Mike Klein Online

Four Terrific Videos Show Learning is Viral, Mobile, Interactive, Independent

Mike Klein

Ask anyone from the baby boomer generation about our youthful learning and you will likely find a common thread:  Learning took place in a classroom where we listened to teachers and recited things we read in books.  Success was measured by how much we could regurgitate.

Today learning is viral and mobile.  It is interactive and independent.  Clunky books are losing ground to online lessons.  Success is often the ability to use deductive reasoning to establish the relationship between facts.  The teacher might be online.  Classmates might also be there.

The internet contains many examples of this new style learning.  We found a few that really illuminate what is possible in modern learning.  Here you will be introduced to Georgia students whose learning literally takes them around the world, and to Cartersville students who use the Georgia Virtual School credit recovery project.  And there is so much more.

Have you seen a great education video?  Tell us and we will pass it along.  My Georgia Public Policy Foundation mail address is mikeklein@gppf.org.  Get in touch.  Now, here are some terrific learning video resources:

Flat Classroom Conference: A Vision of the Future

Georgia educator Vicki Davis and her partner Julie Lindsay brought students from Georgia and around the world to Qatar for the 2009 Flat Classroom Conference.  This video is their story.  Conferences were held in Mumbai, India in 2010 and Beijing, China in 2011.

Georgia Virtual School Credit Recovery

Georgia Virtual School is the state Department of Education’s online learning project that is available to high school students statewide.  Credit Recovery is online learning for students who need to repeat a course they initially failed in a traditional classroom.  This video introduces you to GAVS credit recovery students at Woodland High School in Cartersville.

Online Learning: A Terrific Alternative for Parents

Author John Watson and Chicago Virtual Charter School founder Sharon Hayes explain why some students achieve better results with online learning than inside traditional classrooms. Hayes is a former principal in Chicago city and suburban area high schools.  We also hear from Pennsylvania parent Linda Dupes whose children participate in an online charter school.\

Virtual Learning: A Day in the Life of the Brems Family

Meet John, Ellie and Emma Brems and their parents Mindy and Bob.  The kids are Connections Academy students.  One room in their house is their classroom-at-home.  Here is a real world example of one family’s successful interaction with online learning.  Connections Academy will offer courses to Georgia students beginning this fall.

(Mike Klein is Editor at the Georgia Public Policy Foundation)

May 2, 2011 - Posted by mikekleinonline | Uncategorized | Connections Academy, Flat Classroom Conference, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, Georgia Virtual School, Julie Lindsay, Mike Klein, Online Learning, Vicki Davis