Brian @ CLRN

Online Classes Boom A July 11th New York Times article, High Cost of Driving Ignites Online Classes Boom, reaffirms other data sources that point to increased participation in online classes. This time, though, the cause is increased gas prices. Students, including those who were reluctant, are flocking to enroll in online college classes. “Gas prices [...]

The War from Within The revolution may not be televised, but it most certainly will be fought within blogs and opinion pages over the next generation. Once computer-based learning (CBL) and online learning reach critical mass within our schools, Christensen, in his book “Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change the Way the World Learns,” [...]

Evaluating Online Learning From a variety of research reports noted here and in my Round 6 post, we could view CLRN and California as having either 1) completely missed the boat regarding research into, evaluation of and implementation of online courses or 2) become well positioned to stand on the shoulders of the giants who [...]

Online Learning Grows Closer to a Tipping Point Two recently published reports provide yet more data about the slow but steady march towards a tipping point for computer-based learning. The first,  Learning in the 21st Century: A Trends Update, conducted by Project Tomorrow (formerly known as NetDay) is a follow-up to its initial report, Learning [...]

The (Learning) Revolution Will Not be Televised Chapter four reminds us that the revolution to a student-centric learning model will transit through two phases. The first, computer-based learning, is currently building towards a tipping point. It’s customers are primarily nonconsumers, those who are not currently being served by the education system. Online courses and learning [...]

What this Means for the California Learning Resource Network It’s an interesting coincidence that we were reading Disruptive Innovation while dealing with an associated problem. First, the data. Of the 350 electronic learning resources (ELR) CLRN reviewed last year, about half were instructional videos. The average video attempts to teach seven of California’s content standards.  [...]

Disruptively Deploying Computers From previous posts, you’ll remember that when a disruptive innovation first appears, it doesn’t compete directly with an established business. The Apple II didn’t compete with DEC and the transistor didn’t compete with TVs. Initially, a disruptive innovation’s customers are nonconsumers, those who currently aren’t being served. Teenagers bought transistor radios. Teachers [...]