What’s notable in digital learning as of early 2023?
A blog post before DLAC asked what our DLAC attendees were finding most notable in our field. With DLAC now in the rear view mirror, here are three observations I heard in Austin and online. Note that I’m not suggesting that these topics are any more important than ongoing issues such as student engagement, teacher retention and support, and instructional strategies. Those are likely to be topics of discussion for many years into the future. The three items below were new entrants to the DLAC dialogues.
ChatGPT and AI in general
This was hardly a surprise, given that there has been a seemingly endless stream of articles in education press and mass media on this topic. Still, the topic continues to garner attention. At one session before DLAC, in which I asked five groups of educators from different schools their main unresolved challenge, I had to specify that they couldn’t all say “AI” because it seemed apparent that they all considered Chat GPT their biggest current challenge.
Education Savings Accounts
Is the emergence of ESAs the main overlooked issue in education—not just in digital learning? I think the answer may be yes. Although this wasn’t the most common topic of discussion in Austin (policy topics rarely are), I heard quite a few references to ESAs and vouchers.
It’s notable that this was a topic at DLAC because the growth of ESAs has been ignored by much of the mainstream press. David Brooks recently penned a column titled America Should Be in the Middle of a Schools Revolution, lamenting that
“…you would think that education would be one of the most talked about subjects in America right now. You would think that President Biden would be offering comprehensive plans to reform American schooling. You would think efforts by governors and mayors to address these problems would be leading newscasts and emblazoned across magazine covers on a weekly basis.
But this is not happening…Biden offered no ambitious plans to fix America’s ailing schools. The Republican Party can’t utter a complete sentence on the subject of school reform that doesn’t contain the initials C.R.T. What we’re seeing here is a complete absence of leadership.”
I like Brooks generally, but this column is just wrong in leaving out reference to ESAs while suggesting there is no new thinking in education. Whatever one thinks of ESAs, it’s clear that they are gaining momentum in a handful of states and might start to approach a critical mass in the coming years.
Perhaps we’ll invite David Brooks to DLAC next year so he doesn’t miss what’s happening in education. In the meantime, an upcoming blog post will delve into this topic more deeply.
A return to normal, post-pandemic
My final “new and notable” isn’t actually new, and wasn’t really a topic of conversation as much as an absence from the conversation. I heard very little about COVID-19, other than the pandemic being discussed as a historical fact. Yes it happened, and now we’ve moved on.
That’s not to say that the links between teacher shortages, student mental health, and other issues with ties to the pandemic were ignored. But these issues were explored as current challenges. Their links to COVID-19 might be mentioned, but they are no longer important. Labor shortages and other issues are here, probably for a while if not permanently.
So too is a new normal around the increased acceptance of online learning. With the growth in online school and course enrollments, and the doubling or so of online schools in traditional school districts, the educators that DLAC serves are inching closing to mainstream acceptance. This too is accepted as a new reality, often without the need for additional discussion.
Did you see or hear other ideas of note at DLAC? Let me know: john@evergreenedgroup.com