INACOL

In 2011, the Proficiency-based Pathways project was launched with support from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Along with eight other schools, Casco Bay High School (Maine) with its partner Expeditionary Learning and Vergennes Union High School (Vermont) were selected to participate, sharing their learning as they further developed their models. The findings from Proficiency-based Pathways are shared in the report Making Mastery Work: A Close-Up View of Competency Education (http://bit.ly/makingmasterywork) published by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation. During the webinar you will learn about the process that Casco Bay High School and Expeditionary Learning used in developing their 2.0 assessment system, the overall structure and an in depth look at the assessment tools utilized, and how Vergennes Union High School set out to accelerate its movement toward having its set of Performance Based Graduation Requirement fully implemented for 2016.

Two years ago the Boston Day and Evening Academy was faced with a challenge: How would they transition their well-developed competency education system to the new standards of the Common Core? They were determined to do it in a way that honored the school’s deep commitment to responding to the wide variation in the academic skills and credits of their students. Join CompetencyWorks and iNACOL for a webinar to learn about how Boston Day and Evening Academy, a school designed to serve over-age and undercredited students, aligned their competencies to the Common Core State Standards. You will also hear about hos BDEA has fine-tuned its practices to accelerate learning for students with a wide differentiation of skills and credits.

Federal and state education policies play an important role in removing barriers and enabling new models of competency-based, online and blended learning. Learn more about the leading federal issues that must be addressed in 2013, including the road ahead for ESEA reauthorization. Top state policy issues around online and blended learning will also be covered. Not sure what your role is in advocacy and lawmaker education? Two of the nation’s leading experts on digital education policy at both the federal and state level will provide an overview, recommendations and strategies for taking action. Speakers: John Bailey, Executive Director, Digital Learning Now! Susan Patrick, President & CEO, iNACOL

This webinar looks at two very different models structured around the concept of progress upon mastery. The Medical Professions and Teacher Preparation Academy (MPTPA) in Hartford, CT is part of the National Center for Education and the Economy’s Excellence for All network. In this initiative, students must demonstrate qualifying scores on examinations that are aligned with research-based college readiness standards. Once students have achieved qualifying exam scores, they can move on to a range of possible pathways. Here, we hear insights from MPTPA about what needs to be in place to support students within this structure. Then we hear from Schools for the Future (SFF) about their self-paced model designed for 8th graders that have been retained and with significant skill gaps, accelerating their learning so that they are fully college and career ready. SFF has four performance levels to graduation, modularized curriculum, and blended learning instructional delivery model.

Join district and school leadership of MSAD 15 in Gray-New Gloucester, ME for a conversation about their experience in implementing proficiency-based education. Gray-New Gloucester began the process of transforming their district to a student-centered, proficiency-based model starting at the elementary school level and have proceeded to implement proficiency-based practices in their middle and high school. Speakers: – Bruce Beasley, Superintendent, MSAD 15 – Karen Caprio, Director of Curriculum and Staff Development, MSAD 15 – Ephraim Weisstein, Consultant to the Proficiency-based Pathways Project and co-author Making Mastery Work: A Close-Up View of Competency Education

“Re-Engineering Information Technology: Design Considerations for Competency Education” – the latest briefing paper from CompetencyWorks – analyzes and examines components and elements of effective competency-based information systems. Join iNACOL’s Susan Patrick and Liz Glowa, the report’s author, for a conversation based on interviews and research behind the ideas in Re-Engineering Information Technology to build upon the lessons learned in analyzing information systems developed by competency education innovators, best practices of systemic approaches to information management, and emerging opportunities. Speakers: – Susan Patrick, President and CEO, iNACOL – Liz Glowa, Glowa Counsulting

Louisiana Course Choice is a new Louisiana Department of Education administered program that will be in full operation beginning in the 2013-14 school year in order to better meet the needs of all students and prepare more students to be college and career-ready. The purpose of the Louisiana Course Choice Program is to provide access to a range of courses for use by schools and students across Louisiana, including online, face-to-face, and blended courses. Louisiana is revolutionizing education — Course Choice will offer “a la carte” school choice to Louisiana students and families… one course at a time.

Michael Horn, Executive Director (Education) of the Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation, discusses the latest trends and research pertaining to blended learning.

This webinar highlights findings from iNACOL’s new report through the CompetencyWorks initiative, Necessary for Success: A State Policymakers Guide to Competency Education, and will allow participants to hear directly from two state education leaders about their experiences and insights in advancing competency education where students advance upon mastery. We’ll hear about the theory of action driving Maine and Iowa’s efforts, how state leaders are building shared vision and creating innovation space. Leading the discussion will be Susan Patrick , President and CEO of iNACOL; Jason Glass , Director of the Iowa Department of Education; and Don Siviski , Superintendent of Instruction for the Maine Department of Education.

As the FCC prepares to issue its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), and with the recent announcement of President Obama’s ConnectED initiative, education stakeholders are starting to rev up advocacy to improve access to broadband for schools and inform policy makers of connectivity needs around E-Rate. Another driver for broadband adoption in schools is that, particularly in rural and poor areas, our nation’s schools are not ready to deliver online assessments by the 2014 deadline. Schools need high-speed Internet access for delivery of blended, online and digital learning strategies as they recognize the potential to personalize learning to close the achievement gap and get students college and career ready. Join education and broadband telecommunications leaders (including an official from the FCC and two former US Department of Education Directors of Educational Technology) for this first in a series of iNACOL E-Rate 101 webinars to educate and empower education advocates to engage in the E-Rate reform discussion.

On Tuesday, August 6, 2013, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) hosted a webinar to explore recently announced plans to update the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program. As more schools adopt new learning models powered by blended and online learning, an updated E-Rate program will provide more opportunities for schools, libraries and other learning environments to secure essential broadband access for the country’s students. The webinar addressed the pressing need for schools and students to have improved access to high-speed Internet with upcoming online assessments in 2014. Susan Patrick, President and CEO of iNACOL, said, “80 percent of U.S. schools do not have broadband Internet access sufficient to provide new learning models that ensure students graduate ready to face the challenges of a 21st century college or career environment. The United States is in the bottom half of developed nations for Internet access and speeds available to its citizens. It is vitally important that education leaders work with the FCC to strengthen and update the E-Rate program to make certain our students get the best start possible, regardless of where they learn.” In July, the FCC announced a proposal to modernize the E-Rate program to meet the educational needs of students and teachers. iNACOL, in partnership with leading education organizations, is committed to amplifying the voice of school leaders and policymakers throughout the country through this series of webinars dedicated to an examination of the E-Rate program and driving efforts to achieve a comprehensive update to this critical effort. Presenters: Susan Patrick, President and CEO, iNACOL Evan Marwell, CEO and Co-founder, Education Superhighway Susan Van Gundy, Associate Director for Assessment Technology, Achieve / PARCC Jennifer Davis, Director, CCSSO Innovation Lab Network

On Tuesday, August 20, 2013, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) presented the third in a series of webinars investigating the need for greater student access to broadband in schools. The webinar was moderated by Susan Patrick, President and CEO of iNACOL, and featured Lisa Hone of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Richard Culatta, Director of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology, and Peter Zamora, Director of Federal Relations for CCSSO. This presentation highlighted President Obama’s ConnectED initiative, with the goal to connect 99 percent of America’s students to the Internet through high-speed broadband and high-speed wireless within 5 years, and recent efforts to update the Federal Communications Commission’s E-Rate program to provide more opportunities for schools, libraries and other learning environments to secure essential broadband access. In July, the FCC announced a proposal to modernize the E-Rate program to meet the educational needs of students and teachers. iNACOL, in partnership with leading education organizations, is committed to amplifying the voices of educators, school leaders and policymakers throughout the country through this series of webinars dedicated to an examination of the E-Rate program and driving efforts to achieve a comprehensive update to broadband infrastructure for learning. Presenters: – Susan Patrick, President and CEO, iNACOL – Lisa Hone, Deputy Division Chief, Telecommunications Access Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau, Federal Communications Commission – Richard Culatta, Director, Office of Educational Technology, U.S. Department of Education – Peter Zamora, Director of Federal Relations, CCSSO

Leading systems change in education requires creating room for innovation, setting a strong vision and creating collective capacity to manage transformation at all levels of the education system. This luncheon keynote panel will inspire and challenge our thinking on leading change as they share compelling stories of their successes and lessons learned toward the ultimate goal of dramatically improving learning environments at scale via personalized, student-centered learning. Their commitment to equity and excellence for our nation’s most challenged youth — with a central and nonnegotiable focus on students — shines through in their work to transform teaching and learning in schools. These leaders are managing different levels of systems change and are forging pathways to new learning models with the goal of significant advancements in learner growth and outcomes. Be inspired as the keynote panel engages in frank discussion, sharing their guiding vision and roadmaps for achieving their goal as leaders of systems change to bring mastery-based, personalized learning models to scale. Panelists: Russell Altenburg (moderator), Assistant Director, The Broad Foundation John Covington, Chancellor, Education Achievement Authority of Michigan Alex Hernandez, Partner, Charter School Growth Fund

Ten Year’s of Transformation (A Welcome) In the Fall of 2003, seventeen pioneering leaders formed what was then the North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) with a vision for transforming K-12 education through online teaching and learning, fostering a landscape that promoted student success and lifelong learning. Just ten years later, hundreds of new learning models have taken root across the continuum of blended and online learning, with tools and resources transforming the way traditional classrooms differentiate instruction for each and every student. The next ten years offer even more of an unprecedented window of opportunity — in addition to new barriers and challenges — for this transformative shift toward student-centered learning. If we want those directing the future of education to act differently, we must get them to think differently. Working with innovators across the field, iNACOL’s annual symposium seeks to host thought-provoking discussions and unparalleled networking opportunities in order to share ideas and enable innovation to take hold in schools across the country and around the world. Susan Patrick will explore trends shaping the future of learning, reflect on success stories from the across field and spotlight early indicators identified in breakthrough new models using online, blended and competency-based environments. Driving an Innovative Policy Roadmap Toward the Transformation of Student Learning How are policy makers removing barriers and addressing goals to enable all students to leverage a variety of transformed learning experiences and environments (blending digital components and learning online — in and out of school) to ensure that they are ready for the world? As educators on the ground are driving the big idea of competency education, it is gaining traction in federal, state and local policy at all levels. From the federal Race to the Top district programs focused on personalization to state proficiency-based graduation requirements; district innovation zones; turnaround schools; and new school models using high-quality blended and online learning — competency-based education is a key theme bridging next generation learning approaches and student-centered learning. To meet the vision of competency-based education, policy makers and practitioners need to think differently about almost every aspect of our education system. Policy leaders from federal and state government will provide a vision of the future of policy toward student-centered learning — from addressing broadband infrastructure needs to policies that focus on competency development, rather than seat-time. Panelists will explore policy strategies and approaches to unleash innovation, improve technology infrastructure, provide better transparency of quality programs and create space for innovation.

Two experts in the field of blended learning shared the importance of having a planned policy and support structure in place for any blended learning program to be successful. Greg Klein has been involved with Oakland Public Schools in the implementation of blended learning for many years and co-wrote the Oakland Unified case study where he identified critical success factors for blended learning adoption. More on this case study can be found on this website. Samantha Sherwood became a blended learning teacher several years ago and then helped open a blended learning school in New York Public Schools, where she now serves as the Assistant Principal. She researched the journey of a blended learning teacher as part of her Masters degree and has documented the characteristics and support systems needed for a successful blended learning teacher and a successful blended learning classroom. The presenters shared common elements needed for implementing a successful blended learning program as well as the policy considerations across a school or district that leads to success.

Keeping Pace with K-12 Online and Blended Learning tracks the latest policies, practices and trends affecting online learning programs across all 50 states. Join John Watson and Amy Murin — two co-authors of this essential annual report — for a discussion of key findings related to the growth of online and blended learning programs as well as an overview of policy changes across districts and states around the country. In preparation for this webinar, participants are encouraged to download and read the report at http://kpk12.com.

Rick Hess, Director of Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute Bror Saxberg, Chief Learning Officer, Kaplan Inc. How can we design the most effective instructional environments? How do we approach the transformation to student-centric learning using what learning science tells us to do, and not do, to enhance student success? In their new book, “Breakthrough Leadership in the Digital Age”, Hess and Saxberg offer that there’s never been a better time to be a “learning engineer” — working to apply what’s known about learning to the very real challenges of developing affordable, reliable, available, data-rich competency-based learning environments. Our educational leaders must take up the challenge to become empowered with “cage-busting leadership” in order to take on the laws, rules, and regulations that prevent them from implementing true transformational changes to our educational systems. Citing many examples of leaders who have busted out of the cage, Hess will illustrate how tough decisions can be made to provide the quality education we seek for our students. The crux of how to break down barriers, enable good teachers to do great work and provide students from all backgrounds equity and excellent opportunities to learn and thrive is at the heart of this discussion. Their book provides a framework, common language, and real-world examples of how to do just that. Saxberg is a researcher and visionary on digital learning’s ability to transform education. This keynote will both connect the dots between research on the best learning environments for how student learn and identify breakthrough tactics to overcome what stands in the way of the revolution toward student-centered learning. By design and through science, it is evident that digital learning offers solutions for transforming education around student-centered and highly personalized learning. Combining a solution-driven approach with strong “cage-busting” leadership will offer tremendous insights and tools for leaders committed to doing what is right for kids.

It is our great pleasure — in fact, our responsibility — to bring Symposium attendees a straightforward, student-driven conversation about online and blended learning, and to highlight educational issues informed by their perspectives on the ground. Each year, iNACOL invites a group of students — spanning grade levels — to come together at the Symposium to speak about their experiences, unfiltered — in an open discussion and dialog. Transforming education requires reflection and opportunities to build understanding through the eyes and experiences of the young people we ultimately serve. Please join us for what is one of the most inspiring discussions of each year’s conference — our conversation with students on reinventing the future of education.

Have you ever wondered if the money spent on technology and professional development really makes a difference in the lives of students? This webinar will present exciting evidence that change is happening through blended learning. We will explore the results of research conducted in Idaho with teachers who are using blended learning regarding academics, communication, motivation, and teacher practices. The discussion will focus on implications for classroom practice — including the barriers faced by those not yet using blended learning. Recommended reading: Transforming K-12 Rural Education through Blended Learning: Barriers and Promising Practices – http://www.inacol.org/cms/wp-content/… Presenters: Eric Werth, Director of Education Programs, Northwest Nazarene University Eric Kellerer, Director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching at Learning, Northwest Nazarene University Sherawn Reberry, Director of Education Programs, Idaho Digital Learning Academy Niki Walker, Blended Program Manager, Idaho Digital Learning Academy

This webinar focused on the recently released iNACOL report “A K-12 Policy Framework for Competency Education: Building Capacity for Systems Change” . As lawmakers in Washington, DC craft a next generation Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), this report encourages them to take bold steps forward to allow students to advance upon demonstrated mastery and receive the personalized support they need, when they need it. Participants in this webinar will learn about the importance of this federal policy issue as well as how the U.S. education system can evolve to ensure all students succeed and graduate from high school college and career ready. The report’s co-authors will provide a comprehensive vision for supporting state and local efforts to implement student-centered learning. Their presentation will describe the barriers and opportunities within federal education policy frameworks and identify how the federal government is in a unique position to catalyze and scale student-centered learning approaches. To download a copy of “A K-12 Federal Policy Framework for Competency Education: Building Capacity for Systems Change”, please visit http://bit.ly/cwk12fedpolicy. Presenters: Maria Worthen, Vice President for Federal and State Policy, iNACOL Lillian Pace, Senior Director of National Policy, KnowledgeWorks

(This Teacher Talk webinar took place on Thursday, May 15, 2014) “How Do Teachers Implement Blended Learning in the Classroom?” This webinar will feature how teachers design and create successful blended learning environments. Participants will learn best practices for implementing and supporting blended learning and the steps to apply blended learning methodologies for educators in their practice. Learn how teachers are transforming pedagogical practices using technology and data to personalize learning within blended learning delivery models. Washington, DC educators Tenesha Dixon of Wheatley Education Campus and Shane Donovan of E.L. Haynes Public Charter School will share their insights and experiences implementing a blended learning model into their classrooms and schools. Both Tanesha and Shane were 2013 CityBridge Foundation Education Innovation Fellows and will offer their perspective on the schools and resources that informed their journey to blended learning implementation. Speakers – Tanesha Dixon, Social Studies Teacher & Technology Integration Coach, Wheatley Education Campus – Shane Donovan, Physics Teacher, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School

(This Leadership Webinar took place on Wednesday, May 14, 2014) “Closing the ‘Advanced Achievement Gap’: How Educators Can Help High-Achieving Low-Income and Minority Youth Stay On Track” Nationally, many students of color and students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds perform among the top 25 percent of all students in reading and math at the beginning of high school. Many of them, however, leave high school with lower college success predictors than their high-achieving white and more advantaged peers. Schools can take action to better serve these students. To prepare students for college and career, high schools must balance their attention carefully, ensuring that low-achievers catch up and high-achievers don’t lose ground. In this webinar, Christina Theokas and Marni Bromberg of the Education Trust will share research and insight into how to better serve this group. Personalized blended and online courses can provide powerful delivery systems to increase access and equity for underserved students. Educators and school leaders need to ensure students have access to high-quality new learning opportunities. The Education Trust’s research has major implications for how to increase educational opportunities and provide equity. This webinar will include a real world example of how to use blended and online learning to close the achievement gap for high-achieving poor and minority students. Speakers – Christina Theokas, Director of Research, Education Trust – Marni Bromberg, Research Associate, Education Trust – Debbie Vincent, Instructional Technology Curriculum Specialist, Alief ISD (Houston, TX)

iNACOL Teacher Talk Webinar Thursday, June 19, 2014 “Educator Competencies for the Blended Learning Classroom” Blended learning allows educators to personalize instruction – targeting each individual student’s needs for learning more rapidly; providing immediate responses to intervention; offering targeted support when needed; and allowing students to demonstrate deeper learning competencies and advance based on competency. As blended learning models become more prevalent, the need to identify and foster core educator competencies for strong blended learning instructional practice becomes greater. A working group of educators, administrators, professional developers and researchers from a range schools, models and regions are developing a framework of competencies necessary for the blended learning teacher, building from the understanding that much of what makes a great traditional classroom teacher translates into a blended environment. This webinar will share the working group’s process and findings. Please join us to participate in this ongoing conversation and to provide your feedback. Speakers: Kathryn Kennedy, Senior Researcher, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute Allison Powell, Vice President, New Learning Models, iNACOL Kerry Rice, Professor, Department of Educational Technology, Boise State University Barbara Treacy, Director, ETLO, Education Development Center

November 5, 2014 iNACOL Blended and Online Learning Symposium Palm Springs, CA http://inacol.org Regarded the world over as an edtech pioneer, Sal Khan has harnessed the power of Internet connectivity and access to provide video lessons to individuals, as well as content and embedded formative assessments to schools through the Khan Academy (http://khanacademy.org). With over 6,000 instructional videos, 100,000 practice problems, and 10,000,000 unique visitors per month Khan Academy is rethinking the world of education. Sal will share insights from his journey to deliver personalized learning to millions around the globe through online learning and to reimagine “school” for a new generation of educators and learners. His message will highlight the importance of a shift to opening access to a world-class education built on mastery and competency-based learning. He will share his vision for how online learning can transform education systems toward realizing this ultimate goal of a high-quality education for every student, every day and power personalized learning.

November 7, 2014 iNACOL Blended and Online Learning Symposium Palm Springs, CA http://inacol.org

November 6, 2014 iNACOL Blended and Online Learning Symposium Palm Springs, CA http://inacol.org

November 5, 2014 iNACOL Blended and Online Learning Symposium Palm Springs, CA http://inacol.org

New learning models offer solutions for transforming education around student-centered and highly personalized learning. This presentation will feature three powerful education leaders providing TED-talk style presentations including: Eminence Superintendent Buddy Berry, Baltimore County Superintendent Dallas Dance, and Gates Foundation Deputy Director of College Ready Tom Stritikus. The session will highlight future directions in personalized learning. The keynote session will explore how practitioners and educators are redefining how instruction is delivered in the classroom using blended and online learning, creating new instructional designs to build mastery and personalized learning experiences. By design and grounded in science, powerful personalized learning models can provide increased equity, excellence, and access to a world-class education for all students.

Around the world, leaders are designing new, personalized learning models and expanding opportunities powered by online and blended learning to drive the transformation of education. iNACOL welcomes you to this year’s Symposium–our 10th–where we hope you will engage in thought-provoking discussions unleashing ideas for powerful new learning models and discover how to implement advanced technologies for dramatically improving outcomes–for each and every student. The conference opening and welcome will highlight emerging shifts and escalating change across the global context, recognize nimble shifts in the local context, and identify trends driving the future of education. We want to empower practitioners and policymakers alike. We welcome you, the innovators who are sharing and building upon each other’s frameworks; engaging in networks of experts to generate the best knowledge; and building capacity in the field to organize, plan, and implement a student-learning system around vastly improved outcomes for preparing globally competitive students and citizens for the future.

Research shows that developing a growth mindset, which is the understanding that you can develop your abilities, drives motivation, growth and performance. Growth mindset can stimulate transformation in education around student-centered learning, raising educational outcomes while equipping students to pursue ongoing growth throughout life. Eduardo explores harnessing this research as a catalyst for change in today’s classrooms to facilitate high-quality personalized learning opportunities for all students. By harboring the power of growth mindset, all students can develop the ability to master learning. In this keynote presentation, Eduardo demonstrates how growth mindset ties to active learning, deeper learning, and empowering students to take ownership of their learning experience—preparing all students to succeed in school and beyond.

What does extraordinary learning look like when we put aside our current assumptions of what, where, when, and how learning should occur? And what systems would be necessary to support this new type of learning? These are the questions that an unusually diverse group of leaders came together to explore. After an 18-month dialogue, these stakeholders emerged united behind a shared transformational vision for learner-centered education in the U.S. and committed to making it a reality. Join two of those Education Reimagined vision creators, who came into the process at opposite ends of the current debates and left the process in partnership, for a discussion moderated by the convener of the project. Explore a learner-centric paradigm for education that sees all children as wondrous, curious, capable human beings and designs a system around the learner unconstrained by the current industrial-model of education. Hear about their experiences during the 18-month dialogue, how they arrived at their new vision, and how many education pioneers are already working to make the vision a reality. Discover how this group’s vision and the path they took to get there can inspire, inform and propel your work to design learning experiences and systems that have each and every child thrive and realize their full potential.

iNACOL is proud to present the broadest panel yet of students experiencing the leading edge of personalized learning. This unfiltered, honest discussion will inspire change, inform educator practices, and invigorate the groundswell of support for transformative new learning models. This inspirational student panel is an open, honest conversation with students on reinventing the future of education.

Welcome Address: A Global Perspective on Innovation for Equity and Redefining Student Success, by Susan Patrick. Opening Keynote Address: The End of Average: How We Succeed in a World That Values Sameness, by Todd Rose. In traditional K-12 education, all students are measured against the yardstick of average every day. However, research and brain science shows all people learn and develop in distinctive ways. These unique characteristics become lost in traditional school models, designed around the “average person.” Weaving science, history, and his experiences as a high school dropout, Rose brings to life the untold story of how we came to embrace the flawed idea of “average.” He explains the key principles of individuality and demonstrates how to shift from an average size-fits-all education system into one engineered around student individuality and talent. He proposes key concepts as a blueprint for establishing an educational system consistent with the principles of individuality that will help all students choose and get trained for a career. This ground-breaking book highlights recommendations for reimagining the future of learning with a stronger focus on honoring individuality, building talent, focusing on competencies and credentialing qualifications in the coming age.

Facilitator: Andrew Brennen, Student Voice What do students think about transforming K-12 education toward personalized learning? How has next generation learning impacted their learning experiences, growth and development? This keynote panel features the leaders of tomorrow—students from diverse backgrounds, immersed in next generation learning models, who will share their perspectives on shifting toward student-centered approaches to learning. In a provocative, unfiltered and honest conversation, students will provide first-hand accounts of what it’s like to reimagine their own education and illuminate their own paths forward.

Bending the Curve: Innovating Toward Excellence and Equity The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is focused on unlocking human potential and promoting equality. Education and human development was the first initiative launched based on the belief that unlocking this aspect of human potential advances individual opportunity and is critical to enabling humanity to solve the world’s most complex problems—the ones we have today, and those yet unknown. Globally, education and training continue to be the most reliable paths to prosperity and stability. Yet, we know that as humans we are “about” and capable of much more than mastering academic and professional knowledge and skills. While this is a laudable goal, it is inadequate. We must have a much higher and broader definition of success for everyone. However, new aspirations are meaningless unless we have the knowledge, skill and will to achieve them. How do we rapidly accelerate the pace at which we learn about learning? How do we translate these into new strategies, tools and resources that learners and educators can use to change their lives? How do we ensure the users, practitioners and decision makers know how to choose and use the best of these new solutions? How do we create an ecosystem that rewards what works and constantly demands and then supports each solution to keep getting better? How can we empower the learner and the teacher allowing them to pursue their aspirations and own their learning? How do we change what we all believe is possible? This will be a long journey with many winding paths and dead ends leaving the final question—what are we willing to do?

Kara Bobroff, Diane Tavenner and Bror Saxberg deliver the opening keynote for the iNACOL Symposium on “Personalized, Learner-Centered Innovations to Transform Lives and Communities.” Learn more here: https://www.inacol.org/symposium/

The iNACOL Symposium 2017 innovator awards and student panel keynote, featuring facilitator Ulcca Joshi Hansen and students on “Unleashing the Most Underutilized Resource in Education: The Learner.”

The iNACOL Symposium 2017 Tuesday Keynote Plenary Luncheon featured Caroline Hill, Jordan Tinney and Harvey Chism on, “Learning by Design: Breakthrough Models for Empowering Youth and Innovations for Educational Excellence.”

The iNACOL Symposium 2017 Wednesday morning keynote featured Rose Colby, Paul Leather and Yvonne Armenta on, “Leading Systems Change toward Student-Centered Learning.”