Deliverables for Digital Learning in 2012

My friends tease me all the time in social conversation when I drop the word deliverable. It must be the old Baldrige trainer in me, but I am always curious as to who is responsible for what and when.  Moreover, I often ponder these days whether there is a digital option to how we learn, work, and play.


So, on this Digital Learning Day, I want us to think beyond text messaging during dinner. I want us to think beyond hours in front of Angry Birds. I want us to reflect on what a digital world has delivered us the last few years. How about a quick top ten list:

1. Online banking
2. Travel effectiveness
3. Shopping and comparing prices
4. On demand dining 
5. Ability to learn anytime, anywhere
6. Social change and activism
7. Paperwork efficiency
8. Connections with friends and relatives around the world
9. Collaboration on mobile phones with any business in the world
10. Skills to find the local park by asking a digital assistant

Today in Connecticut, I’ll be speaking to SERC regarding the recent Connecticut Report – Next Ed. My deck is included here and I’ll be focusing on the why, what, and how behind digital learning. In the how section, I encourage all readers of this blog to take four action steps in the coming year:

1. Listen to your stakeholders, the market, and your customers
2. Research solutions
3. Launch an effort this year starting with your school schedule for next year
4. Lead and gather data on what you are learning as well as outcomes

Remember, you are what you measure.  So get out there today and plant a stake in the ground in terms of the promise of digital learning. Our kids are counting on you to deliver.