After spending 2 full days with other independent school educators from all over the US with varying expertise in online education, I couldn’t help but observe the following:

Online learning presents itself in many different forms:

• Individual vs. cohort programs
• Synchronous vs. asynchronous
• Competency-based learning vs. fixed time, variable learning
• Discussion forums vs chats
• 1:1 vs small groups vs lectures

With all of these options, many are asking:

• Is blended better than fully online?
• What’s the best LMS?
• What’s the best collaboration tool?

And the answer… “IT DEPENDS!”

It depends on:

• Size of schools
• Students’ needs
• Teachers’ needs
• Teachers’ goals and objectives
• … and money.

I did learn a ton of new ideas from the sessions I attended. The take home message couldn’t have been stated more simply by Michael Horn during his keynote:

Personalized learning and DIY education will disrupt the future of tradition school

And as educators, how will be leverage the technology available to use to foster learning in our students?