Welcome everyone to this fifth episode from the ASU GSV Summit series on The Edtech Podcast. This week we’re getting into the many-headed beast of educational reform.
Educational reform can mean many things to many people, but essentially focuses on changing public education for the better. For example, at the time of recording the interviews for this episode the incoming 11th Educational Secretary in the US, Betsy Devos, was advocating for more choice in school options (an approach rejected by critics for only favouring those who are able to exercise such choice due to economic and social mobility and freedom.)
During her ASU GSV Summit keynote, Devos stated:
“Our education-delivery method should be as diverse as the kids they serve, instead of our habit of forcing them into a one-size-fits-all model”
“Traditional, charter, private, virtual, and other delivery methods not yet developed—would all be treated as viable options as long as they meet the needs of students.”
To a choice audience of educational technology proponents, Devos gave a confident endorsement of edtech – something we are yet to see explicitly from the UK Government – stating:
“I’m pretty confident that we have not yet realized the full range of technology’s power and ability to help students learn’.
She also vowed to cut bureaucracy to unleash these benefits, in other words to:
…’Move the federal government out of the way so you can do your job.’
In this episode, we spend time looking at the various efforts of educational reform across the US and how these compare internationally, including focus on literacy, adult education and higher education. How is educational reform co-ordinated across multiple states in the US, how can the tide of adult illiteracy be turned and how can the financial structures of HE be challenged to increase access? All this and more in our interviews with this week’s guests. You’ll hear from:
What’s in this episode?
- Message from this week’s episode sponsors Qatar Foundation International and iClassics Collection
- Sophie Bailey introduction
- 1:1 interviews featuring:
- Lizzette C Gonzalez Reynolds, Vice President of Policy, ExcelinEd
- Heather Hiles, Deputy Director on the Postsecondary Success team, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Hutton Hinson Higgins Senior Director, Development & Strategic Alliances Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy
- Sophie Bailey outro – what’s next in the series?
Don’t forget to also check out the reference links here for more follow-up videos, podcasts, and reading on this topic.
Like this episode? Check out these related videos and podcasts:
Keynote and Fireside Chat with Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos & Jeanne Allen, CEO, The Center for Educational Reform
American Revolution 2.0 How Education Innovation is Going to Revitalize America and Transform the U.S. Economy
RoboEd: The Who, What, and Why of Personalized Learning with moderator, Michael Moe, Co-Founder + Partner, GSV Asset Management and panelists, Dr. Michael Crow, President, Arizona State University and Jose Ferreira, Founder + CEO, Knewton