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Elite Universities, like Stanford University, are putting their brand and prestige behind online education and offering diplomas to 30 seniors from "Standford Online High School." Harold O. Levy, a former New York City schools chancellor and founder of Kaplan's online master's of education program, believes Stanford's involvement in this sector could be a watershed.

Though it is only 5 years old and Stanford officials are still unsure whether it really compares to a brick and mortar school, the cache of Stanford's name could certainly do a lot to elevate the reputation of online programs. I think it is especially interesting that most students are from remote areas where it is impossible to get a comparable education at a similar private school because of location.

Did some digging into the Quest for Learning school that was mentioned in the Connected Learning reading. They're about average on test scores in 2012 (found here: http://projects.nytimes.com/new-york-schools-test-scores/counties/new-york/districts/new-york-city-district-2/schools/quest-to-learn), which could be cited to support arguments on both side the 'gaming v traditional learning' coin with regards to standardized tests. It will certainly be interesting to see how their graduates fair over the next decade or so.

Well spotted, Ms. Laura. Schools like this really do take some leap of faith. Even parents/students/administrators/teachers who really believe in the ideals must realize that the students do not exist in a vacuum and that if/when their kids take the SATs, apply to college, etc., they are buying into the system that they are trying to reject/amend earlier in the students life.

Fascinating new school in New York, focusing on Science and teaching entirely through educational gaming.

'Quest to Learn' is a New York City public middle and high school, supporting collaborative student-led learning: "Quest to Learn has used research in game-based learning to create a rigorous and engaging collaborative learning space where students feel safe taking risks and using their successes and failures to create and apply new knowledge." "Nurturing social and emotional learning (SEL) and 21st century skills like inventiveness, risk taking and collaboration."

It seems to me that K12 Inc. is pretty shady. If you're interested in the darker side of for-profit online schools, check out this article published in the New York Times last year: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/13/education/online-schools-score-better-on-wall-street-than-in-classrooms.html?pagewanted=all

"Sunday's New York Times story broke the news that Stanford University, one of the world's most prestigious research institutions, is putting its brand squarely behind a full-time, degree-granting online high school program. It's just one more reason to set aside the silly debate about whether online educationcan possibly be effective for high school students."

One example of the perils of standardized testing

""No one's got the model that's going to work yet," said James Grimmelmann, a New York Law School professor who specializes in computer and Internet law. "I expect all the current ventures to fail, because the expectations are too high. People think something will catch on like wildfire. But more likely, it's maybe a decade later that somebody figures out how to do it and make money." "

Conflicting attitudes toward students who "multi-task" with mobile devices in classroom. "All the advances schools and colleges have made to supposedly enhance learning - supplying students with laptops, equipping computer labs, creating wireless networks - have instead enabled distraction. Perhaps attendance records should include a new category: present but otherwise engaged."

NYU's Steinhardt School partnering with Codeacademy http://www.codecademy.com/#!/exercises/0 for online programming class.

This New York Times article speaks to a growing number of schools across the nation embracing the iPad as the latest tool to teach. Given that it was published last year, do you feel like the concerns or objections raised are still relevant? Have some been debunked? Is it too early to tell?

Videos from "School for Tomorrow, Bringing Technology to the Classroom", NYC, Conference. #HGSET561

Another example of a one-to-one laptop program in schools. Interesting to think of this from the standpoints of the various stakeholders, and how awesome is it that we have so many representatives in our classroom alone - teachers, parents, siblings, caregivers, researchers, and of course, publishers :-) Sally Ryan for The New York Times MUNSTER, Ind. - Laura Norman used to ask her seventh-grade scientists to take out their and flip to Page Such-and-Such. Now, she tells them to take out their laptops.

Through an example of the University of the People (online, tuition-free, non profit university), the article highlights the hardships such organization face to be successful in achieving their vision/mission. Credibility issue for online university issued certificate is also mentioned.   

Article cited in "Disruopting Class". Has anything changed?

While I haven't had a chance to watch the videos yet, I'm interested to see what ideas were discussed at this conference that aimed "to harness the power of technology to improve the learning experience."