1. Weapons of Mass Instruction:
Digital Learning for Every Child
Lenox M. Reed Seminar, Neuhaus Education Center
Houston, February 21, 2013
Milton Chen, Ph.D., Senior Fellow
George Lucas Educational Foundation
San Francisco Bay Area
milton.chen@edutopia.org
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2. My Learning Journey:
Longest Street in the World to a
Galaxy Long Ago & Far, Far Away

6. 4

7. Imagine an Education Nation…
A learning society where education of
children is the highest priority, on par
with a strong economy, high
employment, and national security.
A nation is only as good as its
educational system.

9. The U.S. an Education Nation?
• Of 50 1st-grade students behind in reading,
44 still behind in 4th-grade
• A HS student drops out every 26 seconds,
6,000 each day (Tough Choices or Tough Times, 2006)
• CA students 1 year behind U. S. average, 2-3 years
behind best states (NAEP 2007, 8th-gr. math)
• Closing the gap could contribute $2 trillion
per year in GDP (McKinsey & Co., 2010)

10. America’s Strength:
School/Community Partnerships
A “ladder of learning” from pre-K through
“gray” blending formal and informal
learning through schools, universities,
media, museums, libraries, companies,
churches, youth groups, parks
A New Day for Learning: 24/7/365

12. • Innovation: The Key to an Education Nation
• A “Must Do,” Not Just “Nice to Know”
• Internet Time: Google 15 Years Old,
YouTube 8 Years
• Every 30 seconds, 24 Hours of New
YouTube Video

14. Educational Innovation = Authentic Learning
It’s Simple: School Life = Real Life
“the great waste comes from [the child’s] inability to
utilize the experiences he gets outside the school…
within the school…on the other hand, he is unable to
apply in daily life what he is learning at school.”
John Dewey, The School and Society lecture,
University of Chicago, 1899

16. “Average students learn subject
matter in a third or less of
present time, pleasurably rather
than painfully.”
George Leonard,
Education and Ecstasy, 1967

17. 6 Leading Edges of K-12 Innovation:
Any Time, Any Place, Any Path, Any Pace
1. Thinking
2. Curriculum & Assessment
3. Technology
4. Time/Place
5. Co-Teaching, inc. Parents!
6. Youth

18. 1. The Thinking Edge: New Roles!
21st C. Job Description:
End of Solo Practitioner,
Rise of Team Collaborator
• Schools/Programs -> Learning Centers
• Teachers -> Mentors, Team Leaders
• Students -> Team Members, Scholars

19. Growth vs. Fixed Mindset:
Students & Teachers

21. Neuroscience & Cognitive Science:
Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences
1. Verbal
2. Logical/Mathematical
3. Visual
4. Musical
5. Bodily/Kinesthetic
6. Intrapersonal
7. Interpersonal
8. Naturalist

30. 3. The Technology Edge
• Weapons of Mass Instruction, 1:1
edutopia.org/maine-project-learning-
schools-that-work
• iPod, iListen, iRead
sites.google.com/a/eusd.org/eusd-iread/
• Online Learning
edutopia.org/stw-online-learning-
new-breakthroughs
• Wiki-Based 8th-Gr. US History
• Intelligent Text
• Assistive Tech/Universal Design

42. 4. The Time/Place Edge
• Schools as “Prisoners of Time”
www2.ed.gov/pubs/PrisonersOfTim
e/Prisoners.html
• A New Day for Learning,
Beyond the Bell
www.newdayforlearning.org
• Place-Based Learning: Museums,
Libraries, Parks, Gardens

43. 5. The Teaching Edge:
Collaborative Co-Teaching
• Parents as Co-Educators
• Linking Home, School, Community
• Experts as Co-Educators:
Museum Educators, Scientists,
Historians, Writers, Artists

44. 6. The Greatest Edge: Today’s Youth
• 95% of Stakeholders
• Digital Natives Carrying Change
in their Pockets
• Generation YES: Students as TAs
genyes.org
• Edutopia’s Digital Generation
edutopia.org/digital-generation

45. edutopia.org/digital-generation

46. edutopia.org/digital-generation

47. Learning
Any Time, Any Place,
Any Path, Any Pace