Author Archives: Jon Becker

What would you want to know about educational research?

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0

I have an opportunity to teach a course that I’ve never taught before, but that I’ve coveted teaching for awhile. The course is called “Research Methods in Education,” and the university bulletin describes it as: Designed to provide an introductory understanding of educational research and evaluation studies. Emphasizes fundamental concepts, procedures and processes appropriate for [...] Read more »

research, teaching

Hack(ing) School(ing), 1st Edition

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0

Audrey Watters and I humbly submit for you interest and consideration: http://hackingschooling.com/ There, you will see a bit of a status report as well as a link to what we are referring to as the 1st Edition of the “book.” The 1st Edition (perhaps we’re “hacking” the traditional publishing process a bit here) is in [...] Read more »

“Academic blogging” qua peer review

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0


Unless you live under a rock (or if you don’t track education policy matters through social media – same thing), you know about the “big” study about teacher effects that was conducted by Chetty, Friedman and Rockoff, disseminated through NBER and reported in multiple outlets, most notably the New York Times. This is an important [...] Read more »

Blogging, Ed. Research, peer-review, research, scholarly communication, scholarship

Triangulation or Strangulation?

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0


In the span of the last two weeks, three articles were published about the role of for-profit corporations in K-12 online learning. Individually and collectively, they are serious and comprehensive pieces of investigative journalism and they all reach similar conclusions and raise serious concerns about the role of these companies, especially K12, Inc., in the [...] Read more »

distance learning, Ed. Policy, K12 online learning virtual schools corporate profit

A critique of the NEPC report on K-12 online learning

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0


I have great respect for the folks at the National Educational Policy Center. In particular, I hold Gene Glass and Kevin Welner in very high regard; they are genuine, world-class scholars. But, I think they fouled up their newest policy brief, Online K-12 Schooling in the U.S.: Uncertain Private Ventures in Need of Public Regulation. [...] Read more »

critique, distance learning, Glass, NEPC, online learning, policy, research, Welner

Best. Dissertation. Ever.

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0


Well, certainly the best one I’ve ever read (and I’ve read dozens). This is the dissertation recently defended by one of my new colleagues, Dr. Hilary Hughes-Decatur. It is an absolutely brilliant piece of work; it’s rich with issues to be explored, ranging from how we deal with “bodily-not-enoughness” in schools to how we elicit [...] Read more »

Ed. Research, higher ed.

My “guerilla” tactic for Open Access Week

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0


I’ve copied the text of an email that I sent today to all the members of the VCU School of Education community. To some of you, the idea of scheduling a room and inviting people to have a conversation may seem benign, hardly “guerilla;” especially in “the academy.” But, I anticipate a good deal of [...] Read more »

higher ed., OER, open access, openaccess, publishing, scholarly communication, scholarship

On being “…crazy enough” to “…challenge old assumptions”

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0


We lost two giant minds last night. From Steve Jobs: Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing [...] Read more »

Bell, Jobs

Flying pigs?

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0


No! Real classrooms, schools and districts. We need to stop calling high-tech classrooms or schools of the future. They’re happening NOW! We need to stop asking if technology integration is related to improved test scores. It’s about learning, not test scores! I spent a little time today collecting videos about “lighthouse” classrooms, schools, districts, etc. [...] Read more »

Virtual shadowing: A Call for volunteers

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Jon Becker | Permalink 0


To repeat, I’m teaching a fully online course this semester called “Educational Technology for School Leaders.” The course site is almost ready for launch. As part of the course, I’ll be asking the students to “shadow” a school leader who actively uses social media for professional purposes. My hope is that by virtually shadowing a [...] Read more »