An alternative to outdated schools

No one needs convincing about the value of an education. That said, one can argue that our educational system, as well intentioned as it might be, is outdated and falling behind the rapidly changing times. The twenty-first century demands a different type of student – one that can think critically, solve multi-disciplinary problems, effectively communicate, operate both independently and in a team, and learn and employ new technological tools. Likewise, with our current one size fits all schooling, some students are being left behind while others are being held back by an inability to move faster than their class.

Here is where Altschool comes in. Founded in 2014 by a former Google executive, Max Ventilla, the startup attempts to leverage technology to provide a personalized education aimed at cultivating twenty-first century skills while encouraging students to pursue their passion. Altschool currently has 9 micro-schools spread throughout the San Fransciso Bay Area and New York City that cover pre-kindergarten to grade eight [1]. These schools differ from traditional schools in many ways including having a 1 to 7 teacher-to-student ratio, mixed age and grade level classrooms, and a much greater usage of technology [2].

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Altschool is a private company with a two-fold business model. Through its micro-schools, it strives to provide students a superior personalized education, while building out its technology, and captures some value for itself by charging approximately $30,000 a year in tuition[4]. However, its long-term intention is to build out a complete suite of software for educators, and sell its technology and related services (e.g., teacher training) in a subscription model to schools[5].

Unlike traditional schools, Altschool employs technology throughout much of its operations. Students are given tablets in pre-kindergarten and laptops in later years [6]. Teachers assign each student different modules to work through the Altschool Playlist software – these modules “include individualized, small group, and whole class learning experiences” and are decided based on the curriculum, and the student’s progress and interests [7]. Student progress is captured in detail and available to teachers. Teachers can also choose to send updates to parents through Altschool Stream [8]. Perhaps most unique, classrooms feature AltVideo, a full audio and video surveillance system that records classes and allows for analysis of lessons and interactions [9]. Altschool’s platform also includes iterative student report cards and classroom management tools (e.g., attendance tracking) [10].

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These technology-enabled operations create an ever-growing amount of data, and Altschool leverages this to track and make available each student’s learning journey, help teachers improve their own effectiveness, and better personalize student content (for instance by recommending relevant modules for teachers to assign students) [12]. Additionally, teachers share best practices and policies through an internal wiki-like product, and regularly work with the product team on product improvement and new product development [13]. In a nutshell, Altschool’s use of technology is allowing for the creation of much tighter feedback loops for improving student learning and teacher effectiveness.

Looking towards the future, Altschool is starting to partner with external schools to grow faster by having them adopt its software. While the schools run by Altschool are idealized environments to build and test their technology, there will be bumps along the road in having external schools adopt their technology. There is still a large digital divide and technology is not easy for all schools, educators, students, or parents to adopt. For instance, students may be loaned a laptop to take home but fail to have internet access. For more schools to adopt their software, and move towards a personalized learning model, I think Altschool should invest in:

• Robust teacher training and professional development as well as capacity building measures for schools and districts
• Thinking end-to-end about the experience for different students and teachers and addressing common barriers to adoption
• Specifically addressing how technology can create a divide between social-economic classes. For instance, testing low-cost ways for students to continue learning despite technological barriers (e.g., making content available offline)
• Thinking how their software will need to be adopted for students with special needs (e.g., learning disabilities, physical disabilities, etc.)

I would also be extremely cognizant of student data security and privacy. Data breaches are becoming commonplace, and an occurrence of one would create significant negative PR and risk schools backing out of adopting the software. Lastly, Altschool should consider expanding its partnerships with third-party educational technology and content providers to expand its content base and tools for learning as opposed to having to create everything from scratch.

William Butler Yeats suggested that “education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire,” let’s hope that Altschool can succeed in its efforts to stoke this fire and make personalized education available for all! (Word count: 796)

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Sources:

1. The New Yorker, “Silicon Valley disrupts education,” http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/altschools-disrupted-education, accessed November 2016.

2. Techcrunch, “Altschool Raises $100M,” https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/04/altschool-raises-100m-from-founders-fund-zuckerberg-to-scale-a-massive-network-of-schools-around-personalized-learning/, accessed November 2016.

3. Altschool Blog, “Altschool model,” http://blog.altschool.com/hs-fs/hub/302069/file-626487806-png/unbundlingfinal2.png?t=1478736266321, accessed November 2016.

4. The New Yorker, “Silicon Valley disrupts education,” http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/altschools-disrupted-education, accessed November 2016.

5. Techcrunch, “For the ambitious ed tech company AltSchool, it’s time for phase two,” https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/09/for-the-ambitious-ed-tech-company-altschool-its-time-for-phase-two, accessed November 2016.

6. The New Yorker, “Silicon Valley disrupts education,” http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/altschools-disrupted-education, accessed November 2016.

7. Altschool Blog, “Bespoke Education,” http://blog.altschool.com/bespoke-education, accessed November 2016.

8. The New Yorker, “Silicon Valley disrupts education,” http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/altschools-disrupted-education, accessed November 2016.

9. The New Yorker, “Silicon Valley disrupts education,” http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/03/07/altschools-disrupted-education, accessed November 2016.

10. Techcrunch, “Altschool Raises $100M,” https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/04/altschool-raises-100m-from-founders-fund-zuckerberg-to-scale-a-massive-network-of-schools-around-personalized-learning/, accessed November 2016.

11. Techcrunch, “Altschool student,” https://tctechcrunch2011.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/altschool-student.jpg?w=828&h=552, accessed November 2016.

12. Wired, “Inside the School Silicon Valley Thinks Will Save Education,” https://www.wired.com/2015/05/altschool/, accessed November 2016.

13. Techcrunch, “Altschool Raises $100M,” https://techcrunch.com/2015/05/04/altschool-raises-100m-from-founders-fund-zuckerberg-to-scale-a-massive-network-of-schools-around-personalized-learning/, accessed November 2016.

14. Blog, “Altschool image,” http://bobbymarhamat.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2015/03/altschool1.jpg, accessed November 2016.