ISKME In the News

Open Ed. Resources Encourage Teachers to Tinker
Education Week,   October 17, 2012

Educators often argue that they need more control over the development of the curriculum they are teaching. Open education resources may be the answer, said several educators during presentations at the Open Education Conference here in Vancouver on Tuesday. ---   Cynthia Jimes, the director of research at the Institute for the Study of...
INFUSION Lunch with Lisa Petrides to talk about Big Ideas
October 17, 2012

Almost 12 years ago, Lisa Petrides, a Columbia University professor of education, decided to quit academia and build an entirely new system of education based on free and open access for all. Using her connections and reputation as an innovator, she raised millions in grants to start a nonprofit institute in Half Moon Bay known as ISKME, which...
Common Core Drives Interest in Open Education Resources
Education Week,   October 15, 2012

Spurred by the adoption of common-core standards by nearly every state, the movement for open digital resources is growing as educators realign curricula ---   One tool to help educators determine the quality and alignment to the common core of a particular resource is the OER rubrics developed by the Washington-based Achieve, a nonprofit...
Action Collab Facilitator Training, Sept 19-20
September 19, 2012 - September 20, 2012

We are pleased to announce the upcoming two-day Action Collab™ Facilitator Training, September 19th and 20th in San Francisco.   The Facilitator Training includes: a first-hand experience of the Action Collab process; an in-depth introduction to the framework; improv exercise instructions and practice; and participation in role-plays...
Half Moon Bay Organization Joins Makers at San Mateo Maker Faire
Half Moon Bay Patch,   May 18, 2012

Open source education proponent ISKME, an organization in Half Moon Bay, will be joining holistic hula-hoops, robotic dogs, science geeks and craft enthusiasts are all descending on San Mateo this weekend for the 2012 Maker Faire at the San Mateo County Event Center.
Free Internet lessons challenge textbook market for public schools
The Washington Post,   May 1, 2012

 For a modern take on Shakespeare, Montgomery County middle school teacher Amy Soldavini recently borrowed an online lesson comparing hip-hop artists to the Bard. Math teachers at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County sometimes assign students to watch free instructional Web videos at home so they...
What Will Be Obsolete in 2020 in Education
KQED Mind Shift,   March 27, 2012

Expounding on the ideas of the wildly popular article 21 Things That Will Be Obsolete in 2020, we asked a few of those who attendedBig Ideas Fest, a recent gathering of teachers, administrators, entrepreneurs and policymakers, to predict what they think will be obsolete in 2020.
How Open Education Can Transform Learning
KQED Mind Shift,   March 27, 2012

 As the open education movement grows, the ripple effects of what it means for teachers to take control of what they teach is being witnessed across all spectrums in education. Customizable content, sharing and becoming part of a community, and deconstructing entrenched ideologies about what constitutes quality learning materials —...
How Do You Measure Learning
KQED Mind Shift,   March 27, 2012

It’s not a new question, but it’s certainly a divisive one — how to best measure student learning. As the Department of Education works toward finding a way to assess student learning beyond what most agree are sub-par standardized tests, and movement for opting out of assessments grows, educators and those who work in the...
ISKME Study on Assessing Graduation Proficiencies and External Validation
Western Association of Schools and Colleges,   March 7, 2012

At its November 2-4, 2011 meeting, the Commission decided to continue to study and receive comment from the region on the Redesign Steering Committee's recommendation that institutions will externally benchmark key graduation proficiencies as part of the redesigned Institutional Review Process. The intent of the recommendation was that external...
International Initiatives Fuel Growth of Open Ed. Content
Education Week,   January 29, 2012

Open education resources are claiming a place in schools in a diverse array of countries.   South Africa's Education Department is printing math and science textbooks produced from such resources for use in grades 10 through 12. In the Netherlands, the Ministry of Education has developed a platform called Wikiwijs for employing open resources...
Building a strong foundation for open practices
Open.Michigan Blog,   December 21, 2011

I was fortunate to attend this year’s Big Ideas Fest, held in Half Moon Bay, California. While I attended last year’s Big Ideas Fest (BIF), this year’s was particularly relevant to our work here at Open.Michigan. A primary feature of the Big Ideas Fest each year is the action collab, where participants are grouped together to discuss and jam on...