften face the challenge of
generation coursesthat encourage courses, these students often arent get- finding the right teachers. Digital
deeper learning. This is increasingly ting the type of teaching & learning ex- learning not only has the potential
important as the bar for college en- periences they want or need. Online CTE to provide language courses for stu-
trance and necessary entry-level job options can be a great way to ensure that dents, but also language support
requirements only continue to rise. these students are also really ready. and translation for students that
6. Expand elective options.Students, 8. Student Acceleration.Over-aged are learning English.
especially those in middle and high middle school students needing to 10. Provide additional support, men-
school, want voice and choice intheir bridge the gap into high school can toring and tutorials.Student interest
learning.Digital curriculum can pro- benefit from digital learning during and engagement often increases when
vide students options, even if courses the summer or school year. Students they feel they have adequate support
or content is not offered at their school. who are hoping to advance or gradu- and guidance, especially when they
7. Expand CTE options.College might ate early also can use digital courses to are working on materials or skills
be the goal for students, but many opt to achieve their goals. that they are struggling with.
I
tively because of a lack of training. But work groups, likeMural.ly? Could a tool
never learned to program a VCR. whatever the reasons, our avoidance of for annotating a video from YouTube,
As a young adult in the late 1990s, digital tools for learning is costing our likePlayPositorEdPuzzle, also be used
I knew that VCRs were on their students. by students to make meaningful media-
way out. I knew that by the time According to the Nellie Mae Educa- to-self connections?
I learned how to do it, something tion Foundation, 43 percent of students What digital tools do you already
new would take its place. I didnt resist all feel unprepared to use technology as use for life or work? Can you think of
technologyquite the contrary! I bought they look ahead to higher education or ways to use those tools in the class-
a Sony Discman, owned a laptop comput- the workforce. A survey of business ex- room?
er, and had a mobile phone the size of an ecutives revealed that they are looking 2. Find out what digital tools other
elephant. I just didnt want to waste my for employees that can do more than teachers are using. Use your time ef-
time learning something that was fast be- simply read, write, and do math. Man- ficiently.If students already know how
coming obsolete. agersare looking foremployees that to use a tool, you will have saved the
Many teachers today are approaching can think critically, solve problems, time you would have spent to teach it.
the use of digital tools in the classroom in collaborate, and communicate effec- If you teach 10th grade, find out what
the same way. The half-life of technology tively. In todays technological and in- tools the 9th grade teachers were us-
is notoriously short. We rightly dont ex- terconnected world, all of these skills ing with that class. Do your students
pect a piece of technology to stick around, require the use of digital tools. Educa- already use Prezi to create book reports
and so we dont bother to learn it. Our tion leaders are trying to address these in English class? Use the foundation
pragmatic approach saves us the time and concerns and have focused on prepar- your students have already built with
effort involved in learning a tool and how ing students with the skills they need that tool to have them use Prezi to be
to teach with it. for life and work in the 21st century. student teachers and present their un-
Time is not the only reason teachers However, classroom teachers taking derstanding of your science unit. Teach-
avoid technology integration. Some of us steps to embrace technology is the key ers find themselves with a lot to do and
consider ourselves to be technology-im- to successful reform. only a little bit of time in which to do
paired. Others simply dont see technol- So how can you, as a teacher, approach it. Follow blogs, search the internet for
ogy as a requirement for good teaching integrating digital tools in the curricu- the best apps in education, and use so-
or learning. Still others struggle with lum? Here are some strategies. cial bookmarking to find the tools that
Digital Curriculum /edweek.org 12
W
notice your interest in digital tools,
they might even recommend some. hat does it take to systemic failure.
A 7th grader told me about Kahoot, push a teacher be- That is to say, early adopters and pock-
a game-based learning tool, and I yond the threshold of ets of already masterful teachers will,
have been using it in the classroom the ordinary? through grit and determination, find
to stimulate interest in new mate- What is it that ways to use tech to transform their own
rial and for formative assessment turns an educator into an innovator? classrooms. Systemically however, little
ever since. Ive been privileged to participate in will change for the majority of students in
4. Realize that it does get easier thousands of full-length classroom obser- the school or district. So what is it then?
the more you do it.The best vations and coaching sessions with teach- What is it that separates transformative
part of learning digital tools is ers as they transform the learning land- teachers, schools, and districts from those
that many skills applied in the scape across the country. stuck in the routines of the past? My ob-
use of one tool can transfer to the It is a gift. servations and conversations with the
use of a similar tool. Many digital In that time Ive been able to co-learn countrys best blended teachers have un-
tools today use the same type of with teachers as they work to masterfully covered the following commonalities:
interface, have remarkably easy integrate things like Google Apps for RelationshipsBlended experts are
drag and drop functionality, or Education. I nurture teach- all aboutrelationships. They
offer other smart uploading fea- ers as they leverage recognize that digital
tures. Many tools do most of the innovative method- tools are vehicles for
work for you if you are organized. ologies and tools so achievement and
The best thing you can do to make students can solve engagement, but
working with digital tools time ef- problems and cul- they will never sub-
ficient is to organize your mission, tivate new content stitute for the neces-
methods, and materials ahead of for international con- sary bonds between
time. What are you trying to ac- sumption. I witness chil- teachers and students.
complish? What teaching strat- dren who have never owned a com- As such, they seek new
egy do you intend to use? What puter, work with teachers and peers ways touse technology as
text, videos, or other media do you to create 3D holographic images a means of increasing the
need? Once you are organized, us- and 3D printed materials within number of meaningful inter-
ing the tools becomes much easier. the confines of their school. Day actions they can have with stu-
By optimizing the time you after day, I marvel at the learn- dents during the school dayand
spend on adopting new digital ing transformation that is un- beyond. Technology is remark-
tools, you will find that you are not derway. able, and with it we can accom-
wasting time at all. Instead, you Sadly I also witness an plish amazing feats. However, tech
will find that smartly chosen tools all too common tragedy con- will never be more impactful than
may actually save you time. suming blended learning ini- a teachers relationships with, and
tiatives across the country. expectations of, his or her students.
Jennifer Casey received her masters de- As quickly as devices arrive Design methodologiesThe best
gree in instructional design & technology in classrooms, some educators of the best leveragetransformative de-
with an emphasis in e-learning from the abandon them almost immediately in fa- sign methodologiesand utilize research-
University of Central Florida after earn- vor of the traditional pedagogies of their basedmodels and frameworks to promote
ing bachelors degrees in political science past. Often, not for the sake of student success. In addition to models like SAMR,
and religious studies. She is currently the achievement, but for the sake of teacher profoundly impactful blended teachers
lead educator at Fathers Harbor Academy comfort. will also use elements like theDigital
in Jacksonville, Fla. where she teaches so- That being said, teachers shouldnt Learning Matrixand theRigor and Rel-
cial studies and language arts and leads shoulder the blame for this. Devices evance Frameworkto design and self-
professional development on digital learn- are being distributed with little to no assess their instruction. These blended
ing. Casey was selected as one of 30 middle pedagogical training. When we roll out innovators are not content to jam technol-
school educators from across the nation to devices and expect technology alone to ogy into antiquated lesson design frames.
attend C-SPANs 2016 Summer Educators transform teaching and learning, we ob- They utilize more progressive tools to
Conference in Washington, D.C. serve individual success in the midst of achieve success.
Digital Curriculum /edweek.org 13
The Achievement Gap l Algebra l Assessment l Autism l Bullying l Charter School Leadership l
Middle and High School Literacy l Motivation l No Child Left Behind l Pay for Performance
l Principals l Parental Involvement l Race to the Top l Reading Instruction l Reinventing
Professional Development l Response to Intervention l School Uniforms and Dress Codes l Special
Education STEM in Schools l l Teacher Evaluation l Teacher Tips for the New Year l Technology
in the Classroom l Tips for New Teachers
2011
SEPTEMBER
1 Educ ation
WEEK Spotl
ight on imple ment
ing comm
on StandardS
n edweek.org
2012
On Teacher Evaluation
ing On Implementi
n Decision Mak ng Common Sta
On Data-Drive Week
Editors Note: Assessing teacher
performance is a complicated
issue, raising questions of how to
Published February 2, 2011, in Education Week
Editors Note:
ndards
in Education In order to
es for
Published best measure teacher Common Core
Schools Find Us
Access to quality effectiveness. This Spotlight State Standards,
Editors Note: educators
with
district leaders
need instructional
examines ways to assess teaching
data provides ed materials and
Techniques
assessments.
ta
evaluation. the same pace,
Da
instructional and
ive
and some district
ict
Spotlight
Pred
ns. This s are finding
decisio ial risks and common-core
resources in
examines the potent INTERACTIVE CONTENTS: short supply. This
data systems and Spotlight
advantages of data can By Stephen Sawchuk highlights the
curricu
in which
the various ways 1 Wanted: Ways to Assess professional develo lum,
T
e learning. the
be used to improv By Sarah D. Sparks stand ard in pment, and
long been a the Majority of Teachers he debate about value added measures of teaching may online resources
t They ve h credit scores
and available to
tic tools to predic ess worldbot
help districts prepar
T
he use of analy ated 4 Gates Analysis Offers Clues be the most divisive topic in teacher-quality policy today. e for the
CONTENTS: ing busin ums are calcul common core.
INTERACTIVE mance is explod surance premi
student perfor s say car-in Yet they have to Identification of Teacher It has generated sharp-tongued exchanges in public forums,
Predictive tion, and expert analytic tools.
1 Schools Find
Uses for in higher educa K-12 with predictive in educa tion. Effectiveness in news stories, and on editorial InteractIve
cOntentS:
se for hold
Data Techniques even more promi slower to take looking an-
the tools show r place- been ts are great at 5 State Group Piloting Teacher pages. And it has produced enough 1 Educators in
for Real-Time hing from teache School distric ative assess-
Search of
schools, in everyt , doing summ Prelicensing Exam
4 Leading the Charge t prevention. nually at things few are
policy briefs to fell whole forests. Common-Core
Resources
ment to dropou iques is g back, but very
Data statistical techn ments and lookin Erlendson, the
6 Report: Six Steps for Upgrading But for most of the nations 4 Higher Ed. Gets
rivacy Rules Use of such s, however, rd, said Bill
Voting
6 Proposed Data-P legiate school looking forwa for the 32,000-stu-
Teacher Evaluation Systems teachers, who do not teach sub- Rights on Assessm
for States hindered in precol d to help ntende nt ents
Seen as Timely rchers traine assistant superi School Distri
ct in jects or grades in which value-
by a lack of resea the data, according San Jos Unified y sur-
7 Peer Review Undergoing 6 Common Cores
Focus on
Swift Progress
on of dent
7 States Make districts make
sense idering our econom ng to Revitalization added data are available, that Close Reading
Stirs Worries
logy ers. California. Cons ics, its amazi
Student-Data Techno to education watch array of vives on predictive analyt debate is also largely irrel- 7 Few States Cite
ics include an tive analytics Full Plans
Crash Predictive analyt me that predic edu-
COMMENTARY:
evant. Now, teachers unions, for Carrying Out
8 Surviving a Data ds, such as data dont drive public e in 10 Moving Beyond Test Scores Standards
statistical metho n. Mayb content-area experts, and
Gains Traction minin g and
mode ling, catio 8 Common Core
Poses Published Februa
9 Data Mining 12 My Students Help Assess Challenges for ry 29, 2012, in Educa
ify administrators in many states tion Week
in Education used to ident My Teaching
Preschools
h
COMMENTAR s examining measures that could be Questions
of Data Analysi to Extremes
11 My Nine Truths likelihood of used to weigh teachers contributions to cOmmentar
of Common-Core
y:
a Data-Driven a specific 15 Value-Added: Its Not Perfect, 11 Standards: A
12 Education as learning in subjects ranging from career and technical Golden
Resources
Enterprise result. But It Makes Sense Opportunity for
K-16
education to art, music, and historythe subjects, Collaboration
Information Poor
13 Data Rich But RESOURCES:
PAGE 2>
12 The Commo
n-Core
A
17 Resources on Teacher Evaluation Contradiction By Catherine Gewe
RESOURCES: rtz
15 Resources on
Data-Driven s states and distr
reSOurceS: icts begin the
Decision Making mon academic work of turning
14 Resources on standards into com-
tion, educators curriculum and
Common Core
searching for instruc-
iStock /123render
www.edweek.org/go/spotlights