Disrupting Class
and the
Future of Learning
Michael B. Horn
mhorn@innosightinstitute.org
Twitter: @innosightinstit
Sustaining innovations
Performance
Incumbents nearly always win
Time
Different measure
Of Performance
Performance
Disruptive innovations
Incumbents nearly always win
60% on
$500,000
45% on
$250,000
Time
40%
20%
on $2,000
Entrants nearly always win
Time
Disruption = affordability, accessibility
Yesterday
• GM
• Dept. Stores
• State universities
• Digital Eqpt.
• Delta
• JP Morgan
• Xerox
• IBM
• Cullinet
• AT&T
• Sony DiskMan
Today
• Toyota
• Wal-Mart
• Community colleges
• Dell
• Southwest Airlines
• Fidelity
• Canon
• Microsoft
• Oracle
• Cingular
• Apple iPod
Disruption of Toyota
Disruption = affordability, accessibility
Yesterday
• GM
• Dept. Stores
• State universities
• Digital Eqpt.
• Delta
• JP Morgan
• Xerox
• IBM
• Cullinet
• AT&T
• Sony DiskMan
Today
• Toyota
• Wal-Mart
• Community colleges
• Dell
• Southwest Airlines
• Fidelity
• Canon
• Microsoft
• Oracle
• Cingular
• Apple iPod
Tomorrow
• Chery
• Internet retail
• Online universities
• Smart phones
• Air taxis
• ETFs
• Zink
• Linux
• Salesforce.com
• Skype
• Smart phones
It’s not a technology problem
Performance
Tabletop Radios,
Floor-standing TVs
Different measure
Of Performance
Path taken by
vacuum tube
manufacturers
Time
Portable TVs
Pocket radios
Hearing aids
Time
Different system architectures
Proprietary,
interdependent
architectures:
Modular, open
architectures
Microsoft Windows;
Apple products
Linux; Dell PCs
Customization is
very expensive
Customization is
straightforward
Different learning needs @ different times
Multiple intelligences
Learning Styles
Talents
Motivations/interests
Aptitude
Depends on subject/domain
Different paces
Ongoing neuroscience research
Built to standardize
Different measure
Of Performance
Performance
Crammed computers historically
Core
curriculum
Path taken by
most schools,
foundations and
education software
companies
Time
Time
Performance
Sustaining the chalkboard
Time
Prime examples of nonconsumption
• Credit recovery
• Drop outs
• AP/advanced courses
• Scheduling conflicts
• Home-schooled and
homebound students
• Small, rural, urban schools
• Unit recovery
• Disaster preparedness
• Tutoring
• Professional development
• Pre-K
• After school
• In the home
• Incarcerated youth
• In-school suspension
• School bus commute
• Summer school
• Teacher absenteeism
• Migrant worker families
Looming budget cuts and teacher shortages are an opportunity,
not a threat
Substitution follows S-curve pattern
%
new
%
new
% old
10.0
1.0
0.1
.01
.001
.000
1
03
05
07
09
11
13 15
Online learning gaining adoption
• Over 4M K-12 students doing online learning, says Ambient Insight
• 30% of high school students & 19% middle school students, says
Project Tomorrow
Online learning inherently modular
Image courtesy of Khan Academy
Technology predictably improves
Definition of blended learning
Any time a student learns in part through online delivery,
with some element of student control over time, place, path
and/or pace
and
At least in part in a supervised brick-and-mortar place away
from home
Blended learning is not…
Emerging blended-learning models
Rotation
•
•
•
•
Station rotation
Lab rotation
Individual rotation
Flipped
classroom
Flex
Online platform
with F2F support
and fluid schedules
Self-Blend
Students attend
physical school &
take 1 or more
courses online
Enhanced Virtual
Students learn
sometimes at a
physical school,
other times remotely
Technology predictably improves
Proliferation of content options
Revolution Prep ST Math (MIND Study Island
Reach Institute)
Reasoning Mind
Quest to Learn
UC College Prep
Apex Learning
Powerspeak
Pearson
Plato
Odysseyware
NovaNet
Microsoft Office
Aventa Learning
Mangahigh.com
Learning Today
Macromedia
NROC, Hippocampus
Learning.com
Jesuit Virtual
Learning
Academy
iStation
K12
Ideal NM
Gamestar Mechanic
EPGY
Online
High
School
Rosetta Stone
Fairmont Preparatory
eCADEMY
Earobics REACH (HMH)
Achieve 3000
Destination Reading (HMH)
CONTech (SIATech)
Compass Learning
College Access Readers
(CK-12/Leadership
Public Schools)
BrainPop
Brownsville
AutoCad
Atmosphir
Adobe
American
Michigan Virtual School
Education A+
Acton Toolkit
ACCESS Accelerated Reader
ALEKS
Connections Academy
Dreambox Learning
e2020
EdisonLearning
Florida Virtual School
Headsprout
Education technology categories
→ Digital content including: online courses, test prep, tutoring,
specialized providers, and edu-games.
→ Classroom learning and academic solutions including:
learning management systems, assessment systems,
gradebooks, sharing and collaboration tools, and social
learning systems.
→ Systems which manage student demographics,
achievement scores, and provide analytics and reporting.
→ Applications which support professional development and
teacher effectiveness as well as human resource systems.
24
Specialized
Online
Instruction
Test
Prep
Tutoring
Intervention/
Core
Curricula
Digital
Texts
Games
Courses
25
Communication
Assessment
Systems
Collaboration
LMS
Instructional
Systems
Teacher
Tools
Social
Learning
26
Data
Systems
Data
Warehouse
Reporting
SIS
27
Talent
Management
PD
Systems
Observation
HR
Systems
28
Practical implications
•
Begin at the end. Define outcomes.
•
Make technology the slave to your strategy, not the other way
around.
•
Harness the power of time, place, path, and pace for student
personalization.
•
Personalize for your circumstances too. Think in terms of
“SWOT.”
•
Take advantage of rapidly improving content and
communication tools.
•
Shift to outcome accountability, not input-based rules.
Practical implications
• Not beholden by the old metrics
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Seat time Competency-based
Geographic boundaries
Teacher certifications
In general, move beyond focus on inputs/processes
Self-sustaining funding
Autonomous
Human resources pipeline & PD
Broadband/wireless infrastructure
Portal/Based on usage and what works
Treatment and use of data
Fixed time, variable learning
Deliver content to students
Testing & assessment
Receive results
Progress to next grade, subject,
or body of material
Competency-based learning
Deliver content to students
Testing & assessment
Progress to next grade, subject,
or body of material
Receive real-time
interactive feedback
Disrupting Class
and the
Future of Learning
Michael B. Horn
mhorn@innosightinstitute.org
Twitter: @innosightinstit
Individual-rotation model: Carpe Diem
Central Learning Lab
T
Intervention
5:1
T
T
T
12:1
Seminar
T
Direct Instruction
15:1
T
Learning Lab
273 students
6 teachers (T)
Source: Alex Hernandez, Charter School Growth Fund
Group Projects
Station-rotation model: KIPP Empower
Individualized
Online Instruction
Teacher-led
Instruction
Collaborative
activities & stations
Source: Education Elements
T
Classroom-rotation model:
Summit Public Schools
T
Khan Academy
Challenge projects
Source: Alex Hernandez, Charter School Growth Fund
Lab-rotation model: Rocketship Education
Teacher (T)
Paraprofessional (P)
T
T
Direct Instruction
Math/Science
Direct Instruction
Literacy/
Social Studies
T
P
Learning Lab
Direct Instruction
Literacy/
Social Studies
Source: Alex Hernandez, Charter School Growth Fund
Reading, Math