JOIN AND HELP US TO START A STEVE JOBS SCHOOL IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD Table of contents 01 Education for a new era 02 Part 1 The initiative вЂњEducation for a new eraвЂќ 03 Part 2 The Practice 05 Course 05 Community 07 What makes this вЂњeducationвЂќ attractive? 08 Schedule and school hours 08 Hardware and software 09 Collaboration between parents, child and school 09 Part 3 Management and organization 11 Important values and insights 11 The philosophy and establishment of the Board 11 Verification of result 11 Finances 12 The staff 12 The legal entity 12 educational concept o4nt.nl Education for a new era The widespread dissemination of technology and the web in society has a major impact on virtually all facets of life. The world around us has changed enormously in recent decades and it is expected that in the coming years this pace of change will grow even stronger. Besides the physical world there is a virtual world where not only more and more people are becoming more active, but where increasingly more is possible. For part of our activitys economic and social boundaries of time and distance have disappeared. We can choose what we do in the physical - and what we do in virtual space. To save time, to improve our social and economic network and to make it more efficient and to do things that previously were unthinkable. Young people between 10 and 15 are, in comparison to the elderly, in a very natural way linked with the computer and the web. They have grown up with it. However, there is a next generation waiting to take up a new development. While the computer / laptop still On www.o4nt.nl/kleuter 1 you will find a video of a girl has the barrier of mouse and keyboard, the touch screen and apps for smartphones and tablets ensure toddlers at a young age can enter the virtual world1. of barely 2 years old with an Ipad which she switches This new generation is about to go to school and it is important to prepare them on by herself, finds the right for the world of 2030 and later, around the time that the education lets them loose app and makes her choices on society. What children need to learn has elements that seem to remain more or independently. less the same. But it has elements too that over time -sometimes radically- change. These 21st-century skills are mapped at various places in the world2. Think of the 21st century 2 project executed by Education, however, has difficulty to adapt to these new ambitions. This education Kennisnet in co-operation is too much hampered by existing resources and structures. These are both in the with Young people, schools content of education and in concerns the way the school is organized, equipped and businesses (innovatie. and funded. kennisnet.nl/category/ skills) or the American initiative Partnership for the 21st century вЂ“ a вЂњDo we really prepare our students for the future instead of the past?вЂќ вЂњCan we organize education more efficiently?вЂќ We are convinced that the good use of the latest technological developments together with a maximum inclusion of informal teaching in- and outside the school co-operation between the can break through these barriers. The manifesto presents an educational concept American administration that will accelerate creativity and will connect education with the developments of and businesses like Apple, today and tomorrow. Thus educationвЂ™s core business is to continue to perform in a Microsoft, Dell, Cisco and manner that is transparent and efficient in handling all available resources. In a way the National Education Association (www.p21.org). 02 that is stimulating for children and connects to their own world, as to profit to the maximum from their individual potential. educational concept o4nt.nl 1 The initiative вЂњEducation for a new eraвЂќ The initiators3 of вЂњEducation for a new eraвЂќ intend to To start with education based on a new model from autumn 2013. First the elementary school, grades 1 to 3 is founded, and soon after, partly based on the experiences, we wish to broaden out to the whole school and then to secondary education. It will be a school that differs dramatically in structure from the school today. The physical structure will be different, without the traditional classes and will have varying compositions of small and large groups. Also the materials are different with an important role for the iPad, aiming at a maximum of development of the personal talents of the student. Our assumption is that learning is a continuous process that takes place not only during school but also at weekends and during holidays. Education in fact 52 weeks per year, 24-hour вЂњopenвЂќ. With many learning opportunities in a wide variety of physical space (the вЂњschoolвЂќ) and with many learning and training possibilities in the virtual space. And in close cooperation with parents, both within and outside the school. Technology plays a central role. ICT allows us to give everyone the attention they deserve. ICT helps us with our ambition to do something collectively in a large group only then when it is less functional to do that individually or in a smaller group. And ICT realizes this within the resources available and within education frameworks. Of course there are schools where the computer is already playing an important role or where smartboards are used. And there are initiatives where textbooks on a tablet are distributed among the students and more. But these are in fact still old ways of approach using a new medium. Initiators: 3 Irene Felix, teacher; Maurice de Hond, researcher; Erik Verhulp, Digischool; Luc de Vries, director. 21 21ththcentury centuryskills skills For example: 4 вЂњRekentuinвЂќ, an arithmetic method in which the We use ICT in all its strength. For example, we select good apps for the IPad inviting to learn; we integrate attractive adaptive methods4 we train skills and both implicitly development of the student and explicitly test the level of student. Much is possible now. There are already is followed, and new thousands of apps available aimed at all age groups. The Dutch Digital School5 assignmnets are presented launched a wide amount of software and know-how gathered for children in the on the basis of the results. virtual world to train and guide them in their own development. But we stay focused on what is possible and will respond quickly to new opportunities. Our aim remains www.digischool.nl 5 03 focused on the skills young people need in the years 2020-2030. Precisely in order educational concept o4nt.nl to provide quick adjustments to come, our new school opens outwards. Besides parents, there will also be a good relationship with industry and interaction is built over an вЂњopen sourceвЂќ approach to be connected with all stakeholders outside the school. Experiences within the schools are shared with the outside world. And the outside world is invited to come up with material and suggestions for use within the school. Only by working together and by sharing we are able to exploit all opportunities and to grow. Growth for our students, but also growth as a learning organization. We connect in our ambition to have students acquire the right skills to be successful in the society of 2030 in a modern, efficient and future proof way. Always starting from the individual qualities and abilities of the pupils and in close cooperation with the parents. And not dominated by static and outdated demands that condition both teachers and students mainly to adjust to that specific set of requirements. 04 educational concept o4nt.nl 2 The Practice As of August 1, 2013 in 3 to 4 cities a school will be founded for up to every 40 pupils between 4 and 6 years of age. The school starts from the talents of the children and guides them based on their claims. The school is open all year round from 8 to 18.30. The traditional school care is integrated and part of the broad talent care. During the opening hours there are on average 3 teachers/coaches6 active. Instead of classrooms, the school consists of several larger and smaller multifunctional spaces. Each student has his or her own physical location within the studio7 where the activities of the day start. Also, every student has a personal virtual space. For example, within an Electronic Learning Environment (ELE)8, a web page or a private Facebook9 page. For individual activities or activities in small groups the students themselves choose a suitable workplace. The school is organized so that students can easily find a safe place where they can work in harmony. Coaches are highly 6 capable teachers or other key workers. A coach performs and invaluable role in this type of education. He Combining physicalvan (school building) Een combinatie fysiek (schoolgebouw) en virtueel and virtual (internet)(internet) guides, inspires, motivates, teaches, shows how to study and is much more. He is good at his work, All students have an iPad, which is connected as a standard both inside and outside skilful in modern media and the school on the WiFi network The wireless network of the school gives access to a especially good at dealing with the parents involved and with other specialists. ELE which shows the development of the pupil, both in the physical and in the virtual part of the school. This development can be tracked and recorded for the benefit of the teacher/coach, the parents and the student. At the school there are at least 20 identical laptops or desktops available, which also give access to the ELE. Studio: space in the 7 school set apart for a specific activity (music, reading, crafts), and doubles as the home base for a Course Our principle is: вЂњStudents do not work in a larger groups if with the aid of ICT (individually or in small groups) at least the same goals can be archieved.вЂќ small group of students. For activities in which the mutual interaction or a joint undertaking is significant Electronic Learning 8 Environment (ELE) is an online environment where students study. (sing, play, visit something, attend a performance /presentation) a large group makes sense. For all the rest, many other forms are effective. The classroom model in which a teacher educates/instructs a large group of pupils that quietly listen is thus abandoned. Facebook: Social network The role of the teacher is primarily that of the coach, less the teacher of the subject site www.facebook.com and the controller of the pupilsвЂ™ progress. Modern technology in the learning 9 05 educational concept o4nt.nl process will play an important role in providing the curriculum, learning, practicing and reviewing the matter and follow the development of the pupil. Learning willl take place individually, in pairs and in larger groups. It starts with the interests and capabilities of the student. In the virtual space materials are available that fit the interests and abilities of individual students. In this way we commit our education to the learning styles of students, leading to better performance. Besides the material of Digischool we use all the learning resources available at home and abroad. For example, вЂњde RekentuinвЂќ and the вЂњTaalzeeвЂќ, and web-based adaptive training and tracking systems developed by the University of Amsterdam. Or think of the rich collection of learning materials the Khan Academy10 in the U.S. provides. They now include more than 2,600 topics in arithmetic and mathematics. Consider also the use of episodes of вЂњAndere tijdenвЂќ and вЂњIn EuropaвЂќ for history, geography or the travel programs or documentaries for biology. In addition, there are free encyclopedia such as Wikipedia11, which offer countless topics, coupled with many interesting links. Every talentwordt is recognized Elk talent gekend The work will be much less sequential in comparison to the past. The student does not learn the courses in a traditional manner according to a fixed base sequence, but follows his or her own learning path based on their own interests and abilities. Again, the role of the teacher as a coach is essential: he accompanies and encourages the student, points to gaps and helps the student to overcome them. The challenge A rich collection of 10 is that each student achieves the maximum For each student that will be different, educational materials of in terms of content level. This also means that every teacher/employee has to go the Khan Academy from through the same proces of professionalisation. A consequence of the ever faster the USA with over 3000 growing and flowing of our society. There will be a need to find solutions for problems topics for arithmetics and mathematics. www.khanacademy.org and www.khanacademie.nl we have not experienced yet. The students work on assignments and projects. In this way, learning can be modified to the interest and the qualities of the individual student and all involved are more aware that certain knowledge or crafting is required and/or working knowledge is implicit or skilled. Although there are certain basic needs that the student must acquire at least, there is no вЂњone size fits allвЂќ approach Wikipedia Nederland: 11 nl.wikipedia.org 06 and each student gets a unique set of skills or gain based on his of her own talents and interests. educational concept o4nt.nl There are no minimum requirements expressed in relation to knowledge and skills that the learner has to manage at the end of each school. There is a basic trust in the direction of the pupils, teachers and parents so that (more than) sufficient skills will be gained. Regarding the offer on the basis of experience in practice a set of вЂњbest practicesвЂќ comes available, accessible to everyone, both inside and outside the school. To this end, teachers, parents and pupils assess the experience which is documented and made easily accessible with ICT. Sports, exercise, healthy and conscious living, awareness of the relevant social themes, art and creativity are important components in projects within the school. Community A community is thegroup which has a relationship with the school: students, teachers, parents and the environment. The community operates on the basis of open sources: the members use as well as contribute. In the virtual component, by the use of the technology a lot of contact is made with the world outside. But also in the physical school business activities and hobbies of parents and the wider environment are part of the activities and projects. At least twice a year a parent is associated to a project where such activities play a role. That may be to tell a story, to do a project with students about a accompany, or to make a visit with a group of students outside the school so that this activity can be experienced вЂњliveвЂќ. It may also be that a parent shows his of her skills in a coaching role. These assignments and projects are organized so that not only students present can actually participate, but they are also recorded so that others at a later time can experience it or parts of it. Specific presentations by students, coaches or parents will be video recorded, edited and uploaded as YouTube movie. Comments and ratings can also be recorded and made accessible. In this way, community members get access to the entire package at a later stage. Community Community Each school within the social network Facebook has a closed social group of friends where parents and teachers can have mutual contact. In addition, each student receives a personal account within the ELE of the school. This ELE is the keypoint for learning. One part is completed by the students themselves: planning activities, activities carried out, self-reflection and storing results. Furthermore, the ELE is completed by the coaches: factual information, data, suggestions and feedback. It may give the parents access to (parts of) the ELE. 07 educational concept o4nt.nl What makes this вЂњeducationвЂќ attractive? The virtual component via the ELE gives access to all learning resources available at home and abroad, even to the complete curriculum of primary schools with alternative materials for various learning styles. Both from his or her own school and home each student can learn in his or her own learning style and needs. Powered by the coach at school or by the parents the student shapes his of hers own learning. under the guidance of a coach. Replacing the teacher in case of sickness or absence is no longer necessary. Students can use the virtual department within or outside the school to continue their daily activities under supervision, School care is superfluous, because it has become part of everyday learning. Because of the child-orientation of the offer, the school is many times more employable and can be better connected to the biorhythm of the child. Remedial material is available centrally for each student. Students can be accompanied by an internal supervisor who remotely using this material that is available through the virtual school, and who plays a coaching and reflective role. The experiences at the school, including the curriculum and the reactions to it are open to the outside world through the online community. This means that people elsewhere also make use of the experiences and the offer can be used. This can be at the school level or individual level. At the same time it is also a platform where the outside world can give solicited or unsolicited advice filing such material, which can be used in the school. In this way, there is a strong proliferation of positive experience, which can be utilized elsewhere. Either from the overall philosophy or for certain parts. It is hoped that the experiences gained there by then also be shared. The school brings more connection between parents and child and the school environment and also between activities inside and outside the school. Students, coaches and parents get easier access to international learning networks. There is no distinction between childcare and education. There will be more diversity in the daily program and there are more opportunities to connect with the natural learning of children. Locations near the workplace (offices) are preferred. Schedule and school hours It is important that parents, child and school search for the optimal design of the time available, aimed at the development of children. Currently being the following structure is being considered: Every week, a basic schedule of daily activities for the following week is published. This basic schedule is also available via the Internet for parents. The basic schedule has the following key times: 8.15 am, 9.15 am, 10.15 am, 11.15 am, 3 pm, 4 pm, 5 pm and 6 pm. - In principle, only between 11.15 am and 3 pm the activities will take place in a large group. Besides the lunch those activites can be for example a presentation or lesson of a parent, a performance, sports, visits outside school or watching a movie/event and talk about it. Until 11.15 am and after 3 pm in principle only the activities take place individually or in small groups to take place. - Parents can choose which of the 4 times between 8.15 am 08 educational concept o4nt.nl and 11.15 am they bring their child on a certain day and when between 15 hours and 18 hours they pick up their child. Importantly, they have indicated in advance the schedule what times they have chosen that week and that they keep to these times. As in many companies nowadays, it is not primarily the physical presence, but the output which is important. So it is at this school. Learning is not confined to the physical presence in school, but is a more or less permanent state, even if outside of school or вЂњon holidayвЂќ. Even from the disease it is possible to learn, both for the students themselves and for others. Holidays can be taken by the parents of the children, up to 16 weeks per year and not longer than 4 consecutive weeks. With support from the school, pupils can learn from the experiences they gained during a holiday. This applies not only to the pupil concerned, but also for other students. Holidays should be announced well in advance and pupils and parents get holiday assignments which should be done. Through the ELE learning can be followed and supervised by the coach. During this period, at least once a week there is contact between parents and coaches about the progress. Upon return the student presents a вЂњdigital reportвЂќ to a group of other students about the assignment he or she received. The report must meet certain requirements. For example, a geographic component (Google Earth), certain facts (supported with digital photos) and a quantity of relevant links. These presentations are available to the community. Hardware and software The tablet which the students have may also be used outside school. Outside the school and outside school hours, the student has access to the ELE with the tablet and so to learning materials. Via the ELE, the parents can see what assignments their child is doing / should be doing. Students create digital presentations of special activities (visits outside the school, presentations from parents, an internal or external performance). The school has cameras and other hardware and software for digital reporting. On the Internet there are many tools (and, more and more) which either individually or collectively can be used. Knowledge and skills necessary to do so before the students can get to work, can found within the community attached to the school. The community provides an overview of these tools, including experience and the names of those willing to play a supporting role. This also applies to nondigital components that are important for the students. Collaboration between parents, child and school This approach requires more commitment from the school of the parents. Parents are members of the community and thus partly responsible. There are costs and benefits, rights and duties. Each school will set up its own balance. If they fail to do so it they are like all community members held accountable. If this is because one wants to resign, or is inadequate in terms of available time or skill, then it is attempted, by means of other (s) to compensate. With reluctance and/or failure 09 educational concept o4nt.nl to adhere to the agreed rules and tasks consultation on the commitment with the school follows. This type of school requires different (including financial) efforts of the parents. For parents who can not afford these efforts financial aid is available. Here we ensure that in every group a minimum number of these students is present. It will be appreciated that in this school not all activities are fixed in advance, and is established at what moments which goals are achieved for each student. It is also partly a вЂњjourney into the unknownвЂќ, partly because in the coming years the possibilities of this virtual world continue to expand. It is also a type of school with much confidence in the teachers/coaches, parents and not least in the students themselves. They will be prepared for the future in an enthusiastic manner. And that goes for all concerned. 10 educational concept o4nt.nl 3 Management and organization Important values and insights In realizing our ambition we use the following starting points. Within Dutch education we provide education and care that help the adults of tomorrow optimally to be a good global citizen. It is important that children, parents, school and environment are directly involved in the development of the child. They are joint вЂњownerвЂќ. The establishment of management and organization is just as вЂњopen sourceвЂќ as the organization of education. Only where the person is at stake, there is a limitation. In many educational organizations is the child is central. We go a step further and find in the development of every child our primary starting point with regard to management and organization. The philosophy and establishment of the Board In the Netherlands we know various denominations of schools. The best known are the Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, the Islamic and the general private schools. Our school is open to every child which means it is a вЂњgeneral privateвЂќ school. It is not the school of today, but the school of tomorrow. The layout of the board is guaranteed in the cooperative association (CA). All parents are members of this CA and together they form the board. The main tasks of the board are: meet the requirements for providing care and education; monitoring of the proceeds of the organization; inspire and provide space for the deployment of people and activities. The CA incorporates physical and virtual communities. They formalize the policies of the CA. And they give a strong impetus to the development of this system of governing and organizing. Verification of result We follow the broad development of the child closely. We do this offering by the child the most appropriate learning resource. In combination with skilled employees who have the quality to to follow a student in his or her development, the optimum condition for the development of children. The child is always taking the next step. What the student can do now determines what he or she does afterwards! The verification of the results (especially the broad development of the child) can be arranged individually and at group level. Obviously, we share these results (also) with the Inspectorate for Education. In collaboration with universities and/or colleges, our results are measured, analyzed, criticized and adopted, so that the development is based on facts. 11 educational concept o4nt.nl Finances We will have to deal with different funding streams. From the government, from local government, parents and possibly others. We expect that companies will have interest in this form of education. This means that financing consist of a number of parts. This is necessary to provide the required accountability to the various funders. In financing its education, we also organize the finances around the child. A child will need to have the resources to enable the talent to develop. This requires flexibility and creativity. This way of looking at funding for the primary process yields at least much more room for choices than the simple yes/no in the current financing system and leads to standardization of input from school boards and thus to standardizeation of the input of schools. The staff We know from experiences in the country, that this form of organizing other demands on the job structure. This will incline and becomewider. The goal is to create maximum development around teaching a child with a minimum of management. In the movement вЂњContinuous improvementвЂќ that is now applied at some schools in the Netherlands experience has been gained with this principle. Research shows that challenging methods in combination with ownership lead to a managementindependent process of development. Industrial relations follow where possible theвЂ™ CAOвЂ™ Primary education. In consultation with the unions, who will be invited from the outset to have input in this open-source project, the appropriate answer will be found. In the staff, we will will encounter вЂњvirtualвЂќ employees. A teacher in Canada would temporarily be able to teach one or more children, for example through Skype or ICal. The legal entity The CA will meet the requirements of the law to give care and education in the Netherlands. We expect to encounter situations where the law currently does not provide. How skilled is a virtual teacher? Should he or she be obliged to have a licence? How do we arrange liability for the workers in this situation? We will constantly keep working to find solutions to the structural issues that we meet. Much of the communication will run over the Internet. On our website www.o4nt.nl we present out manifesto and we invite everyone to participate. A compact backoffice is organized to start with. June 1, 2013 we expect to actually start in 3 municipalities in the Netherlands. On 1 August 2013, the schools are open. The back office will arrange for the necessary support of the board (the CA) and schools (communities) in formation (focus, organization and conduct), 12 educational concept o4nt.nl maintenance of the website and communication (networks), setting up a database ofopen source materials and teaching aids, setting up the legal environment (statutes, etc.), establishing the control environment (management and accounting information), setting up the financial environment (planning and control cycle), organization of the human environment (Payrol and HR (t) M), provide liaison with governments, science and research.