Educa&on Reform through Increased Produc&vity

Synopsis
• The Educa1onal Challenge
• Our Solu1on
• Some Examples
• Our Model and Organiza1on
• Join Us in Educa1on Reform
September 8, 2009

How much 1me do they have?
School 1me in the United States is about 700 hours, on
average, in 2009.
The number of hours that kids are in school has increased
only slightly since 1950. It is not enough.
Academic learning 1me is just a fac1on of school 1me.
Source: Silva, E. 2005. “On the Clock: Rethinking the Way Schools Use Time”
September 8, 2009

Reform solu1ons focus on…
• Expanded learning 1me
• Longer class day, week, year
• Professionaliza1on of teaching
o Increased hiring standards
o Higher pay
o Increased professional development
• More challenging curriculum/standards
September 8, 2009

Our Solu1on
A Different Tack:
Increase Learning Productivity…
… by providing educational organizations,
educators and students with free, high-quality tools
that support more efficient instruction and learning.
Our approach is compatible with other approaches,
and can be incorporated into any school with basic
technology access.
September 8, 2009

Our Theory of Change
Educa1onal
Content
Provides space for
Taught more
deeper instruc1on
efficiently
and extension
Student outcomes will improve if educators and institutions continuously deliver
highly efficient instruction.
9/8/09

Our theory …
• Supports improvement at all grade levels
• Supports instruc1on in related skills
• Supports mul1ple instruc1onal methods
• Supports basic feedback and instruc1on
• Provides learners with accessible, inexpensive,
high‐quality technologies
September 8, 2009

The Tools
To deliver on our promise, we develop cogni1ve
supports.
A cogni1ve support:
• Targets a specific skill/learning goal
• Provides high and low support contexts
• Helps learners focus on essen1al content and ideas
• Scaffolds a learner toward self‐sufficiency
September 8, 2009

The Tools
• Are free
• Are user friendly
• Require little or no training
• Are highly accessible, flexible and visible
• Can be used at home, in the classroom, etc
• Can be projected, group-shared, or used
individually
September 8, 2009

Examples of our Tools
• Boolify
• Glean
• Mul1plica1on Tool
September 8, 2009

Boolify
9/8/09

Glean
9/8/09

Mul1plica1on
9/8/09

Our Model
Lead in
Educa1on
Technology
Innova1on
Apply exper1se
Apply support in rela1onships
to drive new with other
Innova1on educa1onal
organiza1ons
September 8, 2009

Our Team
• Dave Crusoe & Robert Sibley, Co‐Founders
• Dr. Terrence W. Rogers & Dr. Amela Sadagic,
Founding Board Members
• Summer interns (marke1ng, development)
• Addi1onal Board Members in discussion
• Educa1on content advisory panel (volunteers)
• Strategic organiza1on advisory panel (volunteers)
September 8, 2009

Timeline: 2009‐10
2nd and 3rd
Quarter 2010:
Begin to scale
opera1on to
4th Quarter 2009: produce 3‐5
Release first Math‐ technologies
related tools consecu1vely
1st Quarter 2010: 4th Quarter 2010:
Con1nue to Increase scaling
emphasize Math,
and begin 1st
geography
teaching tools
9/8/09

Opportuni1es for Collabora1on
• Send us your ideas, if you are an educator. We
turn ideas into technologies.
• Consult with us, if you are an educa1onal
organiza1on. We are expert educa1onal
technology producers and inventors. We invent
and rapidly deploy inexpensive technological
solu1ons to your educa1onal challenges.
• Volunteer with us, if you are a PHP/LAMP
developer or graphic designer.
September 8, 2009