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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/