Navigating The Digital Shift: Implementation Strategies for Blended and Online Leraning

Book excerpt: Our nation’s schools stand at an important “inflection point” in the history of education. Taken together, the implementation of common college and career standards, the shift to next generation assessments, the availability of affordable devices, and the growing number of high-quality digital instructional tools create an unprecedented opportunity to fundamentally shift the education system to personalize learning around the individual needs of every student. Digital Learning Now! (DLN), a national initiative under the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd), in association with Getting Smart, brings “Navigating the Digital Shift: Implementation Strategies for Blended and Online Learning” to readers interested in exploring the implementation challenges at the intersection of these shifts. Co-authored by John Bailey, Carri Schneider, and Tom Vander Ark, “Navigating the Digital Shift” offers updated versions of the eight papers originally released in the “DLN Smart Series” including contributions from 11 additional co-authors representing leading organizations such as Public Impact, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and The Learning Accelerator. Topics include: blended learning implementation, teaching conditions and careers, competency-based learning, student data, online learning myths, and student-based funding. Jeb Bush, Governor of Florida from 1999-2007 and Chairman of ExcelinEd, contends that the book “provides policymakers and education leaders the tools they need to use digital learning as a catalyst for improved student achievement.” AASA 2013 Superintendent of the Year Dr. Mark Edwards believes the collection “provides meaningful, practical, and poignant advice as well as commentary regarding the move to college and career ready standards associated with the shift to personal online learning and digital resources.” Rhode Island’s Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Deborah Gist describes the book as an “invaluable resource that will help educators re-imagine what our schools can look like and what our students can accomplish.”