EDUCATION
EDUCATION technology-fueled access
“ EDUCATION IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON WHICH YOU CAN USE TO CHANGE THE WORLD.” — NELSON MANDELA
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FLTREDUCATION
Education is a fundamental and transformative power that can help
FLTR is designed to cut through the noise of social media to focus on one topic during one moment of time. This month, we look at education, specifically how technology fuels access to:
people and nations overcome their socioeconomic status. Globally, technology is fueling new ways to
new financing
bring this power to more people in more places and is fundamentally redefining the way education is
txt-based programs
being created, delivered and paid for. paperless classes
innovative TOOLS Online education could reach 14 million students in 2014. 1
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new financing
INFLATION U.S. College costs are rising at 2-3x inflation
$1 TRILLION
3
INCREASE
U.S. expected student
College costs rose 15%
loan debt in 2012 2
in two years, faster than the cost of healthcare 4
A Better Loan
Dropping Out Pays
SoFi, a lending solution piloted by students at Stanford’s Graduate School
The Thiels Fellowship, the brainchild of Peter A. Thiel, co-founder of PayPal
of Business, is using the power of social communities to transform
and early investor in Facebook, is luring a handful of students away from the
student loans. SoFi (short for Social Finance) connects students and
likes of Princeton, Harvard and M.I.T., hoping to find the next big technology
alumni through a dedicated lending pool, offering students a lower loan
innovation. His offer is this: $50,000 a year for two years, few questions
rate than their private or federal options and alumni a double bottom-line
asked. Just no college. The first Thiel fellows are now in their second year of
return custom built around their alma mater.
the program. Twenty new ones were selected this summer. 6
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5
txt-based programs
e-reader Worldreader, a program that provides school children with access to digital books through donated Kindle e-readers, recently began publishing via a mobile-phone-based e-reader. The Worldreader app and its library of stories is already on 3.9 million handsets, with active readers in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Ghana. 8
2ND LARGEST
2+2=txt MXit is Africa’s largest homegrown mobile social network. With more than 50
MOBILE MARKET
million users, the South Africa-founded service allows its mostly young users to stay in touch by text chatting. Dr Math on MXit has connected 30,000 children with math tutors for live chat sessions via SMS. 9
For millions of Africans, much of their daily reading
life lessons
and writing happens on mobile phones in the form
Nokia Life, an SMS-based information service with more than 70 million
of SMS and instant message chats. Providers
subscribers in Nigeria and other countries, delivers preparation tips for
are responding, transforming the way traditional
middle and high school exams, health education aimed at families and
education is delivered and the way people learn.
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English language learning. 10 7
paperless classes
TO U.S.
KOREA
62 OF THE TOP
100 SCHOOLS IN THE WORLD
HAVE PAPERLESS LEARNING PROGRAMS
One Tablet per child
iPadagogy
Elite Immersion
One Laptop per Child, the nonprofit dedicated
The UAE’s Higher Colleges of Technology will
Avenues, a new, nearly $40,000-a-year
to empowering the world’s poorest children,
become the first school in the region to roll
nursery-through-college-prep school in
has released its tablet — currently being sold
out iPad-only lessons. The initiative, known as
Manhattan, is taking paperless to the next
in bulk into education systems. Optimized for
iPadagogy, is a bid to create a wholly paperless
level: students and faculty will be equipped
learning in any environment, it can be charged
educational environment and eliminate the use
with both iPads and MacBook Air laptops;
with a hand crank or through its solar-powered
of paper and pens on campuses. The move
classes, designed in iBooks Author, will be
rubberized lid, and though indoors the display
toward iPad education is being rolled out in
shared via a dedicated channel on iTunes
looks like any other screen, outside it can be
colleges around the world — from the U.S. to
U; and on campus, students will be able to
used as a reflective e-ink type display and the
Korea, 62 of the top 100 schools are engaged in
share their work via interactive displays and
resolution jumps accordingly.
similar initiatives.
multimedia walls. 13
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11
12
innovative TOOLS
<!---->
Embracing Timeline
Code Literacy
Spotify for Education
A school in Amsterdam is using Facebook
Through a pilot program in Estonia, students
Inspired by the success of Spotify, education
Timeline to teach history. By focusing not only
are being taught web and mobile app
technology startup BenchPrep has
on the content through posts and various
development as early as first grade. Mozilla has
transformed into a subscription-based service.
media, but also on the chronology of events,
been sponsoring events such as “Hack Jams”
Now, for $30 a month, you can access test prep
students are able to experience a larger
and has developed Hackasaurus, a collection of
(GRE, LSAT, SAT, etc.) and a variety of courses
tools that let kids “remix” elements of a site.
on your laptop, smartphone or tablet device. 16
understanding of cultural and social themes.
14
TO U.S.
KOREA
62 OF THE TOP
100 SCHOOLS IN THE WORLD
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HAVE PAPERLESS LEARNING PROGRAMS
15
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS & sources
<!----> EXECUTIVE EDITORS
FLTR EDUCATION
Mario Natarelli
1. Orgill, J., and D. Hervey, “How Online Innovators are Disrupting Education,” 4, Nov. 2011. Web: 16 Oct. 2012. http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/11/how_online_ innovators_are_disr.html
EDITORIAL AND DESIGN TEAM Tara Mastrelli
NEW FINANCING
Daniel Irizarry Embracing Timeline Melissa Kalish
2. “Student Loan Debt Clock,” FinAid.org. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.finaid.org/loans/studentloandebtclock.phtml
A school in Amsterdam is using Facebook’s timeline to teach history. By not only focusing Special thanks to theposts entireand team at MBLM on the content through various for their contributions, observations, media, but also the chronology of events, insights input — their FLTR work on students areand able to experience a larger understanding of cultural and social themes. education made this report possible. Check out other issues of FLTR: FLTR Olympics FLTR Travel
Code Literacy
3. “How BLS Measures Price Change for College Tuition and Fees in the Consumer Price Index,” Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifacct.htm
Through a pilot program in Estonia, students are being taught development as early as first
4. “How in the World Did College Costs Rise 15% in Only 2 Years?” The Atlantic, 13 Jun. 2012. Web: 16 Oct. 2012. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/ archive/2012/06/how-in-the-world-did-college-costs-rise-15-in-only-2- years/258463/
grade. Mozilla has been moving code literacy forward, sponsoring events such as “Hack
Jams” and devloping Hackasaurus, a collection
5. Venture Beat, “Investors make $77M bet that a startup can solve the student debt crisis,” 11 Sept. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/11/sofi/
of tools that let kids “remix” elements of a site.
PAPERLESS CLASSES Spotify for Education 11. Wired, “OLPC Tablet Finally Arrives,” 9 Jan. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http:// www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/01/olpc-tablet-finally-arrives/
Inspired by the success of Spotify, education 12. Arabian Business, “UAE Colleges to Ditch Books for iPads,” 5 Sept. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.arabianbusiness.com/exclusive-uae-colleges-ditch- books-for-ipads-472011.html
technology startup, BenchPrep, has
transformed into a subscription-based service. Now, for $30 a month, you can access test prep
13. DeLo, Dirk, “Technology @ The Avenues Campus,” 27 Feb. 2012. Press Release: 16 Oct. 2012. http://www.avenues.org/technology-the-avenues- campus
(GRE, LSAT, SAT, etc.) and a variety of courses
on your laptop, smartphone or tablet device. INNOVATIVE TOOLS 14. PSFK, “School Uses Facebook Timeline to Teach History,” 17 Sept. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.psfk.com/2012/09/facebook-timeline-teach- history-schools.html
TXT-BASED
15. Wired, “Estonia Reprograms First Graders as Web Coders,” 4 Sept. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/09/estonia- reprograms-first-graders-as-web-coders/
8. BBC, “The Future of Education in Africa is Mobile,” 24 Aug. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120823-what-africa-can-learn from-phones/2
TO
U.S.
KOREA
62 OF THE TOP
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10. BBC, “The Future of Education in Africa is Mobile,” 24 Aug. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120823-what-africa-can-learn- from-phones/2
6. The New York Times, “Forgoing College to Pursue Dreams,” 15 Sept. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/16/business/the thiel-fellows-forgoing-college-to-pursue-dreams.html?_r=3&hp&
7. GSMA, “Africa Now the World’s Second Largest Mobile Market, Reports GSMA,” 9 Nov. 2011. Press Release: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.gsma.com/ newsroom/africa-now-the-worlds-second-largest-mobile-market-reportsgsma/
COPYRIGHT MBLM © 2012 All rights reserved.
9. BBC, “The Future of Education in Africa is Mobile,” 24 Aug. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120823-what-africa-can-learn- from-phones/2
100 SCHOOLS IN THE WORLD
16. Venture Beat, “BenchPrep, ‘Spotify for education’, offers classes and test prep for $30 a month,” 18 Sept. 2012. Web: 15 Oct. 2012. http://venturebeat. com/2012/09/18/benchprep/