Dive Brief:

• The advent of online standardized testing is inspiring more districts to take on blended learning initiatives and increase their digital infrastructure with state and locally-matched funding programs and grants.
• Julia Freeland Fisher, the the Clayton Christensen Institute's (CCI) director of education research, says this is encouraging and points to a spreading readiness to embrace next-generation learning; CCI has launched a new school directory called Blended Learning Universe (BLU) to track the efforts of around 300 schools utilizing blended learning.
• BLU aims to give districts information about what practices are working and why, how to save costs, where similar initiatives might be taking place and how blended learning programs change over time. 

Dive Insight:

Sharing information between districts is a proven recipe for success, helping schools avoid pitfalls that have trapped others and build new programs based on successful models. The BLU initiative will provide a diverse array of examples for schools new to learning 2.0 and for those already experienced in incorporating digital elements into curricula.

The new block grants in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) can potentially fund blended learning; they are reportedly the first dedicated source of federal funding aimed at ed-tech since the 2010 funding of the Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) program. But the ESSA block grants aren't earmarked with any specific purpose, meaning blended learning proponents will have to advocate in their districts to make sure the money is divvied up in a way that supports e-learning.