teamworkGood Morning and happy Monday! As we move on into March, and the time of spring here at Saylor, we look at how some in the world of Ed. Tech. have decided to link arms and tackle the sometimes arduous tasks of educating students, the masses and themselves. People are working together to provide more knowledge about education, from spreading mobile technology globally to taking notes on 21st century learning from students in Kenya and the US.

We begin this week with a look at collaborative efforts to make mobile technology more global. Mind Shift’s article shows us teamwork in its truest form. Such characteristics include students creating multiple choice questions for their peers to answer (via SMILE),  and as a result motivating students to “think about the subject material in a different way.” Noting the road can still be bumpy along the way, one of SMILE’s main captains has given out some scouting tips to help others along the way.

How to Help Mobile Education Go Global (Mind Shift)

Technology in Schools Still Subject to Digital, Income Divides (PBS: Media Shift)
However, PBS reminds us that the task of spreading educational technology can be costly, putting those on the lower end of the digital divide at risk. Social class, community type influence ACCESS to technology. This could be troublesome when noting that 42% of the surveyed students stated they use their smartphones for school purposes.

What Happens When You Cross a School and a Startup? (Ed. Surge)
But this team of Summit Public Schools and Clever say never fear as they show the fruits of 8 long months of conversations. What fruits might you ask? How about some ingredients for creating a hybrid math curriculum?

Colleges take new approach to anticipating—and meeting—workforce needs (Hechinger Report)
Higher education has gotten in on the game, as some universities have decided to make use of search engine spiders to catch onto the buzz words for skills that candidates should possess. Thus, technology has become an a very valuable player in helping institutions update their curricula on short notice.

Competing MOOC Providers Expand Into New Territory—and Each Other’s (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)
Some universities have decided that they would like to tackle the tasks of teaching others and themselves by working with multiple MOOC providers at the same time. Rice University in Houston, Texas is the featured example in this blog post, as it decided to partner with both Coursera and edX. EdX is slow to allow such partnering but rumor has it that the organization recently started to become more lenient.

The Disruption Higher Ed Doesn’t See Coming (and How it Could Respond, even Lead, but Probably Won’t) (edtechpost)
Also in the world of higher education, there is another team slowly starting to spread, vying for accreditation — and  no, it’s not MOOCs. Badges are starting to team up against degrees as a more individualized way to evaluate personal and academic qualities. The team here at Saylor hopes to join Team Badges sometime soon this year (although we’re quick to remind our alma maters that we’re also still Team Degrees…we like to cover our bases).

Education News Network Comes Together (Ed Surge)
But when working together on a team, one must remember that it is important to keep others informed. Education News Colorado and Gotham Schools in New York City show they whole-heartily agree with this statement, as they have partnered up to create a “nationwide network of education news.”

Online education wins big as TED awards $1 million to pioneer Sugata Mitra (the Verge)
Next up, Ted has decided to promote other situations of teamwork, as it awarded Sugata Mitra $1 million. This money will significantly help Mitra get his innovative ‘School in the Cloud’ off the ground in India.

Opinion: The Edtech Secret Shared by Great Schools in Kenya and the U.S. (Ed. Surge)
Last but not least, an American educational technology entrepreneur in Kenya states how two organizations (Kickboard & Tusqee Systems) together have taught Toni (MPrep co-founder) a valuable lesson: “A deep market understanding helps. A lot. It brings an intuition that other entrepreneurs can’t mirror. It builds trust.”

Well? Is all of this teamwork actually productive? Do you feel that all these folks have reached (are reaching) their goals? Or will they fall short? Are egos and other obstacles getting in the way? Please let us know what you think and any other thoughts you may have, by commenting below.

Have a great week! In other news…
The Web Push: Universities Begin to Offer Credits for Online Courses (Washington Square News)
Where and Who the College Graduates Are (Chronicle of Higher Ed.)
With Series A Funding From SoftBank Ventures Korea, SmarTots Helps Educational App Developers Localize For China (Tech Crunch)

Photo Credit: lumaxart via photopin CC BY SA 2.0

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