This document discusses innovations in K-12 education. It outlines 6 leading edges of innovation: 1) thinking, 2) curriculum and assessment, 3) technology, 4) time and place of learning, 5) co-teaching including parents, and 6) empowering today's youth. It advocates for a learning society that prioritizes education, and argues schools should prepare students for real life by blending formal and informal learning both inside and outside of the classroom. Technology like 1-to-1 devices, digital content, and online learning are positioned as "weapons of mass instruction" that can transform education.

1. Weapons of Mass Instruction:
Every Learner, Digital Tools,
Modern Learning
Horry County Schools Adult Education
TLC at the Beach, March 15, 2013
Milton Chen, Ph.D., Senior Fellow
George Lucas Educational Foundation
San Francisco Bay Area
milton.chen@edutopia.org 1

2. My Learning Journey:
Longest Street in the World to a
Galaxy Long Ago & Far, Far Away

5. 4

6. 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.

8. 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)

9. 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

11. • 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

13. Education Innovation = Authentic Learning
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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

20. Maya Angelou
“Any book that helps a child form
a habit of reading, to make reading
one of his deep and continuing
needs, is good for him.”

25. 6th & 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

26. edutopia.org/digital-generation

27. edutopia.org/digital-generation

28. 3rd Edge: Technology
• 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/
• Intelligent Text
• Online Learning
edutopia.org/stw-online-learning-
new-breakthroughs

40. What’s your definition
of a great school?
Make it short and
measurable!

41. Do the students
run in at the same
rate
they run out?