EdCrunch: Exploring Education Startups

On the move...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:50:38 -0800

Dear Friends and Followers- Tumblr has treated me very well but I needed a bit more functionality,...

My so-coding life

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:58:36 -0800

Just over the past few weeks I’ve read about several initiatives to help teach anyone basic...

Vi Hart, newest faculty member of Khan Academy, brings some...

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:56:00 -0800

Vi Hart, newest faculty member of Khan Academy, brings some whimsy (and elephants) to math education. Enjoy!

A friend of mine recently joined the team at SF Flex Academy,...

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:41:00 -0800

A friend of mine recently joined the team at SF Flex Academy, one of a handful of truly blended learning schools in the Bay Area. What I love most about this video is the diversity of the students and how they all have found a passion for learning and building community in this school environment. I hope to check out their blended learning lab very soon. SF Flex is a free, public (charter) high school that is currently accepting applications and looking for a history teacher, so please help spread the word.

Spent the weekend at the Stanford FabLab for their workshop on...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:29:00 -0800

Spent the weekend at the Stanford FabLab for their workshop on Digital Fabrication in Education. It was really fabulous to connect with so many educators from the Bay Area and beyond that are thinking about how to bring some of these tools and lessons into their STEM and PBL focused classrooms.

Surrounded by sophisticated tools like 3D printers/scanners, laser cutters and simulators, it was really amazing to hear from the student panel that some of their favorite tools to use were the hot glue guns and hammer/nails. This really speaks to the essence of building something cool and that you don’t need really expensive/shiny technology to create a fun, fabrication-focused environment. Any school can create their own design lab using simple tools (few pairs of scissors, card board, post-its and sharpies…) — It is more about developing a culture that embraces the project-based learning practices.

I really hope that SUSE will continue to create workshops and resources like this that are closely tied to classroom practice with real-world applications for K-12 teachers. It really was fab!

Acknowledging one's contribution

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:42:00 -0800

During my current soul-searching-career-exploration phase I’ve been thinking a lot about the...

Just ask your teacher!

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 21:20:24 -0800

All good entrepreneurs know that the best way to improve their product is with a user-centered...

Blended Learning Lab- Downtown College Prep (Alum Rock)

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:36:23 -0800

Khan Academy exercise dashboard

Red and green cup system

Blended Learning Lab- Downtown College Prep (Alum Rock)

Blended Learning- In Real Life

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:24:00 -0800

I’ve watched the videos, read the blogs and spent a full day in SF last month at a...

"Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy, now. Walk..."

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 18:36:39 -0800

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly, now. Love mercy,...

Short and inspiring video from Tina Seelig, Executive Director...

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 15:21:27 -0800

Short and inspiring video from Tina Seelig, Executive Director of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program (STVP), sharing a story about her classroom project on entrepreneurship. Great lesson for all entrepreneurs to think about how you’re framing the problem/pain you’re trying to address and the resources you have available to help you achieve your goals. I especially like the point that seed money itself can be limiting and that people often undervalue their own skills.

Last night I attended a wonderful event supporting the...

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:58:00 -0700

Last night I attended a wonderful event supporting the Technovation Challenge, an inspiring program started by a friend of mine, Anu Tewary, to encourage high school girls to pursue STEM-related careers. This video captures the essence of the program and illustrates how participants learn about product development, design-thinking and programming through building Android Apps, such as World MPowered. The event, hosted at Andreessen Horowitz, centered around a panel of several high profile women in technology including Marissa Mayer, Padmasree Warrior, Freada Kapor Klein and Angela Benton. While the speakers were notable, what was even more impressive were the people in the standing-room-only crowd which included bright female entrepreneurs, like Leah Busque from Task Rabbit and Alexis Ringwald.

The main goal of the evening was to share inspiring stories of women in technology and to encourage the attendees to pay-it-forward by mentoring girls through the Technovation Challenge. Anyone can get involved by helping spread the word or signing up to be a mentor. The success of programs such as this, and others offered through Iridescent, is vital to building a diverse pipeline of women entrepreneurs and developers, and showing girls that it’s actually cool to be a geek.

“Revolutionary Technologies and the Future of...

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:59:39 -0700

“Revolutionary Technologies and the Future of Education”- panel from 20th Anniversary TFA Summit (Feb 2011)

It’s a bit long but the panelist share some unique insights on how their schools are integrating technology to create personalized learning environments for students, especially at Rocketship and School of One.

Great visualization of how we need to shift our thinking on what...

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:33:00 -0700

Great visualization of how we need to shift our thinking on what is the purpose of school and education.

Design Thinking @ The Nueva School

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:14:38 -0700

Design Thinking @ The Nueva School

Design Thinking for 5 year olds

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 22:47:00 -0700

Last Friday I attended the Innovative Learning Conference, hosted by the Nueva School every other...

Education 2.0 Roundtable: Redefining K-12 education in America,...

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 16:51:59 -0700

Education 2.0 Roundtable: Redefining K-12 education in America, before it redefines us

Khan Academy expands their faculty

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:40:00 -0700

Khan Academy launched a partnership today with SmartHistory which not only expands their content...

Grockit is Rockin' it

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:46:52 -0700

Lots of exciting news surrounding Grockit over the past few days, starting with the successful...

Technology and student-centric learning

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:35:36 -0700

Between the Philanthropy Roundtable event on Wednesday and the Startup Weekend EDU at Grockit on...