Last Summer Kate reported on BYU's Education Startup MOOC, Ed Startup 101. Less publicized was the news BYU was launching its own Learning Management System.

The new homegrown product, called Learning Suite, combines five standalone tools that were already in use a the university:

Syllabus

Learning Outcomes (descriptions of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that learners should have after successfully completing a learning experience or program)

Digital Dialog (a multimedia discussion tool)

Mid-course evaluation tool

Flashcard tool (for faculty to learn the names and faces of students each semester)

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If this sounds familiar it should. Some EdLab equivalents over the years include:

- Live Syllabus
- Meety
- Vialogues
- Ednode

The BYU case differs in many ways from the mSchool example at TC. But I still think there is much we can learn about their approach, particularly the modularity of tools, a service-oriented architecture, data, and the service commitments.

CodeForAmerica (CFA) Accelerator is pulling together a cohort of companies interested in being a part of their program devoted to helping creating web-based technologies that will "disrupt" the US Government. From their call for participants:

The past few decades have seen staggering advances in technology, but government has been left behind, saddled with outdated and inefficient software, while costs have exploded into the hundreds of billions. That means there’s both the imperative and the market for new, disruptive startups.

More about CodeForAmerica:

Founded by Jennifer Pahlka in 2009, Code for America is a non-profit that's trying to make government work more like the Internet: more open, more efficient, and more collaborative. Code for America launched with the CfA Fellowship, an annual program, which pairs passionate technologists with innovative city governments to build new solutions to civic problems. (To learn more about the broader context of CfA's work, see Jen's recent TED Talk.)

This AM on my daily search for "High 5" leads for NewLearningTimes.com, and came-across this new TED-ED Lesson on metamorphosis. It struck me as worth sharing for a three reasons:

1) Could pertain to modular mSchool course layout
2) Is laid-out in a simple (perhaps too much so) manner
3) Navigation is highly intuitive

What are your thoughts? Embedded below are screen-captures from my "logged-out" browsing experience. Note that the lessons are broken-down into 4 sections: Watch, Think, Dig Deeper & ...And Finally.

Last week, I stumbled upon an interesting blog article that was featured in StartupDigest, a weekly e-newsletter about the tech startup world. In the article, Avichal Garg, co-founder of PrepMe and most recently Spool, talks about why education startups fail. At first glance, it may seem like Garg is dissuading aspiring entrepreneurs looking to make big money while simultaneously making a positive impact in education. That's because he is. An edtech company doesn't follow the same growth curve as an Internet company (think Facebook) nor does it reap high returns in the short term. Garg is basically saying, "If you're just after the big money, don't go into edtech." This is absolutely, 100% true, and why it makes working in the edtech space so exciting. This reality creates a startup culture that is full of passionate, hard-working, enthusiasts individuals looking to really make a different in education.

A conference at San Francisco was recently held to discuss new updates to already existing products like Google search but the product I was really interested in was the Google Wallet. In a few months, Google Wallet will be integrated with Gmail. Not only can Google Wallet make attachments, it can also make payments even if the recipient doesn't have a Google account. The process is free using the your Google Wallet account linked to your banks. When the upgrade is made, a dollar sign icon will appear in the mail window, which will allow you chose an amount you want to pay. The recipient will have to sign into their Google Wallet account or make one to receive their money. The payment method will be available on a laptop but an app will be created later on and available on Android Mobile. This articlefurther explains other ways the updated Google Wallet can be beneficial.

The Department of Education recently backed President Obama's plan to replicate Brooklyn's P-tech school by requesting $300 million from Congress. The money is to help build high schools around the country similar to P-TECH's six year program. This money will focus on areas with little access to a career and college opportunities around the country. I feel this is a great thing for high schools around the nation, but doesn't this effect our economy? I hope this investment can help the future of our nation as I know we are in a big debt. However, I feel the money will be put into good use as it is focused on helping students receive access to career opportunities and awareness and college opportunities. I believe students will grow interest once they are given this type of education at their high schools.

Check out this article that talks more about this program. What are your thoughts on the request from the Department of Education to Congress? Is this an investment worth taking? Will this help improve high school education across the country?

Social entrepreneurship is a vital factor in terms of societal development. It is evident that social entrepreneurs play an essential role in the progress of the world at large. They identify problems ranging from simple to complex ones, and map up strategies to figure out how those problems could best be addressed. However, after several findings, it has become very obvious that the introduction of talented students from all over the world was going to be beneficial to the social entrepreneur industry.

Basically, in view of the fact that this finding came out handy, it is also safe to say that this finding was accurate. Every organization is bound to be on the right path if they include students in their activities like research and problem solving. It is not far from the truth to say that, if governments around the world should fuse more money into this sector of the economy, it will be worth it.

Why do we allow our frustrations to get the best of us? What part of the human body system allows this situation to occur? I have always pondered about this question ever since I allowed my frustration to get the best of me during a soccer match in high school. The interesting thing about this tragic behavior is the feeling you get afterwards. The aftermath of expressing such a behavior is you start to wonder about the consequences you will face and you deeply try to find it within you about why you allowed your frustration to get the best of you. Sometimes people who face this kind of situation think apologizing is enough but all that the apology does is decrease the consequences you might face. This is the story of a fifth grade teacher at PS 203 in New York City.

Ms. Rubino, the fifth grade teacher took her frustrations to Facebook to express how she felt about her fifth grade students. This incident occurred after a sixth grader from Harlem drowned in the Atlantic Ocean on a class trip. This was Ms. Rubino’s post on Facebook: “After today, I am thinking the beach sounds like a wonderful idea for my 5th graders? I HATE THEIR GUTS! They are all the devils spawn! I wld not throw a life jacket in for a million.” Ms. Rubino posted this statement on Facebook in 2010 and was fired afterwards. Three years later, this article notes that a state judge has ruled that Ms. Rubino didn’t deserve to be fired even though her post was “offensive” and “impulsive.”

I came across this video in which Jose Rose, CEO of New Classrooms, shared his vision of how classes could look in the future. According to him, knocking walls down in between classes can be decisive in helping students interact together and with their teachers. So instead of walking into the next room for the next class, students will just change stations and the outcome of their daily work will determine their schedule for the next day.

I personally found this idea to be creative and can revolutionize the way students learn. However, considering how distractive and unfocused children can be at times, I think that this way of learning can be harder than it is projected to be, or may not even have a positive learning outcome in certain schools. What do you think of this idea? Please join the conversation and share your thoughts about the future of classrooms.