Funding Mastery, Not Hours, Drives Online Learning Success
Online learning gets a lot more interesting when progress—not time—is what counts. I spoke with Steve Kossakoski, outgoing co-founder of @VLACs, and Natalie Berger, VLACS’s new CEO, about one of the most interesting competency-based models in the country. VLACS serves students across New Hampshire through a flexible virtual model, but what makes it especially distinctive is its funding structure: the school is funded as students demonstrate mastery—not simply because they log time in a course.
Teachers Demand AI that Truly Understands Teaching, Not Demos
Teachers don’t need AI that feels impressive in a demo. They need AI that actually understands the work of teaching. Diane Tavenner and I talked with Adeel Khan, founder of @magicschoolai, about one of the fastest-growing AI tools in education and...
Colleges Look Stable Until Cash Shortages Hit
While debates over politics, public trust, and college athletics dominate the higher ed headlines, many institutions are facing a quieter but more immediate threat: A cash shortage 💸 In my recent article in @TheFP, I argued that many colleges can look...
AI Tools Should Deepen, Not Replace, Student Thinking
📚 The most valuable AI tools in education may will be the ones that still make students do real intellectual work. That was one of my biggest takeaways from my and Diane Tavenner’s conversation with Dacia Toll, co-CEO of@Coursemojo and co-founder...
Success Hinges on Precise Measurement and Low CAC
The real question I suspect for this venture to be successful and disruptive is if ETS can get the measurement right and whether the cost of acquisition of students will be low enough relative to the lifetime value. Will the...
Massachusetts Expands Co‑ops, Giving Students Paid Experience Before Graduation
At a time when the path from college to career feels less certain, Massachusetts is making a bet on something tangible: real work experience before graduation. The Commonwealth is expanding co-op programs across multiple of its public universities, with the help...
AI Redefines Roles, Capabilities, and Accountability in Enterprises
In 2 weeks I’ll be in New York co-hosting a small executive dinner with Krishna Kumar, CEO of @simplilearn. We’ll be bringing together a curated group of leaders across financial services, consulting, and enterprise technology to discuss a shift that’s becoming...
Scaling Quality Early Literacy Through AI-Powered One‑On‑One Support
The biggest barrier to solving early literacy? Our latest guest on Class Disrupted argues that it’s how we scale good instruction without losing sight of relationships. Diane Tavenner and I sat down with @mattpasternack, CEO of @once_reading, an AI-powered software...
AI Outpaces Organizational Structures, Demand New Operating Models
I’ll be in New York on April 23 co-hosting a small executive dinner with Krishna Kumar, CEO of @simplilearn. One of the more interesting AI-related tensions I’m seeing right now is that AI is advancing faster than most operating models can...
AI Will Reveal, Not Repair, Flawed School Systems
AI isn’t going to fix broken school models—it’s going to expose them. Too often, schools operate as a collection of parts—curriculum, schedules, tools—without a coherent model tying it all together. In this episode of Class Disrupted, Diane Tavenner and Michael Horn sat...
AI Shifts Scarcity, Creates New Bottlenecks
What if AI doesn’t eliminate scarcity—but simply moves it? A growing number of technologists argue that AI will create a world of abundance where human labor is no longer needed. In a recent Future of Education Substack post, I explore why...
Education Disruption Lagged: A Decade After Disrupting Class
I recently joined Kelly Smith, founder of the microschool platform @prendalearn, on his KindlED podcast to talk about where we really are in the arc of education disruption. It’s been more than a decade since Disrupting Class laid out a vision...
LMS Must Evolve: AI’s Challenge for Higher Ed
The LMS helped colleges adapt to the internet. The question now is whether it can adapt to AI. In the latest episode of @FutureUPodcast, @JSelingo and I welcomed Matthew Pittinsky, who founded @Blackboard and has long been a pioneer in the...
Education Needs Precision Learning, Not Just Personalization
Count me as a strong cosigner of @RbnLake idea of precision learning (not personalized learning - a phrase I've never loved). Optimized learning might be another but precision of course has parallels to health care and the work that Clay...
Credential Boom: Finding Degrees That Truly Advance Careers
A credential boom is underway. The hard part now isn’t accessing credentials. It’s finding the ones that actually move people forward. On our most recent episode of @FutureUPodcast, @JSelingo and I spoke with @mattsigelman of The Burning Glass Institute about this...