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Book review: The Gradual Art of School Improvement

TES | November 03, 2019

As such, I am convinced that the Gradual Art of School Improvement offers some powerful learning for new-to-post and inexperienced secondary school leaders – in particular for those who are coming to the uncomfortable realisation that the work ahead of them is greater than they anticipated. The central tenet is that we should, as school leaders, fight against a culture of rapid and ultimately unsustainable school improvement. Instead, the author suggests, we should create a learning culture that focuses building the capacity and capability of others to learn in a slow-burn fashion. In this sense, there is little to disagree with – who wouldn’t agree that schools should have an “intense and unremitting focus on teaching and learning,” or that “micromanagement is rarely effective”? The book is intensely practical, with detailed guidance on a number of what the author considers to be key school-leadership challenges. Each one of the nine chapters outlines in an engaging style how the author established this slow-burn culture in his own school.

Spotlight

Changes in K-12 Education

It is generally assumed by educators that the K-12 curriculum – the curriculum used in primary, elementary, and secondary education – will affect students’ post-secondary educational experiences and their ability to enter the workforce. The content of the K-12 curriculum provides students with foundational knowledge and skills which are then built up at the post-secondary level. K-12 education is also intended to develop students’ general academic skills, such as reading comprehension, writing ability, researching ability, and presentation skills. These skills are also further developed in post-secondary education, which most British Columbia high school students will undertake at some point (Heslop, 2016).

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Spotlight

Changes in K-12 Education

It is generally assumed by educators that the K-12 curriculum – the curriculum used in primary, elementary, and secondary education – will affect students’ post-secondary educational experiences and their ability to enter the workforce. The content of the K-12 curriculum provides students with foundational knowledge and skills which are then built up at the post-secondary level. K-12 education is also intended to develop students’ general academic skills, such as reading comprehension, writing ability, researching ability, and presentation skills. These skills are also further developed in post-secondary education, which most British Columbia high school students will undertake at some point (Heslop, 2016).

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ONLINE EDUCATION

Online Learning Platform Springboard Selects Teletherapy Leader

Springboard | November 11, 2022

Springboard, an industry-leading online learning platform preparing students for in-demand, high-growth careers, today, announced a partnership with Uwill, the leading teletherapy solution for colleges and students, to provide mental health support for online learners. As the need for mental health support increases nationwide, Uwill's solution utilizes need and preferences to immediately match students with a diverse team of licensed and available counselors. The services will be integrated into Springboard's existing platform, and will be available to learners in addition to existing human support such as one-to-one mentorship and career counseling. "At Springboard, our ambitious vision centers around transforming lives through education and career advancement - and we know that this type of growth and transformation needs a strong foundation of mental health, In partnering with Uwill, we can meet students where they are by providing support through the same platform they're using for their education." Gautam Tambay, Co-founder and CEO at Springboard. Springboard is launching this teletherapy option at a time of increasing mental health challenges reported by education providers nationwide, where, according to HigherEdToday, nontraditional learners scored significantly higher on a number of mental health ratings than their traditional learning counterparts, specifically on depression, anxiety, and overall life stress.Uwill is uniquely suited to support the needs of Springboard learners to ensure they do not face barriers to mental health support," said Michael London, Founder and CEO of Uwill. Utilizing its proprietary technology and counselor team, Uwill pioneered the first Higher Ed therapist matching platform and wellness environment. The solution offers an immediate connection to an available licensed counselor based on student preferences, all modalities of teletherapy, a 24/7/365 crisis connection, wellness programming, detailed reporting and support. Uwill partners with more than 100 institutions worldwide including Berklee Online, Union College, Whitman College, and East Carolina University to ensure their mental health and wellness environment meets student needs. About Uwill Uwill has become the leading mental health and wellness solution for colleges and students. The most cost-effective way to complement a college's mental health offering, Uwill partners with more than 100 institutions including Boston College, University of Michigan, American Public University System, and University of Maryland, College Park. Uwill was named as one of Boston's hottest companies by BostInno, and now, more than 1 million students have access to the Uwill platform. Investors and supporters are a who's who including hip-hop legend Daryl McDaniels of Run-D.M.C. For more information, visit uwill.com. About Springboard Founded by Parul Gupta and Gautam Tambay in 2013, Springboard is on a mission to transform one million lives through education by 2030. More than 20,000 students across 100+ countries have used Springboard to advance their careers through the platform's comprehensive, mentor-led online learning programs. Graduates have landed jobs with employers like Microsoft, Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Deloitte, Intel, IBM, Salesforce and more. Springboard has also trained corporate teams at Visa, Gusto, and The North Face. Springboard was recently named one of the 2022 GSV EdTech 150 — a list of the world's most transformative growth companies in digital learning. Springboard is a 2020 Inc. 5000 company based in San Francisco, recently named a Top Workplace for Women by Elpha, and is backed by leading venture capital firms including Telstra Ventures, Vulcan Capital, SJF Ventures, Reach Capital, Pearson Ventures, International Finance Corp., Costanoa Ventures, Learn Capital, and Blue Fog Capital.

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CORPORATE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Varo Bank Launches "SaveUp" Financial Education Course in Collaboration with EVERFI

EVERFI | September 17, 2022

Varo Bank, the first all-digital, nationally chartered U.S. consumer techbank, announced today the launch of SaveUp, a free middle school savings curriculum designed in strategic partnership with social impact education innovator, EVERFI. The SaveUp course is the largest initiative to date of the Varo Money Power program, which includes free online financial education lessons for adults and the Russ x Varo Money Power financial education workshops for high school students designed in partnership with NBA superstar Russell Westbrook.SaveUp empowers students by providing them with the tools they need to build a strong savings foundation and will be available to 4,500 middle schools nationwide by June 2024. The course is aligned with Jump$tart National Standards for Personal Finance Education and focuses on middle school students to provide them time to learn and practice savings habits before they start to deal with more pressing financial challenges in high school and beyond. "Everyone deserves the same access to opportunity, and that starts with financial education,Through this joint initiative, Varo and EVERFI continue to advance our shared mission of expanding financial inclusion and helping young people learn the fundamentals of what it takes to build wealth for themselves and their communities. We plan to leverage this program content in the future to broaden the reach of financial education and literacy to a wider audience going forward." Colin Walsh, Founder and CEO of Varo Bank Throughout the course, students will learn the importance of saving, how to budget, how savings can help reach financial goals, and how to open a savings account. This will be accomplished through an interactive learning experience that includes: Self-guided lessons to help students develop simple, actionable strategies. Real-world scenarios that prime students for long-term behavioral change using problem-solving and self- reflection activities. Detailed score reports and offline extension activities to help teachers maximize their impact across all students. Middle school is a time of financial socialization for students as they start to develop their own values and beliefs around money," said Ray Martinez, Co-Founder and President of EVERFI. "Developing the SaveUp curriculum and bringing it to middle schools around the country, is just part of our commitment to help students, especially those in low-to-moderate income populations, build the knowledge and skills they need to achieve financial wellness and stability while providing equal access to the financial services system. About Varo Bank, N.A. Varo Bank is the first all-digital, nationally chartered U.S. consumer techbank built from the ground up, designed to make financial inclusion and opportunity a reality for all. Varo Bank is reimagining the modern banking experience and providing customers with the tools they need to build financial resilience and realize their financial power – with offerings such as Varo Believe, a secured card to help build credit, Varo Advance to help stretch hard-earned dollars between paychecks, the ability to earn cashback at 1,000 merchant locations nationwide, and a newly launched high yield savings account option, more than 38x the national average. A different kind of financial institution – Varo Bank serves everyone striving to build a better future – from those with abundance to people struggling to make ends meet. Varo has been named one of Forbes' World's Best Banks in 2022, Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and is on the Inc 5000 list of fastest growing companies for 2022. For more information on Varo Advance, Varo Believe, and other offerings such as Perks, visit www.varomoney.com, like Varo Bank on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @varobank. @2022 Varo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. About EVERFI, Inc. EVERFI from Blackbaud is an international technology company driving social impact through education to address the most challenging issues affecting society ranging from financial wellness to mental health to workplace conduct and other critical topics. Founded in 2008, EVERFI's Impact-as-a-Service™ solution and digital educational content have reached more than 45 million learners globally. In 2020, the company was recognized as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company and was featured on Fortune Magazine's Impact 20 List. The company was also named to the 2021 GSV EdTech 150, a list of the most transformative growth companies in digital learning. Blackbaud, the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, acquired EVERFI in December of 2021.

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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

CLASS101 Announces the Global Consolidation of Its Subscription Service, CLASS101+

CLASS101 | December 08, 2022

CLASS101 (CEO Daisun Kong), South Korea's #1 online class platform, today announced the global consolidation of its subscription service, CLASS101+. In a phased rollout that had begun in August 2022, CLASS101+ had become available on three separate platforms – English, Japanese and Korean. Now, all three will begin sharing each other's class offerings via a globally-integrated product. This latest development is set to accelerate CLASS101+'s foray into the global online learning market, bringing its fast-growing number of subscribers and its 130,000+ registered creators all the closer. Breaking down language barriers is necessarily the most important key to success, and to this end CLASS101 is embracing Neural Machine Translation (NMT). Using this state-of-the-art technology, the company plans on gradually making available its 4,000+ classes across all its subscription platforms together with AI-generated subtitles in English, Japanese, and Korean. CLASS101's new language capabilities are unparalleled domestically, and so is its ability to internalize innovations in personalization and localization. Leveraging both the previously accumulated data and the expanded catalog of classes on offer, the company is actively honing its algorithm to deliver more accurate class recommendations on CLASS101+. Its machine translation capacity is being put to use for all aspects of UI localization, too. Together, these attempts aim to present a more personally gratifying learning experience to each and every subscriber. "CLASS101 aspires to build a world where people live doing what they love, and the consolidation of our subscription platforms and class content is a momentous step toward achieving our vision on a global scale, The number of subscribers from South Korea has been on the rise, and we're confident that our enhanced ability to serve global users would help us attract more learners from Asia, Europe and the United States. For all intents and purposes, CLASS101+ is now a wholly globalized service, and our hope is for both our subscribers and creators from around the world to inspire one another and discover new and unexpected possibilities for growth and development." Daisun Kong, CEO of CLASS101. CLASS101, in fact, has a proven track record of producing content that could reach a global audience. In the past, classes from such famed South Korean creators as InHyuk Lee and Lia Kim (from ONE MILLION Dance Studio) had been translated from Korean into English and Japanese. These translated versions ended up accounting for about 36% of the revenue generated outside South Korea. An even stronger case in point is the fact that a number of classes produced abroad and taught in English were purchased in South Korea without translation. Precedents like these indicate that the sheer desire to learn new skills, hobbies and knowledge has no boundaries, be it lingual or geographical. It goes without noting that CLASS101+ has a truly exceptional roster of internationally-acclaimed creators. Yehuda and Maya Devir, married Israeli comic artists, share how to create webcomics as enthralling as theirs, which have led to their building a community of more than 9 million followers. Kathy Nakajima is a pioneering Hawaiian quilt designer and a renowned media personality in Japan. Hisanori Yoshida, an announcer and an award-winning radio host, teaches effective communication skills. David Yungin Kim is a world-class audio engineer and a three-time Grammy winner who has recently released a class on song mixing. In its fully-evolved form, CLASS101+ will be offering 4,000+ classes in 3 different languages (English, Korean and Japanese) in 25 categories, including digital drawing, crafts, photography, and fitness. For $19.99 per month, subscribers can access them anytime, anywhere.

Read More

ONLINE EDUCATION

Online Learning Platform Springboard Selects Teletherapy Leader

Springboard | November 11, 2022

Springboard, an industry-leading online learning platform preparing students for in-demand, high-growth careers, today, announced a partnership with Uwill, the leading teletherapy solution for colleges and students, to provide mental health support for online learners. As the need for mental health support increases nationwide, Uwill's solution utilizes need and preferences to immediately match students with a diverse team of licensed and available counselors. The services will be integrated into Springboard's existing platform, and will be available to learners in addition to existing human support such as one-to-one mentorship and career counseling. "At Springboard, our ambitious vision centers around transforming lives through education and career advancement - and we know that this type of growth and transformation needs a strong foundation of mental health, In partnering with Uwill, we can meet students where they are by providing support through the same platform they're using for their education." Gautam Tambay, Co-founder and CEO at Springboard. Springboard is launching this teletherapy option at a time of increasing mental health challenges reported by education providers nationwide, where, according to HigherEdToday, nontraditional learners scored significantly higher on a number of mental health ratings than their traditional learning counterparts, specifically on depression, anxiety, and overall life stress.Uwill is uniquely suited to support the needs of Springboard learners to ensure they do not face barriers to mental health support," said Michael London, Founder and CEO of Uwill. Utilizing its proprietary technology and counselor team, Uwill pioneered the first Higher Ed therapist matching platform and wellness environment. The solution offers an immediate connection to an available licensed counselor based on student preferences, all modalities of teletherapy, a 24/7/365 crisis connection, wellness programming, detailed reporting and support. Uwill partners with more than 100 institutions worldwide including Berklee Online, Union College, Whitman College, and East Carolina University to ensure their mental health and wellness environment meets student needs. About Uwill Uwill has become the leading mental health and wellness solution for colleges and students. The most cost-effective way to complement a college's mental health offering, Uwill partners with more than 100 institutions including Boston College, University of Michigan, American Public University System, and University of Maryland, College Park. Uwill was named as one of Boston's hottest companies by BostInno, and now, more than 1 million students have access to the Uwill platform. Investors and supporters are a who's who including hip-hop legend Daryl McDaniels of Run-D.M.C. For more information, visit uwill.com. About Springboard Founded by Parul Gupta and Gautam Tambay in 2013, Springboard is on a mission to transform one million lives through education by 2030. More than 20,000 students across 100+ countries have used Springboard to advance their careers through the platform's comprehensive, mentor-led online learning programs. Graduates have landed jobs with employers like Microsoft, Google, Meta, LinkedIn, Deloitte, Intel, IBM, Salesforce and more. Springboard has also trained corporate teams at Visa, Gusto, and The North Face. Springboard was recently named one of the 2022 GSV EdTech 150 — a list of the world's most transformative growth companies in digital learning. Springboard is a 2020 Inc. 5000 company based in San Francisco, recently named a Top Workplace for Women by Elpha, and is backed by leading venture capital firms including Telstra Ventures, Vulcan Capital, SJF Ventures, Reach Capital, Pearson Ventures, International Finance Corp., Costanoa Ventures, Learn Capital, and Blue Fog Capital.

Read More

CORPORATE EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Varo Bank Launches "SaveUp" Financial Education Course in Collaboration with EVERFI

EVERFI | September 17, 2022

Varo Bank, the first all-digital, nationally chartered U.S. consumer techbank, announced today the launch of SaveUp, a free middle school savings curriculum designed in strategic partnership with social impact education innovator, EVERFI. The SaveUp course is the largest initiative to date of the Varo Money Power program, which includes free online financial education lessons for adults and the Russ x Varo Money Power financial education workshops for high school students designed in partnership with NBA superstar Russell Westbrook.SaveUp empowers students by providing them with the tools they need to build a strong savings foundation and will be available to 4,500 middle schools nationwide by June 2024. The course is aligned with Jump$tart National Standards for Personal Finance Education and focuses on middle school students to provide them time to learn and practice savings habits before they start to deal with more pressing financial challenges in high school and beyond. "Everyone deserves the same access to opportunity, and that starts with financial education,Through this joint initiative, Varo and EVERFI continue to advance our shared mission of expanding financial inclusion and helping young people learn the fundamentals of what it takes to build wealth for themselves and their communities. We plan to leverage this program content in the future to broaden the reach of financial education and literacy to a wider audience going forward." Colin Walsh, Founder and CEO of Varo Bank Throughout the course, students will learn the importance of saving, how to budget, how savings can help reach financial goals, and how to open a savings account. This will be accomplished through an interactive learning experience that includes: Self-guided lessons to help students develop simple, actionable strategies. Real-world scenarios that prime students for long-term behavioral change using problem-solving and self- reflection activities. Detailed score reports and offline extension activities to help teachers maximize their impact across all students. Middle school is a time of financial socialization for students as they start to develop their own values and beliefs around money," said Ray Martinez, Co-Founder and President of EVERFI. "Developing the SaveUp curriculum and bringing it to middle schools around the country, is just part of our commitment to help students, especially those in low-to-moderate income populations, build the knowledge and skills they need to achieve financial wellness and stability while providing equal access to the financial services system. About Varo Bank, N.A. Varo Bank is the first all-digital, nationally chartered U.S. consumer techbank built from the ground up, designed to make financial inclusion and opportunity a reality for all. Varo Bank is reimagining the modern banking experience and providing customers with the tools they need to build financial resilience and realize their financial power – with offerings such as Varo Believe, a secured card to help build credit, Varo Advance to help stretch hard-earned dollars between paychecks, the ability to earn cashback at 1,000 merchant locations nationwide, and a newly launched high yield savings account option, more than 38x the national average. A different kind of financial institution – Varo Bank serves everyone striving to build a better future – from those with abundance to people struggling to make ends meet. Varo has been named one of Forbes' World's Best Banks in 2022, Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and is on the Inc 5000 list of fastest growing companies for 2022. For more information on Varo Advance, Varo Believe, and other offerings such as Perks, visit www.varomoney.com, like Varo Bank on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @varobank. @2022 Varo Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. About EVERFI, Inc. EVERFI from Blackbaud is an international technology company driving social impact through education to address the most challenging issues affecting society ranging from financial wellness to mental health to workplace conduct and other critical topics. Founded in 2008, EVERFI's Impact-as-a-Service™ solution and digital educational content have reached more than 45 million learners globally. In 2020, the company was recognized as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company and was featured on Fortune Magazine's Impact 20 List. The company was also named to the 2021 GSV EdTech 150, a list of the most transformative growth companies in digital learning. Blackbaud, the world's leading cloud software company powering social good, acquired EVERFI in December of 2021.

Read More

EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

CLASS101 Announces the Global Consolidation of Its Subscription Service, CLASS101+

CLASS101 | December 08, 2022

CLASS101 (CEO Daisun Kong), South Korea's #1 online class platform, today announced the global consolidation of its subscription service, CLASS101+. In a phased rollout that had begun in August 2022, CLASS101+ had become available on three separate platforms – English, Japanese and Korean. Now, all three will begin sharing each other's class offerings via a globally-integrated product. This latest development is set to accelerate CLASS101+'s foray into the global online learning market, bringing its fast-growing number of subscribers and its 130,000+ registered creators all the closer. Breaking down language barriers is necessarily the most important key to success, and to this end CLASS101 is embracing Neural Machine Translation (NMT). Using this state-of-the-art technology, the company plans on gradually making available its 4,000+ classes across all its subscription platforms together with AI-generated subtitles in English, Japanese, and Korean. CLASS101's new language capabilities are unparalleled domestically, and so is its ability to internalize innovations in personalization and localization. Leveraging both the previously accumulated data and the expanded catalog of classes on offer, the company is actively honing its algorithm to deliver more accurate class recommendations on CLASS101+. Its machine translation capacity is being put to use for all aspects of UI localization, too. Together, these attempts aim to present a more personally gratifying learning experience to each and every subscriber. "CLASS101 aspires to build a world where people live doing what they love, and the consolidation of our subscription platforms and class content is a momentous step toward achieving our vision on a global scale, The number of subscribers from South Korea has been on the rise, and we're confident that our enhanced ability to serve global users would help us attract more learners from Asia, Europe and the United States. For all intents and purposes, CLASS101+ is now a wholly globalized service, and our hope is for both our subscribers and creators from around the world to inspire one another and discover new and unexpected possibilities for growth and development." Daisun Kong, CEO of CLASS101. CLASS101, in fact, has a proven track record of producing content that could reach a global audience. In the past, classes from such famed South Korean creators as InHyuk Lee and Lia Kim (from ONE MILLION Dance Studio) had been translated from Korean into English and Japanese. These translated versions ended up accounting for about 36% of the revenue generated outside South Korea. An even stronger case in point is the fact that a number of classes produced abroad and taught in English were purchased in South Korea without translation. Precedents like these indicate that the sheer desire to learn new skills, hobbies and knowledge has no boundaries, be it lingual or geographical. It goes without noting that CLASS101+ has a truly exceptional roster of internationally-acclaimed creators. Yehuda and Maya Devir, married Israeli comic artists, share how to create webcomics as enthralling as theirs, which have led to their building a community of more than 9 million followers. Kathy Nakajima is a pioneering Hawaiian quilt designer and a renowned media personality in Japan. Hisanori Yoshida, an announcer and an award-winning radio host, teaches effective communication skills. David Yungin Kim is a world-class audio engineer and a three-time Grammy winner who has recently released a class on song mixing. In its fully-evolved form, CLASS101+ will be offering 4,000+ classes in 3 different languages (English, Korean and Japanese) in 25 categories, including digital drawing, crafts, photography, and fitness. For $19.99 per month, subscribers can access them anytime, anywhere.

Read More

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