Liz Willen

It’s a tempting thought: Put a toddler in front of a computer or video with the right program and they’ll quickly acquire skills like reading, writing and early math. The thought is so alluring that parents often ask early education teachers what the best apps are, said Lisa Guernsey, speaking at the national seminar of […]

If you’ve attended a major education conference this year or follow education trends, you’ve likely heard a phrase that is creating great excitement: blended learning. The concept is gaining traction because it allows teachers to work with students at their individual level and at their own pace. Via technology, students get real-time instruction and instant […]

San Francisco – After two major education conferences in a row, I expected aggressive promotion of digital tools and products at last week’s NewSchools Venture Fund Summit, along with requisite promises of their potential to change teaching and learning forever. After all, I’d heard plenty of that at SXSWedu in Austin, and even more at […]

As more than 900 entrepreneurs and educators converge in San Francisco this week, some will talk academic standards, literacy and charter schools. Others will bypass weighty sessions at NewSchools Venture Fund summit altogether, preferring to tinker with dozens of new tools and products that promise to “transform teaching and learning.’’ Participants can teach to student […]

In a city where politicians and some educators are obsessed with raising test scores, New York City’s new schools chancellor Carmen Fariña stood beside her new boss this week and used a word rarely mentioned in the heated rhetoric of reform: Joy. Joy?! Carmen Fariña, left, spoke at Brooklyn’s P.S. 15 earlier this month. Now, […]