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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Matthew Lynch, Teachers

The Benefits of Browsing: Why Teachers Should Indulge in Online Social Networking

The Internet is not just about consuming – it’s also about connecting. Forums and other forms of online social networking provide opportunities for educators to come together and commiserate, encourage, and share information.

Online social networking encompasses different online communities of people who share common interests. It allows members of that community to interact in a variety of ways. They can conduct live chats, or they can leave comments in blogs or discussion groups.

These communities are shaped by different profiles of individuals who link to each other. Each member of the community creates a personal profile that can include pictures, personal information, audio, and video files. Others can access this profile and can connect to it by requesting a friendship with the other member. Almost all of these social networks have security settings, so each member can accept or deny access to their information and profile.

An example of an online social network is Facebook. This is a worldwide tool that allows individuals to connect with friends, classmates, coworkers, and teachers. This network also includes a feature that allows you to look for individuals by name. Facebook is creating a worldwide network, connecting people around the world and allowing them to rediscover friends and family members not seen for years. Other examples of social networking sites include Tumblr and Google Plus. Teachers have taken advantage of these tools. Using Facebook, for example, they can develop small group projects, build a classroom community, and present discussion boards for students.

Something to be aware of is the fact that, when you become involved in online social networks, you are highly exposed to students and parents. Educators must be very careful not to have “inappropriate” profiles, pictures, or postings. A teacher cannot post personal opinions about students and must be very careful about the pictures they include in their profile and the kind of communication they have with students.

Communication and information access have also shifted. New online tools give teachers and students immediate access to millions of gigabytes of information, available in seconds. International news is heard and watched virtually live. One of the leaders of this change is YouTube, an online video clearinghouse, where any user can watch, upload, and share online videos. Almost any subject matter can be found in this site, from homemade video to footage captured by cell phones to comprehensive film productions.

E-portfolio or assessment tools allow students to store their work in web-based portfolios, so teachers and students can have access to it. This is also a feature included in blogs. Teachers can permit students to upload their work to the blogs for other students to watch and review. Students not only get the opportunity to publish their work, but they also get opinions from fellow students all over the world. Knowing that other classmates will be reading their work, students tend to invest more time and effort in their writing.

Online social networking is a massive opportunity to expand your network, pick up new tips and techniques, and find support and friendship. If you haven’t already, take some “you-time” to peruse the various social networking sites available to you and check out what they have to offer you as a teacher – and a person.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here. 

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Matthew Lynch published in Policy & Reform, Teachers

Teaching and Politics: Behind the Scenes of Common Core Wars

By Matthew Lynch

As more and more governors and local politicians denounce Common Core initiatives, and more states officially back away from the standards, the debate over the place and effectiveness of Common Core heats up.  In fact,Indiana’s Republican Governor Mike Pence made headlines when he announced that his state would soon abandon the Common Core standards.  But what is really going on and how does this affect those who matter most—the teachers and students?

What Indiana did may have appeared groundbreaking to outsiders, but anyone following the Common Core debate knows it is just the tip of the iceberg. There have been a significant number of bills filed in the U.S. that deal with ways for students to become college-ready. Of those, 100 are designed specifically to slow, halt or overturn Common Core requirements. So there are a lot of non-federal entities that feel their legislative toes have been stepped on when it comes to K-12 college readiness curriculum and testing.

Federal versus State Rights

Beyond academics, the Common Core requirements are at the heart of a war that has been waged between state’s rights and the role of the federal government in uniform K-12 standards. On the surface, it does appear that Common Core standards are meant to give federal authority. In truth though there is some wiggle room for states to make the standards their own and places like Tennessee, Mississippi and Arizona are doing just that. If implemented in the way they were designed, Common Core requirements will actually put more control in the hands of the states and not the federal government.

Are Teachers Happy about It?

There seems to be a lot of conflicting information when it comes to what teachers think about Common Core standards – and what they think matters. After all, they are the people who are most accountable for any standards and testing systems that are put in place. They are also the ones who see firsthand how education policies impact students. So what is the truth about what teachers think about Common Core testing?

  • 75 percent support Common Core, says a May 2013 American of Federation (AFT) poll that surveyed 800 teachers.
  • 76 percent strongly, or somewhat, support Common Core based on an Education Next Survey from 2013.
  • More than three-fourths support Common Core Standards “wholeheartedly” or with some minor reservations, according to a September 2013 National Education Association member survey.
  • 73 percent of teachers that specializes in math, science, social studies and English language arts are “enthusiastic” about the implementation of Common Core standards in their classrooms, from a 2013 Primary Sources poll of 20,000 educators.

Beyond those numbers, a higher amount of elementary teachers are optimistic about Common Core than their high school counterparts. A survey conducted by The Hechinger Report Scholastic and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation found that just 41 percent of high school teachers are positive about Common Core standards. A recent survey by the National Association of Elementary School Principals found that more than 80 percent of principals (out of 1,000 from 14 states) say that Common Core standards have the potential to increase student skill mastery, create meaningful assessments and improve areas like conceptual understanding.

It seems that the basis of Common Core is a solid one, then, when it comes to the people who understand teaching the most. Today’s teachers are in overcrowded, underfunded classrooms with higher accountability standards placed on them than ever before. If there truly was an unfair setup, teachers would certainly be the first ones to point it out.

What do you think is really going on?  Are the common core debates simply political or do they hold water—academically speaking?

 

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, Matthew Lynch

Personality and Its Influence on Instructional Leadership Behavior

Leadership models can be expected to appeal to some administrators more than others, based on their personality traits. A wider range of skills and styles cannot be accommodated by one person, because a leader already has his or her own preferences, influenced by their personality. The natural differences in personality among various leaders result in preferences that operate below the level of the leader’s awareness. It is also not humanly possible for leaders to comply with such varied and complex requirements.

As a result of personality differences, a leader develops judgments, and responds to his or her environment by focusing on certain leadership aspects more than others. Variations caused by factors such as age, upbringing, and gender have been shown to affect the way personality is developed and expressed. Practices are also influenced by the interaction between personality and contextual aspects associated with the workplace. Examples of these contextual aspects include the perceived nature of work, the leadership experience, the school level, and the leader’s position.

So which is the best way forward? It would seem wise that school leader and administrators first acknowledge their inborn, natural tendencies toward some practices over others. They should then reflect on whether these preferences affect their leadership practices. Honesty and transparency in admitting personality differences would motivate the leaders to consider ways to satisfy the various needs of their schools. Self-awareness is a necessary step in the development of tendencies in the leader that complement effective team-building.

Delegation is a pillar of leadership, considered by many researchers as a vital component for leadership success. Research has shown that delegation is dependent on personality preferences, which translate to foregone conclusions in leadership behavior and in competence. The leader’s preferences are heavily influenced by what is natural, comfortable, and enjoyable for the leader.

School leaders should consider reshaping their school leadership responsibilities in a manner that considers the administrator’s preferences, thus attempting more modest efforts, based on sound research. While this may be more supportive of a differentiated rather than instructional leadership style, the importance of including varying differences of opinion is vital for any leadership model.

As schools seek to redefine themselves as learning communities, its members must work together in a friendly, cooperative fashion, by challenging and engaging with each other. Jungian theory finds that diversity generates synergy and innovation. Most leadership researchers and theorists have noted that human differences provide the creative tension needed in the forward movement and growth of any institution. Models of leadership that ignore the nature of leaders tend to be far less effective.

As school principals work to close the achievement gap in learning, they should strive to build a conscious understanding of their own natural preferences, in relation to instructional leadership. Human differences are often depicted as weaknesses, and are quickly pushed aside. Seeking to address them in a meaningful way, instead of dismissing them, can be a seed for success in educational leadership.

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.

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Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Reforming College Debt, Part II: Possible Solutions

There aren’t many people who will dispute the value of a college education. College graduates tend to have higher levels of job satisfaction and quality of life. The cost of those efforts is steep for the individual though – to the tune of $35,200 college debt on average for 2013 graduates. On Wednesday I looked at the statistics associated with the cost and payoff of a college education and also some federal efforts to make those payments more affordable once a degree is earned. Today I want to look at some specific ideas that aim to bring down the initial cost of a college education and to help students avoid thousands in interest over time.

Last week, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio spoke about his own efforts in his home state of Florida, and perhaps on a federal level, to make college attendance a shared cost. Rubio is no stranger to college debt. When he arrived at the U.S. Senate, he still had $100,000 in outstanding student loans. Rubio has been upfront about his modest upbringing and also the power his education gave him but he has acknowledged that the cost is too high. The basics of his college plan would allow private investors to pay for the tuition of college students in exchange for a portion of their earnings later on. This would mean the students acquired no traditional debt and would not start out their careers in the hole – at least not in a typical way.

While I like the out-of-the-box thinking of this plan, it raises more questions than answers. At least when a student takes out a federally-backed loan or even a private one that meets federal regulations, there is some protection for the student. I worry that allowing too many private investors in on the college lending game could mean more financial pressure on the borrowers. And what happens if a student finds him or herself unemployed for a long period of time? Or unable to work due to injury? These are all issues that would certainly be addressed before legislation was drafted and approved but there are already some red flags that pop up in this hands-off government approach to college debt reform.

Another college payment idea that is arising across the country is a state-run repayment program that is similar to Rubio’s private investor one. Already in Oregon the Pay It Forward program has been approved (though not yet enacted) that will give students their public college education upfront, free of cost, in exchange for paying the state a portion of their earnings post-college. Supporters bill it as a “debt free” alternative to a college education, but like Rubio’s plan there is still money owed at the end of the college term that does impact actual earnings. It will be interesting to keep an eye on Oregon in the coming years to see how the program impacts the first groups of students who take advantage of it.

What if a public college education was completely free, though? That’s the approach Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam wants to take when it comes to the state’s community colleges. At his State of the State address, he called for free tuition at Tennessee’s community colleges in order to improve the state’s reputation as one of the least educated. Haslam proposed that the money to pay for it come from the state’s lottery earnings that would be placed in a $300 million endowment fund. While a short-term solution, I’m not sure that this is a sustainable payment plan. But if even one class of students in the state are able to take advantage of it, that may make a huge positive impact on Tennessee’s long-term economic outlook.

Paying something for a college education is reasonable, I think, but the current setup puts an undue burden on the nation’s young people and as a result, the entire economy suffers.

What creative cost and repayment options for a college education would you like to see implemented?

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Matthew Lynch published in Education Leadership, First Year Teachers, Teachers

3 Keys to Inspiring True Dialogue in Your Classroom

A longtime educator and nonprofit leader shares his blueprint for turning contentious topics into teachable moments that help turn students into global citizens.

By Dr. Ian Jamison

More than any other generation in human history, the students who are in school today will live alongside, work with, and relate to peers with the widest possible range of cultural backgrounds, beliefs, values, and perspectives. To help them thrive in this complex world, it is imperative that we give them the tools they need to build societies that welcome diversity rather than fearing it, that encourage open-mindedness rather cultivating prejudice, and that include rather than exclude.

The alternatives are too terrible to contemplate. Every day we see news reports that indicate what happens as a direct result of people rejecting diversity, celebrating intolerance, and wishing to impose their monolithic vision of reality upon others. With the rapid growth of social media and other forms of online communication, our students are almost certainly already participating in global discussions. At best, young people are being subjected to poor examples of how to interact online, and at worst, we know that a great deal of radicalization into violent extremism takes place online.

Read the rest of the article on The Huffington Post.

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Matthew Lynch published in International Education

Malala: Education, not drones, is key to fighting terrorism

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafza has a message for President Obama: stop fighting terrorism with more violence, and invest those resources in education.

Speaking to a crowd at the Forbes Under 30 summit in New York City, the 17-year-old Pakistani young woman said that she believes attacks against terrorists through drone technology and other ground violence only further the problem. Killing a few terrorists will not squelch the larger problem —  only education can do that. She said she had expressed those very sentiments to President Obama in a private meeting.

She did not outline his response to her thoughts, but merely said that he had “political” answers to her concerns.

The sentiments that Malala holds are actually pretty American in scope. In policy and practice, we believe that educating our children is a better use of energy than the futility of changing the minds of those already entrenched in one belief system or another. There seems to be a paradox though in how we behave here in the States, and how we act when dealing with issues outside the country. Instead of looking for a long-term solution to issues like terrorism, like the education Malala is emphasizing, we handle the immediate problem (that seems to return again with even greater fury).

Perhaps the “political” answers that the President gave to Malala are the necessary ones in order to keep us safe. But perhaps Malala’s suggestions should still be taken seriously, as a simultaneous initiative that could lead to long-term peace.

Do you think higher levels of education can really combat the terrorist mindset?

 

 

 

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation

Kids Need Role Models. Why Don’t We Use The Ones Right in Front of Us?

As a parent, when was the last time you were invited to your child’s school to share something personal and important to you? Maybe something interesting about your cultural background or your unique skills?

The answer, most often, is never.

As an educator, don’t you wish you could figure out how to get the support you want from the parents in your school? Wouldn’t it be great to understand what parents have to and want to offer to support your curriculum? To bring the broader world into the classroom and serve as role models?

Read the rest of this article on The Huffington Post.

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Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Education Leadership, First Year Teachers, Teachers

6 Best Practices for Internal Communication in Public Schools

Written by Eric Walters and Karen Gerberry

Internal communication may be more important than many think. 42% of communication is  delivered   through   other   people.  Whether  it  is  information   needing  to  be communicated  to  teachers,  students  or  administration  a  student  success  is highly dependent on the frequency and quality of communication. Successful communication between teachers and parents is most common in schools with well-informed, effective educators.

Schools, realizing this, have implemented practices to communicate valuable information within their school systems. What are some of these strategies and what benefits do they provide to these school districts?

  1. Developing New Policies

School systems can often be dispersed, making meetings and collaboration difficult. With advancements in technology, however, sharing thoughts and ideas is becoming increasingly easier. In the past, in order to make policy changes, the school board would have to coordinate meetings between all interested parties to develop new policies. Now, with the use of wikis, administrators can access information regarding changes in the school district and make adjustments accordingly.

Not only has technology made it possible for people to access this information from anywhere at any time, but it has also expanded the reach of this data. Before the use of wikis, many parents and faculty were left out of the policy­making process altogether. Whether the problem was logistical or time related, some would argue that there was not an accurate representation of all interested parties.

By using technology to streamline an antiquated process, school districts have afforded many people the opportunity to provide insights and opinions on some of their most important educational concerns.

  1. Schools Employing Internal Communications Managers

With all of the responsibilities involved with being an educator, it is easy to get caught up in day today activities and lose sight of larger issues within the school district. Schools are realizing that a disconnect exists in the communication process and are becoming more active in increasing engagement with employees.

To assist teachers in becoming more involved with internal communication, some districts are employing Internal Communications Managers. These managers act as facilitators of information throughout the school district. Their primary responsibilities are to keep employees informed on major initiatives, events, and news affecting the school district.

Although this method is slightly different than wikis, the idea is essentially the same. The Internal Communications Managers help teachers stay involved by gathering the information and releasing it to interested parties, thus reducing teachers’ time devoted to the discovery of this information.

  1. Developing Employee Portals

There are many facets and resources on school districts’ websites that provide valuable information to visitors.  But, often, what lies within these sites are valuable portals tailored for specific audiences.

At this point, it is commonplace for both students and teachers to have portals in the school district website. Portals are valuable resources for educators to find information that pertains strictly to the data that is important to them. With the obvious value that these portals provide, think of the value that may be added if every school made these resources available to their employees.

  1. Being Recognized by Leadership

Few things at the workplace are more satisfactory than hearing how much your boss appreciates you.  So,  when  we  talk  about  internal  communication  in  schools,  it is important that we address the interaction between the school board and the educators. It is vital that the school board keeps acknowledge educators that are making an extraordinary effort to enhance students’ education. When board members recognize these educators, they need to implement positive reinforcement practices to encourage future innovation.

On the other hand, if the school board notices teaching practices that are less than expected, they can communicate this to educators and push for corrective action.

  1. Using Digital Signage

The challenges of communicating with staff in a public school system are apparent. Whether checking and responding to emails or logging into portals, communication can require a great deal of effort.

Because of this challenge, we are now seeing schools take the “billboard” approach throughout their buildings. These digital signs are easily recognizable and don’t require additional effort to absorb the information. Schools are using these billboards to display both general and emergency information.

If these signs are placed throughout the school, educators will also see them as they pass by. This eliminates the need to have a phone conversation or to send out a memo

to all interested parties. The digital signage creates a platform to simultaneously provide all of the necessary information to the entire staff.

  1. Remembering that Communication is Key

If we want educators to be as effective as possible, we need to keep them informed. Parent­teacher communication is crucial to student success, and in order to maximize the effectiveness of teachers we need to master the internal communication process.

With these 6 best practices for better internal communication in public schools you are sure to see an improvement in overall employee communication. A school that is engaged together will have students that succeed together. To kick off your communication this school year sign up for your FREE trial of Ving here. It is time to start using a tool that allows you to be in control of your communication and start knowing what is and isn’t working at your school.

Ving

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Matthew Lynch published in Parental Involvement

Parental involvement in early childhood learning: A stitch in time saves nine

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

By Khaula Mazhar

In today’s increasingly busy world, parents have less and less time to spend with their young children and often miss out on this extremely important time in a child’s life. Children are developing more and more behavioral problems. They are stressed out at ages when they should be enjoying their childhood.

Research has shown the positive effects of engaged parents on a child’s academic success as well as on the emotional and physical well being of a child. It has also shown the advantages of early childhood learning and just how much young children can literally sponge up information and then be ready for even more.

There are vast amounts of reading material on the subject of early learning, hundreds of books by dedicated professionals in childhood education, but I am going to give you the experience of a normal everyday mother. Myself. The reason is when I read those books, it was to improve my skills as a teacher, curiosity and also just because I am a voracious reader. But when I saw another mother, like myself, use those wonderful things she learned on her own child, it was a whole different story. It is something I sincerely wish every mother and father would do with their child. They can if they are provided with the opportunity to learn how to, something governments can do quite cheaply, and it will open the door for enormous pay backs. We must help empower the parents and we must educate the parents first.

When I started as a teacher I was in the school library every free minute I got. They had an incredible resource of good books and I wanted to take advantage of them all. Although I read many, the ones I came to fall in love with were Glen Doman’s.  I renewed “How to Give Your Baby Encyclopedic Knowledge” so many times it needed a new sign out card. Yes way back when those cards were still used. My daughter was four and my son was two. I had never imagined that a two year old could read, let alone recognize countries on a world map. They can. My kids were my test subjects although I didn’t know it at the time. Now that they are teenagers, I see the results.

The techniques are simple, and don’t take a lot of time. Working mothers can do it with a little prioritizing. I managed to do it with my job and two small children, and I was not exactly a skilled multi-tasking professional. It was simply a matter of investing time wisely, and nothing is a bigger investment than our kids.

Glen Doman’s Method involved facts cards. Fact cards can be made for everything from colors, animals, countries and key reading words to dot cards (for numeracy). Those are about the only materials needed, the cards can be obtained cheaply in bulk and pictures of everything can be found in old national geographic magazines. Whatever is to be taught can be done so easily by flashing these fact cards to children as young as eighteen months. Ten cards at a time, two or three times a day. Children think it is a game and are happy to spend time with parents “playing”.  I started out with just colors, keywords and dot cards, but the “game” became a favorite and I soon added historical figures, musical instruments, animals, monuments and countries. My kids could not get enough of it, my two year old son not only knew where China was but he could tell you interesting tidbits about it. You just needed a translator to understand what he was saying.

Once they started to read I had an endless supply of books that we explored together.  Years later their teachers came to me and told me how my kids knew the most interesting facts and added positively to all the class discussions. They were interested and eager learners. I finally convinced the head of the pre-primary section at school to let me go ahead and try it in my pre-nursery class.

It was a great experience. Parents would come to me at home time and tell me excitedly that their kid knew what an isosceles triangle was or had told them all about African elephants. They wanted to know what we were doing in the class. Unfortunately that is where I could have empowered those parents, instead I just told them we were trying something new.  It never occurred to me to suggest that we do a workshop on the technique for parents. I really wish I could go back in time and act more wisely.

Most parents today don’t have the leisure of going through large amounts of reading material to find out all the things they can do to give their child the early advantage. But schools can help by offering free workshops focused on simple techniques that parents could implement at home with their children. If these type of workshops were provided to parents every year they could make an enormous positive change in the futures of so many children. Not just academically but behaviorally as well. Imagine an entire generation of less stressed, positive youth all geared up to run the world in a more constructive manner.

There are many other techniques and systems out there besides Glen Doman’s awesome fact cards system. This is just my experience with this. But what I have learned is how much the right thing at the right time can affect a child’s positive attitude towards not just learning but life in general. Engaged parents teaching kids their first lessons is very important to build confidence and a positive attitude in children.
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Khaula Mazhar, children’s book author, has a ten year teaching experience from Pakistan where she also wrote for Dawn Newspaper. After moving back home to Canada she continues to pursue her writing when she can. She blogs at Blog Her, MuslimMoms.ca and writes articles for Examiner.com.

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Matthew Lynch published in International Education

Why U.S. Education Must Evolve to Stay Ahead

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Jim Milton

In my travels abroad last year to visit some international higher education clients, I was very encouraged by the progress that many of them have made in raising the quality and accessibility of higher education through technology. It was also clear to me that the U.S. higher education system remains the gold standard for the rest of the world. There is no more respected or admired system, even as we face growing challenges domestically.

From São Paulo to Mumbai, these institutions look not only to our most venerated Ivy League schools and research institutions as the touchstones for their own growth and success, but they also recognize the sheer number of choices in the United States – from career schools to community colleges to faith-based institutions – along with the diversity of students across income levels and backgrounds.

Back home, though, we see a superstorm of challenges that could threaten our standing as the beacon for higher learning throughout the world. Not only are skyrocketing tuition and student-loan debt posing a threat to an otherwise inclusive and diverse higher education landscape, there are now widening skills gaps in the job market that threaten the continued growth and success of our economy.

This is particularly true of “mid-skills” jobs, which require some post-secondary education but less than a four-year degree (e.g., systems and network specialists, healthcare workers, paralegals, mechanics, welders, retail and manufacturing workers). According to a survey of more than 800 human resources executives throughout the country by Accenture, 69 percent of employers say that their inability to attract and retain mid-skills talent frequently affected the performance of their companies1.

One reason for the mid-skills gap has to be today’s deeply ingrained mindset that the bachelor’s degree is the only viable path to productive, successful lives. Many of us wisely establish prepaid tuition plans for our children when they are very young, but typically with four-year institutions in mind. It’s what William Symonds, Director of the Global Pathways Institute at Arizona State University, calls the “one road to heaven” approach2. But even if 80 percent of U.S. high school students graduate and go on to four-year institutions, and 50 percent of those students drop out of college, the road comes up short for 60 percent of students in our system.

To use my own family as an example, all three of my children were on the path to traditional colleges from an early age, including my son, who went straight from high school to Drexel University in Philadelphia—clearly a great school. But he left after a year and then completed a few additional classes at a community college. Ultimately, he was drawn to the restaurant business. After attending a brief restaurant management training program through his company, he now manages one of the locations, earning a good salary with profit sharing and plenty of opportunity for career growth. How much sooner would he have landed on the right career path if we had guided him to other education options early on? Why not a culinary or restaurant management program? What could the high school counselor have suggested to him?

Decades ago, high schools in this country offered both vocational and college preparatory tracks, but today, vocational programs are either nonexistent or stigmatized as a last resort. Instead, high schools push students en masse toward four-year institutions, eliminating a key way that young people are introduced to these kinds of careers.

While community colleges continue to add more career-oriented programs, the fact remains that they are doing double and triple duty on limited budgets. They prepare students to transfer to four-year institutions and provide remedial education to students who are lacking certain academic fundamentals, as well as offer career programs that quickly fill up from the demand.

This brings us to proprietary career schools. Sometimes lost in the negative news around this sector is that many of these schools provide the best path to those critical mid-skill careers. These colleges produce 51 percent of associate degrees in computer science and information technology, including mid-skill positions – such as network administrators and programmers – that are so critical to our economy3. What’s more, a study by Northwestern University economist Jonathan Guryan observes that only 18 percent of associate-degree students and 12 percent of students who are enrolled in certificate programs at for-profit institutions have nonprofit alternatives in the same fields of study nearby4.

Career schools also play a critical role in continuing education. Mid-skill workers who have already completed postsecondary programs can gain new skills and credentials based on industry needs. Take cybersecurity, for example. Whether it’s healthcare, IT or business, there is an incredible need for those with baseline occupational expertise to gain additional training in cybersecurity. Career schools adapt quickly to workforce demands like these.

In comparing one system or approach to another, we often get lost in the fact that they have different but equally important missions in our economy. Traditional four-year institutions provide the foundation for future leaders and innovators across industries. Community colleges remain an important link and partner to those four-year institutions. Career schools, with their emphasis on mid-skill careers and highly focused, flexible and affordable programs, will continue to be an indispensable part of that higher education mosaic. Diversity remains our strength.

Technology’s Role in this Evolution

The solutions to our challenges in higher education aren’t limited to filling the mid-skills gap or embracing any one model. Containing costs and student loan debt, increasing student retention and improving outcomes are top priorities for public, private and proprietary institutions alike.

What’s encouraging to see both here in the United States and abroad is that more traditional schools are embracing new technology and delivery models (and, dare I say it, business practices) to improve results. They are reaching more diverse candidates through enabling technologies and offering them more ways to succeed, including online learning, flexible terms and hybrid delivery models.

Traditional institutions are becoming as adept at serving the single mother of two who’s pursuing her nursing degree part time as they are the student right out of high school. They are offering competency-based programs, stackable credentials and other nontraditional alternatives to help students to achieve their goals faster and more cost-effectively.

Each new innovation or academic model will have its challenges. Institutions, as well as state and federal agencies, are still trying to create uniform standards for competency-based education, for example. What’s important is to keep encouraging new ideas, keep the ball rolling on them and have a flexible enough foundation to adapt and change with the needs of our economy—this is how our higher education system will continue to be the envy of the world.

____

Jim Milton is CEO of Campus Management Corp., a global solutions provider to higher education.

References:

  1. Finding the Middle. How businesses can manage the talent pipeline to close the middle-skills employment gap. Accenture. 2014. accenture.com
  1. Reimagining the Road to Career Development, William Symonds, Director, Global Pathways Institute. July 1, 2015. http://globalpathwaysinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2Global-Pathways-   Institute_July01_2015.pdf
  1. The For Profit Postsecondary School Sector: Nimble Critters or Agile Predators? Harvard University Research. 2012. http://capseecenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ForProfit_Nimble-Critters_Feb-2012.pdf
  1. Report on the Proposed Gainful Employment Regulation. Jonathan Guryan,  Ph.D.,  Northwestern  University. Charles River Associates. May 2014. http://www.career.org/news-and-media/press-releases/upload/Guryan-CRA-Public-Comment2.pdf

 

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Matthew Lynch published in International Education

Teens fight for better global educational opportunities

Across the globe, 15 year olds came together recently to stand up for an issue that impacts the education of kids around the world: poverty. As I’ve discussed here before, students with underlying issues like poverty, hunger or neglect are often unable to function at a necessary level in K-12 classrooms. All of the best academic initiatives in the world cannot fix a broken home or an empty stomach, which is why these issues must be addressed inside schools for academics to improve too.

The “action/2015” initiative shares my sentiments. Students who are 15 years old today are calling on world leaders to put policies in place to eradicate hunger, violence against women and children, and poverty in order to make the world a better place by 2030. This global group of students recently made their case to the U.S. State Department, calling for everything from clean drinking water to better educational opportunities for children across the globe.

In an interview with National Public Radio, Toluwanimi Sola-Adeyemi of Lagos said that she is petitioning for more reliable electricity in her home country of Nigeria and that when the power goes out, it affects everything from safe drinking water to ability to go to school. Other students are asking for things like better opportunities for education in third-world countries, particularly for women.

It is great to see these young people taking such ownership of these world issues, particularly access to education. With their determination and the help of the world leaders today hopefully we will be closer to equal access to education and eliminating poverty across the globe by 2030.

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Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

The New 1st Step in the College Search and Application Process

With more than 4,000 public and private two- and four-year colleges in this country, finding the right one is not just a challenge—for many it can be overwhelming.  Without a clear college search roadmap, many students fail to explore the full range of schools available to them.

But luckily for high school students, there’s a new, innovative, free website to simplify the college search process: CollegeFindMe.com.

Unlike other college search engines, CollegeFindMe makes it easy for colleges and universities to find you! When you log onto the site, you’ll be asked to fill out an academic and personal profile. This assessment will allow you to share a full picture of your talents, interests, and achievements so that admissions offices will get to know you as more than just an SAT or ACT score.

Then use the site’s three different search engines to look for colleges by filling in different criteria. Once you have a list of options, you can easily check off boxes and add them to your “My College” list.

Simultaneously, college admissions officers will be able to review students’ confidential profiles to search for students or demographics that best fit their admission criteria. With CollegeFindMe, colleges will have a direct channel to send applications, fee waivers, invitations to visit their campus, or scholarship offers to attractive candidates that they otherwise might never have reached.

Today’s high school guidance departments are stretched to the breaking point.  The national ratio of students to counselors is nearly 500 to 1, and research from the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights shows that one in five U.S. high schools has no school counselor on staff, a deficit that impacts most those families in greatest need of help.

“A U.S. Department of Education survey found that guidance counselors provide an average of 38 minutes of college search/application advice per high school student—and that’s over a four-year time frame,” says CollegeFindMe CEO Christina Bai. “While some families are able to spend thousands of dollars on supplemental college guidance, that option is out of reach for most families.”

“This is truly an equalizer,” explains company spokesperson Josef Blumenfeld from EdTech180.  “All students deserve the chance to attend the college of their dreams.  Sadly, non-affluent families often can’t fill the gap left by over-burdened high school guidance departments, and they don’t know where to turn.  By using CollegeFindMe as the first step in their college search and application process, all students can start down the right path to the right college.”

CollegeFindMe hopes to level the playing field by giving all students the chance to find the perfect place. Or, better yet, sit back and let the right college find you.

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