Bloom's Sixth

The ASU GSV Summit bills itself as a gathering of entrepreneurs, policymakers, business leaders and educators who want “to create partnerships, explore solutions, and shape the future of learning.” That sort of described the event, which was held last week in San Diego. Yes, it was possible to find a few real discussions about education, but only a few. Doug Lederman of Inside…

Microsoft’s Office software has long been the standard in business and education. In a webinar this week, though, Microsoft showcased an online amalgamation of its software that looks very much like a learning management system. Blackboard it isn’t, and that’s the point. Microsoft is drawing on the familiarity and ubiquity of its Office software to create an environment for class materials that is spare, visually appealing, and easy to use – all things that Blackboard isn’t. The new software, called Class Dashboard (There was a link here, but the page no longer exist), isn’t all that…

Earlier this week, I interrupted two students in a small room at Spahr Engineering Library at KU. Tom Ellison, left, and Nathan Marlow at Spahr Engineering Library. The students, Tom Ellison and Nathan Marlow, were working on problems for a dynamics class. Each had tablet computers and used styluses to work problems by hand in OneNote. Ellison’s computer was connected wirelessly to a large monitor on a wall, via an adaptor he checked out from the library, and the two of them conversed and shared ideas as they worked. It was an impressive scene of collaboration in a space that makes…