iNACOL: 3/25 Webinar On New Grant OIpportunity – NGLC Wave IV

Another iNACOL item from Thursday’s inbox…

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Dear Michael, iNACOL is a proud partner on the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) grant initiative to address the barriers to educational innovation and tap the potential of technology to dramatically improve college readiness and completion in the United States.   This coming Monday, March 25th, iNACOL will present a special webinar featuring Andy Calkins, Deputy Director of NGLC, and Sarah Luchs, K-12 Program Officer of NGLC. I will join them for a discussion of the current Wave IV grant program RFP, an opportunity and challenge I hope many of our iNACOL members will consider.   This webinar is free, but please register for further details and a participation link .     Alert to Members for NGLC Wave IV Grant Funding – Proposals Open and Program Webinars   The new Wave IV grant program is currently accepting proposals for new blended, personalized, mastery-based “breakthrough” school models. NGLC will award twenty $450K grants (including matching funds) to districts, CMOs, or partnerships to launch these new school models; and thirty $100K grants to planners who are at an earlier stage in developing these kinds of models. Applicants may apply on behalf of a wholly new school, a Restart of a persistently failing school, or the Complete Redesign of an existing, higher-performing school. These eligibility categories and the planning grants (which are both new features of this wave of investments) will, we hope, produce a very diverse pool of applicants and school models.   These grants build on the twenty new school models NGLC funded in 2012 in Wave III.   The Wave IV, Cycle 1 application deadline (launch grants for schools starting Fall 2013, planning grants for schools starting Fall 2014) is April 22, 2013.   If you are unable to join us on Monday, NGLC has planned several other informational webinars about the grant in April. For more information, visit:  http://nextgenlearning.org/breakthrough-grants.   Please let us know how we can provide assistance. Thank you for your efforts to personalize learning. I look forward to your participation in Monday’s presentation.   Sincerely,   Susan Patrick President & CEO NGLC partners include: The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), EDUCAUSE, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), and The League for Innovation in the Community College Find out more about iNACOL and our mission on: Stay connected:

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Next Generation Learning Challenges Grant Awardees Announcement

Also from yesterday’s inbox…

Dear iNACOL members and partners,

Just a quick note to let you know about today’s exciting announcement regarding Next Generation Learning Challenges grants “for comprehensive new secondary school and college models that use technology to reach targets for affordability and student success”.

We are thrilled to be working with the NGLC team on this game-changing project and want to extend our congratulations to all of the grant award winners.

I hope you will take a moment to learn more about the K-12 awardees via the links below.

Susan Patrick
President & CEO

Academy 21 at Franklin Central Supervisory Union (VT)
Cornerstone Charter Schools (MI)
Da Vinci Schools (CA)
Education Achievement Authority (MI)
MATCH School (MA)
Schools for the Future (MI)
Summit Public Schools (CA)
Venture Academies (MN)

Second Funding Cycle for Next Generation Learning Challenges Wave III $12 Million Grant Competition is Now Open (program officer chat 12/13/2011)

From yesterday’s inbox…

Second Funding Cycle for Next Generation Learning Challenges Wave III
$12 Million Grant Competition is Now Open

Dear iNACOL Members:

iNACOL, in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, Educause, League for Innovation and CCSSO launched the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) grant initiative last year.  Together, with two full waves of funding behind us, and a third currently underway, we are enthusiastic about the innovative work we are seeing around the country.

I wanted to let you know that NGLC is offering two “program officer chats” where interested parties will have the opportunity to ask NGLC staff questions related to the RFPs. The “college readiness” chat (for those interested in secondary education grants) is held on December 13, 2011, 4:00 p.m. EDT and the subject is “Wave IIIa: Breakthrough School Models for College Readiness”.

If you miss the live chat, note that each chat will be archived and available for viewing on the NGLC Archived Events page. For more information, visit the Upcoming Events page at http://nextgenlearning.org/ or http://nextgenlearning.org/the-community/events

NGLC’s third wave of funding, totaling $12 million, is seeking comprehensive, breakthrough models that fundamentally change the way education is designed and delivered across secondary and postsecondary institutions.  “Wave III” seeks solutions that apply technology to personalize students’ learning experiences, thereby improving the speed and depth by which they develop and master critical knowledge and skills. This is an important grant opportunity, and I encourage you to reach out to your colleagues and networks and invite and invite them to learn more.

The Wave III Challenge: Breakthrough Models for College Readiness and Completion

The emphasis for Wave III is on WHOLE school models and COMPLETE degree programs that significantly reorganize the learning process and redefine student experiences.

Wave III includes two separate Requests for Proposals. The first round of applications, submitted in November, produced some very compelling examples  –  a clear demonstration that the field is ready to respond to the high bar for transformational change we set in the Wave III RFPs.  There are two remaining opportunities to submit proposals (in February 2012 and June 2012).

Wave IIIa: Breakthrough School Models for College Readiness

This request for proposals seeks both district and charter school innovators who recognize the potential of technology-enabled models to catalyze transformative change and who plan to launch new, scalable whole-school models that combine the best aspects of brick-and-mortar and online learning to result in more personalized, mastery-based, blended learning. Applicants looking to open new schools serving students in grades 6-12 are eligible to apply.

1. Wave IIIb: Breakthrough Models for College Completion

This request for proposals seeks to identifyinnovations that stimulate the development of new, next generation online and blended programs that lead to high-quality, affordable associate’s or bachelor’s degrees. Accredited public, private nonprofit, or for-profit institutions of higher education, or coalitions or consortia of higher education institutions, are eligible to apply.

Key Application Dates

Submission Date	2nd Phase Notification	Winners Notified	Models Should Open In
February 9, 2012	March 9, 2012	May 31, 2012	Fall 2012 or Fall 2013
June 8, 2012	July 8, 2012	September 30,  2012	Fall 2013

More information is available by visiting the NGLC website at www.nextgenlearning.org

Program Officer Chats

December 13, 2011, 4:00 p.m. EDT	December 15, 2011, 3:00 p.m. EDT
Wave IIIa: Breakthrough School Models for College Readiness	Wave IIIb: Breakthrough Models for College Completion

We recognize that this third wave of funding poses considerable challenges as well as a significant opportunity to effect meaningful change. We are encouraged by the initial Wave III proposals we’ve reviewed and seek to make as many innovators aware of this unique grant opportunity as possible.  I hope that you can help me spread the word.

Please feel free to contact me directly with any questions you have and I’ll be happy to help get them answered.Thank you in advance for your time.

Sincerely,

Susan Patrick

President & CEO, International Association for K-12 Online Learning

——

Background

NGLC is a collaborative, multi-year initiative created to address the barriers to educational innovation and tap the potential of advanced learning technology to dramatically improve college readiness and completion in the United States, especially among low-income and minority students. NGLC is led by EDUCAUSE in partnership with the League for Innovation in the Community College, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO).

To date, NGLC, with its funding partners, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, has awarded $17.5 million in grants to 48 organizations and institutions in 33 states, the District of Columbia, and the United Kingdom.

iNACOL Announces New NGLC Grant RFP For New Learning Models Planning Grants

A little late getting my blogging day started today.  From yesterday’s inbox…

Dear iNACOL Members,

iNACOL is a partner in the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) grants, funded by the Gates Foundation. I am pleased to share with you the launch of Wave III grants and the attached press release has information on the Request for Proposals (RFP) today, October 5, 2011, with new grants for new learning models in grades 6-12 and postsecondary.

In brief, the NGLC Wave III funds “technology-enabled, whole school solutions that aim to radically improve student performance across grades 6-12 (and a postsecondary grant program, too). Applicants would be eligible for $150,000 pre-launch planning grants”.

Please see the attached press release and www.nextgenlearning.org for more information (there will be informational webinars with program officers as listed on the press release).

We hope to see solid grant proposals from iNACOL members developing new learning models using online and blended learning to dramatically improve student outcomes. Thank you for your consideration.

Best regards,
Susan Patrick

NGLC Pumps Funding Into Ed Tech Focused On Common Core

This was posted to one of the iNACOL forums a couple of days ago.  Notice there are only two K-12 online learning topics.  Also notice the kinds of things this competition – funded by those favouring the corporate takeover of public education educational reform in the United States – chose to promote.

NGLC Pumps Funding into Ed Tech Focused on Common Core

By David Nagel
06/14/11
http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/06/14/…ommon-core.aspx

The Next Generation Learning Challenges initiative has awarded $7 million to education technology programs focused on Common Core State Standards.

The Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) is a program led by the education organization Educause and is supported by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), iNacol (the International Association for K-12 Online Learning), the League for Innovation in the Community College, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

The Gates Foundation in particular has pumped considerable funding into the promotion of Common Core State Standards, including, most recently, $3 million in April to a joint effort with Pearson to develop curriculum centered on Common Core and $3 million to ASCD (also in April) to promote Common Core among teachers.

Common Core State Standards are designed to provide a national, consistent set of academic standards as an alternative to those previously developed by individual states. As of this writing, 42 states, along with the District of Columbia and the United States Virgin Islands, have adopted the standards, according to information posted on the CCSS site.

All told, 19 programs will share in the latest round (“Wave II”) of NGLC K-12 grants. All of the programs that received funding are technology-centric and focus on middle school and early high school math and literacy, with the aim of boosting student competence in alignment with Common Core State Standards in those disciplines. Winning programs are all “proof-of-concept and the early-stage adoption of programs.”

“We need to enhance our country’s educational system in ways that engage students both inside and outside of the classroom and provide them with the 21st century skills required for today’s workforce,” said Ira Fuchs, executive director of the Next Generation Learning Challenges, in a statement released today. “The innovative work of our grantees demonstrates how the thoughtful application of technology can help us achieve these goals.”

Winning organizations included universities, K-12 education organizations, and private companies. Those programs included:

• Adaptive Problem Solving for Mathematics: Assessing and Adapting to Students While They Are Learning (recipient Texas Tech University);
• ASSISTments: Using Web-Based Technologies to Support Grades Mathematics (recipient Worcester Polytechnic Institute);
• Enhancing Literacy in Science Through Digital Text, Simulations, and Design Challenges (recipient University of Wisconsin–Madison);
• Get the Math (recipient WNET);
• Gooru Enrichment Program for Students in Grade 7 Math and Science Subjects (recipient EdNovo);
• iCivics Argumentation Models (recipient iCivics, with partners from Arizona State University, Tufts University, and developer Filament Games);
• Immersive Embodied Interactive Whiteboards and STEM (recipient SMALLab Learning);
• Intelligent Digital Mathematics Tutoring for K-12 Students (recipient University of Massachusetts);
• Ko’s Journey (recipient Imagine Education);
• The Labyrinth Challenge: A National Competition for 7th and 8th Grade Math Students (recipient Massachusetts Institute of Technology);
• The LearningMatch (recipient Scholar Rocket);
• Louisiana Virtual School–Algebra for the 21st Century (recipient Louisiana Department of Education);
• Promoting Literacy Education in Rural Schools with Intelligent Game-Based Learning Environments (recipient North Carolina State University);
• SunBay Digital Mathematics for Middle Grades (recipient University of South Florida St. Petersburg):
• Transit to High School: Drop-in Modules to Prevent Dropouts (recipient Classroom Inc., partnering with Chicago Public Schools and an unnamed innovation school in New York, along with collaborator Filament Games);
• Universal Design for Learning Modules: Supporting Literacy in Physics, (recipients CAST and the Education Development Center);
• WhyCareers–Integrated Math, Science, and Career Education in a Learning-Based Virtual World (recipient DaVinci Minds);
• WISEngineering (recipient Hofstra University);
• Wordplay Games: Building World Knowledge in the Core Content Areas (recipient Education Development Center);

“We believe learning technologies and next generation design models can produce transformative change for students by personalizing learning, and making it more meaningful by relating to their passions and interests,” said Susan Patrick, president and CEO of iNACOL, in a prepared statement. “Next Generation Learning Challenges is focused on supporting and bringing together innovators that can help foster adoption of the most promising approaches to dramatically increase the learning power of all of today’s students.”

“Next Generation Learning Challenges is exciting because it will expand leading learning innovations to more students and teachers, and will allow the field to demonstrate new models that work for students,” said Linda Pittenger, director for the CCSSO’s Innovation Lab Network, also in a prepared statement. “The program has the potential to significantly accelerate adoption of next generation strategies that put more students on the pathway to college- and career-readiness.”

Additional details about the program and Wave II winners can be found on NGLC’s site.