Dive Brief:
- School choice can potentially breed competition between schools, which may lead educators to seek innovative uses for tech, including investments in blended and personalized learning, which eSchool News detailed in a recent article.
- Adaptive learning innovation is also possible, which will help educators track the proficiency and progress of a students that may be new to their classroom.
- Tech utilization can also make the movement of a student’s data easier if that student moves from school to school. Tech tools can also assist teachers in classroom management, including data-driven gradebook systems that help educators to speedily track a student’s progress.
Dive Insight:
Educators and administrators must consider how tech will not only change the delivery of a traditional K-12 school, but can potentially change the nature and focus of the curriculum itself. As career and technical education continues to enjoy the support of policymakers and is increasingly common in higher ed, some charters, such as Rooted School in New Orleans, are using tech to create new schools with new ambitions. Rooted School, set to open this year, is currently engaged in a pilot program that includes core classes from a tech academy, as well as coding and programming lessons. The school is intended to prepare students for high-paying tech jobs, not necessarily college.
Tech’s growth and increased ubiquity in K-12 classrooms, coupled with more robust support for school choice options, could lead other examples of schools like Rooted School in the near future. Administrators should consider whether there is a way to supplement what their school offers by splitting the difference between the practical applications possible with tech and the insight that can be gleaned through a traditional curriculum. In a school choice environment, perhaps the successful schools will be the ones that offer the opportunity for a strong secondary education and the means to gain practical experience leading to employment under one roof.
