Michael Spencer is Senior Director of International Business Development at K12. He is past SVP at The American Education Corporation. An education and technology industry veteran, he is the former president and founder of One2OneMate and several other Silicon Valley startups all of which have received multiple awards for innovation and product development. His expertise spans from advocating for one-to-one, mobile and blended learning environments where tailored tools providing individualized education are key to student performance and achievement—to the international front, where Michael is fluent in Spanish and has worked with European and Latin American governments and school systems to bring about 21st-century educational reforms. He has traveled extensively and enjoys the entrepreneurial side of business. He is a regular columnist writing the Smarter Schools column for EdTech Digest. Write to: mspencer52163@gmail.com
SMARTER SCHOOLS | by Michael Spencer
Examining the drivers of the explosive growth in online learning here and to the South.
It is a well-known fact that over 6 million students in the U.S. are…
A Turnkey 1-to-1 Student-centric Mobile Instructional Device
SMARTER SCHOOLS | by Michael Spencer
Despite the challenges, educators are rather clear on what technology solutions will truly move them forward.
From getting funding, raising test scores, and closing the achievement gap to student behavior and attendance issues — school administrators are tackling some pretty hefty challenges these days. …
SMARTER SCHOOLS | by Michael Spencer
As textbooks fade, a new technology moves to the head of the class. But will it make the grade?
Austin, Texas-based New Media Consortium recently released their annual Horizon Report: 2011 K-12 Edition and interestingly, cloud computing and mobiles were named …
7 Reasons Why Blended Learning Makes Sense
SMARTER SCHOOLS | by Michael Spencer
Education no longer comes in rows and textbooks, but from a combination of sources.
Let’s start with a definition. What exactly is blended learning? Here’s a great, generally useful definition found on the City …
6 Reasons Why Students Need 21st-Century Skills
SMARTER SCHOOLS | by Michael Spencer
Thereʼs plenty of talk about what to include on a 21st-century skills list, but why students need such skills is a different question.
Ever since the late 1990s, “21st-century skills” has been a catch-phrase racketing around the education and business worlds. It continues to do so.
Part of its persistence may be due to the excitement in defining a new age: we’re leaving behind an entire thousand-year set and advancing into a new one. But have things really changed that much? They certainly have. …
Why Education Has Never Seen Better Days
SMARTER SCHOOLS | by Michael Spencer
There’s a very good reason that our schools have never been in a better position to capitalize on the current state of affairs.
Technology is opening the door to great opportunities for education. This is happening with a strong thrust in three main areas: …
