SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While online learning continues to grow in popularity, implementation and training for teachers and administrators has unfortunately remained a stumbling block—until now. The Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation and the Silicon Schools Fund are partnering with the world-renown Khan Academy to offer free online content on “High-Quality Blended Learning."
Through the lens of three high-performing schools, the content explores how to support students and teachers in the transition from traditional learning to blended learning to combine the best of traditional schools with the transformative power of technology. Blended learning holds incredible potential for increased student outcomes as well as increased capacity for student and teacher engagement—a major driver of achievement according to Gallup’s recently released “State of America’s Schools” report.
Brian Greenberg of the Silicon Schools Fund and Michael Horn of the Clayton Christensen Institute lead the blended learning discussions, touring real classrooms using blended learning and providing insights on the operational challenges and potential solutions. “Blended learning isn’t just about putting computers in classrooms,” said Horn, co-founder and executive director of education at the Christensen Institute. “It’s about combining the best methods of online learning with one-on-one mentoring from teachers and small-group interaction to educate students in a way that gives them what they need, when they need it.”
Designed for anyone with an interest in blended learning—educators, administrators, parents, as well as those in EdTech and philanthropy—the content explores the different types of blended learning models and helpful tactics for implementation. “In this content, we take a hands-on approach visiting real schools and talking to real educators,” said Greenberg, CEO of the Silicon Schools Fund. “We hope others will be inspired by these schools to explore new models of education in their own context.”
“We’re thrilled to add the Christensen Institute and the Silicon Schools Fund to our list of outstanding partners,” said Sal Khan, founder and executive director of Khan Academy. “Personalized learning is at the core of our mission. This content will give teachers tools and know-how for bringing blended learning—including the resources provided by Khan Academy—into their classrooms to better meet students where they are.”
The Christensen Institute/Silicon Schools Fund venture joins a notable group of Khan Academy partners, including MIT, the Brookings Institution, and the Stanford School of Medicine. The content is available now at www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/ssf-cci.
The Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation (www.christenseninstitute.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank dedicated to improving the world through disruptive innovation. Founded on the theories of Harvard professor Clayton M. Christensen, the Institute offers a unique framework for understanding many of society’s most pressing problems.
The Silicon Schools Fund (www.silionschools.com) is a nonprofit foundation that provides seed funding for new blended learning schools that use innovative education models and technology to personalize learning.
Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org) is a non-profit with a mission of providing a free world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Khan Academy provides free online educational materials (e.g., practice exercises, instructional videos, dashboard analytics, teacher tools) that support personalized education for users of all ages in a scalable way. To date, the organization has delivered over 390 million lessons and 2 billion exercise problems. Currently it has 10 million users per month and over 4 million exercise problems completed each day. Khan Academy covers subjects from basic Math to college level Biology and Art History.
