Lessons Learned from Technology-powered School Reform
On June 13, 2018. I was a member of a panel held at Mission High School during San Francisco Design Week. Software developers, and others who see themselves as designers of ed-tech products that will improve schools attended this panel discussion. The moderator asked each of us to state in 7-8 minutes “what hard lessons have you learned about education that you’d like to share with the ed-tech design community?” My fellow panelists were two math teachers–one from Mission High School and the other a former teacher at Oakland High School, three product designers (one for the Chan/Zuckerberg Initiative, another for Desmos, and the lead designer for Khan Academy) who have been working in the ed-tech industry for years. In attendance were nearly 60 young (in their 20s and 30s) product designers, teachers, and ed-tech advocates .
Elizabeth Lin, a designer for Khan Academy, organized and moderated the panel. She began with a Kahoot quiz on Pokemon and Harry Potter. Audience members had the Kahoot app on their devices and entered the pin number to register for the quiz. For the record, I knew none of the answers having never played Pokemon or, as yet, cracked a Harry Potter book.
When my turn came to speak, I looked around the room and saw that I was the oldest person in the room. Here is what I said.
Many designers and school reformers believe that in old age, pessimism and cynicism go together. Not true.
As someone who has taught high school history, led a school district, and CONTINUE READING: Lessons Learned from Technology-powered School Reform | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice
