Giving Compass' Take:

· According to Jessica Campisi at Education Dive, a group of students from a New York City high school is writing a letter to Mark Zuckerberg in protest of Summit Learning, an online personalized learning program engineered by Facebook and funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). 

· Feedback is crucial to improving programs for beneficiaries. What can CZI learn from this?

· Here's more on this protest. 

Ed tech and personalized learning technologies may each be a big deal in the classroom, but the way these programs are implemented and used is arguably just as important as, if not more important than, having the software in the first place.

In addition to simply acquiring these technologies, schools and districts need to ensure that the money invested on them is worthwhile. Rather than spending on digital tools that will replicate the status quo or add bells and whistles to classrooms, school leaders should look to check that these programs actually transform the learning experience.

One way to do this could be to use evaluations like the SAMR model, which prompts educators to examine various facets of ed tech and its impact on student learning, while another option could be to look at previous research and studies. Additionally, holding discussions with other educators or members of the school community — including students and parents — can help identify what's missing from the current school structure, what could be improved, and how stakeholders envision those changes taking place.

Read the full article about the Summit Learning protest by Jessica Campisi at Education Dive.