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educational concept o4nt.nl01

Table of contents

Education for a new era 02

Part 1The initiative “Education for a new era” 03

Part 2The Practice 05

Course 05

Community 07

What makes this “education” attractive? 08

Schedule and school hours 08

Hardware and software 09

Collaboration between parents, child and school 09

Part 3Management and organization 11

Important values and insights 11

The philosophy and establishment of the Board 11

Verification of result 11

Finances 12

The staff 12

The legal entity 12

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Education for a new eraThe widespread dissemination of technology and the web in society has a major

impact on virtually all facets of life. The world around us has changed enormously in

recent decades and it is expected that in the coming years this pace of change will

grow even stronger.

Besides the physical world there is a virtual world where not only more and more

people are becoming more active, but where increasingly more is possible. For

part of our activitys economic and social boundaries of time and distance have

disappeared. We can choose what we do in the physical - and what we do in virtual

space. To save time, to improve our social and economic network and to make

it more efficient and to do things that previously were unthinkable. Young people

between 10 and 15 are, in comparison to the elderly, in a very natural way linked

with the computer and the web. They have grown up with it. However, there is a next

generation waiting to take up a new development. While the computer / laptop still

has the barrier of mouse and keyboard, the touch screen and apps for smartphones

and tablets ensure toddlers at a young age can enter the virtual world1.

This new generation is about to go to school and it is important to prepare them

for the world of 2030 and later, around the time that the education lets them loose

on society. What children need to learn has elements that seem to remain more or

less the same. But it has elements too that over time -sometimes radically- change.

These 21st-century skills are mapped at various places in the world2.

Education, however, has difficulty to adapt to these new ambitions. This education

is too much hampered by existing resources and structures. These are both in the

content of education and in concerns the way the school is organized, equipped

and funded.

“Do we really prepare our students for the future instead of the past?”

“Can we organize education more efficiently?”

We are convinced that the good use of the latest technological developments

together with a maximum inclusion of informal teaching in- and outside the school

can break through these barriers. The manifesto presents an educational concept

that will accelerate creativity and will connect education with the developments of

today and tomorrow. Thus education’s core business is to continue to perform in a

manner that is transparent and efficient in handling all available resources. In a way

that is stimulating for children and connects to their own world, as to profit to the

maximum from their individual potential.

1On www.o4nt.nl/kleuter

you will find a video of a girl

of barely 2 years old with

an Ipad which she switches

on by herself, finds the right

app and makes her choices

independently.

2Think of the 21st century

project executed by

Kennisnet in co-operation

with Young people, schools

and businesses (innovatie.

kennisnet.nl/category/

skills) or the American

initiative Partnership

for the 21st century – a

co-operation between the

American administration

and businesses like Apple,

Microsoft, Dell, Cisco and

the National Education

Association (www.p21.org).

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The initiative “Education for a new era”The initiators3 of “Education for a new era” intend to To start with education based

on a new model from autumn 2013. First the elementary school, grades 1 to 3 is

founded, and soon after, partly based on the experiences, we wish to broaden

out to the whole school and then to secondary education. It will be a school that

differs dramatically in structure from the school today. The physical structure will be

different, without the traditional classes and will have varying compositions of small

and large groups. Also the materials are different with an important role for the iPad,

aiming at a maximum of development of the personal talents of the student.

Our assumption is that learning is a continuous process that takes place not only

during school but also at weekends and during holidays. Education in fact 52 weeks

per year, 24-hour “open”. With many learning opportunities in a wide variety of

physical space (the “school”) and with many learning and training possibilities in the

virtual space. And in close cooperation with parents, both within and outside the

school.

Technology plays a central role. ICT allows us to give everyone the attention they

deserve. ICT helps us with our ambition to do something collectively in a large group

only then when it is less functional to do that individually or in a smaller group. And

ICT realizes this within the resources available and within education frameworks. Of

course there are schools where the computer is already playing an important role or

where smartboards are used. And there are initiatives where textbooks on a tablet

are distributed among the students and more. But these are in fact still old ways of

approach using a new medium.

We use ICT in all its strength. For example, we select good apps for the IPad inviting

to learn; we integrate attractive adaptive methods4 we train skills and both implicitly

and explicitly test the level of student. Much is possible now. There are already

thousands of apps available aimed at all age groups. The Dutch Digital School5

launched a wide amount of software and know-how gathered for children in the

virtual world to train and guide them in their own development. But we stay focused

on what is possible and will respond quickly to new opportunities. Our aim remains

focused on the skills young people need in the years 2020-2030. Precisely in order

3Initiators:

Irene Felix, teacher;

Maurice de Hond,

researcher;

Erik Verhulp, Digischool;

Luc de Vries, director.

4For example:

“Rekentuin”, an arithmetic

method in which the

development of the student

is followed, and new

assignmnets are presented

on the basis of the results.

5www.digischool.nl

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21th century skills 21th century skills

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to provide quick adjustments to come, our new school opens outwards. Besides

parents, there will also be a good relationship with industry and interaction is built

over an “open source” approach to be connected with all stakeholders outside the

school. Experiences within the schools are shared with the outside world. And the

outside world is invited to come up with material and suggestions for use within

the school. Only by working together and by sharing we are able to exploit all

opportunities and to grow. Growth for our students, but also growth as a learning

organization. We connect in our ambition to have students acquire the right skills

to be successful in the society of 2030 in a modern, efficient and future proof way.

Always starting from the individual qualities and abilities of the pupils and in close

cooperation with the parents. And not dominated by static and outdated demands

that condition both teachers and students mainly to adjust to that specific set of

requirements.

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The PracticeAs of August 1, 2013 in 3 to 4 cities a school will be founded for up to every 40

pupils between 4 and 6 years of age. The school starts from the talents of the

children and guides them based on their claims. The school is open all year round

from 8 to 18.30. The traditional school care is integrated and part of the broad

talent care. During the opening hours there are on average 3 teachers/coaches6

active. Instead of classrooms, the school consists of several larger and smaller

multifunctional spaces. Each student has his or her own physical location within the

studio7 where the activities of the day start. Also, every student has a personal virtual

space. For example, within an Electronic Learning Environment (ELE)8, a web page

or a private Facebook9 page. For individual activities or activities in small groups the

students themselves choose a suitable workplace. The school is organized so that

students can easily find a safe place where they can work in harmony.

All students have an iPad, which is connected as a standard both inside and outside

the school on the WiFi network The wireless network of the school gives access to a

ELE which shows the development of the pupil, both in the physical and in the virtual

part of the school. This development can be tracked and recorded for the benefit of

the teacher/coach, the parents and the student. At the school there are at least 20

identical laptops or desktops available, which also give access to the ELE.

CourseOur principle is: “Students do not work in a larger groups if with the aid of ICT

(individually or in small groups) at least the same goals can be archieved.”

For activities in which the mutual interaction or a joint undertaking is significant

(sing, play, visit something, attend a performance /presentation) a large group makes

sense. For all the rest, many other forms are effective. The classroom model in

which a teacher educates/instructs a large group of pupils that quietly listen is thus

abandoned.

The role of the teacher is primarily that of the coach, less the teacher of the subject

and the controller of the pupils’ progress. Modern technology in the learning

2

Een combinatie vanfysiek (schoolgebouw) en virtueel (internet)

6Coaches are highly

capable teachers or other

key workers. A coach

performs and invaluable role

in this type of education. He

guides, inspires, motivates,

teaches, shows how to

study and is much more.

He is good at his work,

skilful in modern media and

especially good at dealing

with the parents involved

and with other specialists.

7Studio: space in the

school set apart for a

specific activity (music,

reading, crafts), and doubles

as the home base for a

small group of students.

8Electronic Learning

Environment (ELE) is an

online environment where

students study.

9Facebook: Social network

site www.facebook.com

Combining physical (school building) and virtual (internet)

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process will play an important role in providing the curriculum, learning, practicing

and reviewing the matter and follow the development of the pupil. Learning willl

take place individually, in pairs and in larger groups. It starts with the interests and

capabilities of the student. In the virtual space materials are available that fit the

interests and abilities of individual students. In this way we commit our education to

the learning styles of students, leading to better performance.

Besides the material of Digischool we use all the learning resources available at

home and abroad. For example, “de Rekentuin” and the “Taalzee”, and web-based

adaptive training and tracking systems developed by the University of Amsterdam.

Or think of the rich collection of learning materials the Khan Academy10 in the U.S.

provides. They now include more than 2,600 topics in arithmetic and mathematics.

Consider also the use of episodes of “Andere tijden” and “In Europa” for history,

geography or the travel programs or documentaries for biology. In addition, there are

free encyclopedia such as Wikipedia11, which offer countless topics, coupled with

many interesting links.

The work will be much less sequential in comparison to the past. The student does

not learn the courses in a traditional manner according to a fixed base sequence, but

follows his or her own learning path based on their own interests and abilities. Again,

the role of the teacher as a coach is essential: he accompanies and encourages

the student, points to gaps and helps the student to overcome them. The challenge

is that each student achieves the maximum For each student that will be different,

in terms of content level. This also means that every teacher/employee has to go

through the same proces of professionalisation. A consequence of the ever faster

growing and flowing of our society. There will be a need to find solutions for problems

we have not experienced yet. The students work on assignments and projects. In

this way, learning can be modified to the interest and the qualities of the individual

student and all involved are more aware that certain knowledge or crafting is required

and/or working knowledge is implicit or skilled. Although there are certain basic

needs that the student must acquire at least, there is no “one size fits all” approach

and each student gets a unique set of skills or gain based on his of her own talents

and interests.

10A rich collection of

educational materials of

the Khan Academy from

the USA with over 3000

topics for arithmetics and

mathematics.

www.khanacademy.org

and www.khanacademie.nl

11Wikipedia Nederland:

nl.wikipedia.org

Elk talent wordt gekendEvery talent is recognized

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There are no minimum requirements expressed in relation to knowledge and skills

that the learner has to manage at the end of each school. There is a basic trust in the

direction of the pupils, teachers and parents so that (more than) sufficient skills will

be gained. Regarding the offer on the basis of experience in practice a set of “best

practices” comes available, accessible to everyone, both inside and outside the

school. To this end, teachers, parents and pupils assess the experience which is

documented and made easily accessible with ICT. Sports, exercise, healthy and

conscious living, awareness of the relevant social themes, art and creativity are

important components in projects within the school.

CommunityA community is thegroup which has a relationship with the school: students, teachers,

parents and the environment. The community operates on the basis of open sources:

the members use as well as contribute. In the virtual component, by the use of the

technology a lot of contact is made with the world outside. But also in the physical

school business activities and hobbies of parents and the wider environment are part

of the activities and projects. At least twice a year a parent is associated to a project

where such activities play a role. That may be to tell a story, to do a project with stu-

dents about a accompany, or to make a visit with a group of students outside the

school so that this activity can be experienced “live”. It may also be that a parent shows

his of her skills in a coaching role. These assignments and projects are organized so

that not only students present can actually participate, but they are also recorded so

that others at a later time can experience it or parts of it. Specific presentations by

students, coaches or parents will be video recorded, edited and uploaded as YouTube

movie. Comments and ratings can also be recorded and made accessible. In this way,

community members get access to the entire package at a later stage.

Each school within the social network Facebook has a closed social group of friends

where parents and teachers can have mutual contact. In addition, each student

receives a personal account within the ELE of the school. This ELE is the keypoint

for learning. One part is completed by the students themselves: planning activities,

activities carried out, self-reflection and storing results. Furthermore, the ELE is

completed by the coaches: factual information, data, suggestions and feedback. It may

give the parents access to (parts of) the ELE.

CommunityCommunity

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What makes this “education” attractive?The virtual component via the ELE gives access to all learning resources available

at home and abroad, even to the complete curriculum of primary schools with

alternative materials for various learning styles. Both from his or her own school and

home each student can learn in his or her own learning style and needs. Powered by

the coach at school or by the parents the student shapes his of hers own learning.

under the guidance of a coach. Replacing the teacher in case of sickness or absence

is no longer necessary. Students can use the virtual department within or outside the

school to continue their daily activities under supervision, School care is superfluous,

because it has become part of everyday learning. Because of the child-orientation of

the offer, the school is many times more employable and can be better connected to

the biorhythm of the child. Remedial material is available centrally for each student.

Students can be accompanied by an internal supervisor who remotely using this

material that is available through the virtual school, and who plays a coaching and

reflective role.

The experiences at the school, including the curriculum and the reactions to it are

open to the outside world through the online community. This means that people

elsewhere also make use of the experiences and the offer can be used. This can be

at the school level or individual level. At the same time it is also a platform where

the outside world can give solicited or unsolicited advice filing such material, which

can be used in the school. In this way, there is a strong proliferation of positive

experience, which can be utilized elsewhere. Either from the overall philosophy or for

certain parts. It is hoped that the experiences gained there by then also be shared.

The school brings more connection between parents and child and the school

environment and also between activities inside and outside the school. Students,

coaches and parents get easier access to international learning networks. There is no

distinction between childcare and education. There will be more diversity in the daily

program and there are more opportunities to connect with the natural learning of

children. Locations near the workplace (offices) are preferred.

Schedule and school hoursIt is important that parents, child and school search for the optimal design of the

time available, aimed at the development of children. Currently being the following

structure is being considered: Every week, a basic schedule of daily activities for the

following week is published. This basic schedule is also available via the Internet for

parents. The basic schedule has the following key times: 8.15 am, 9.15 am, 10.15

am, 11.15 am, 3 pm, 4 pm, 5 pm and 6 pm. - In principle, only between 11.15 am

and 3 pm the activities will take place in a large group. Besides the lunch those

activites can be for example a presentation or lesson of a parent, a performance,

sports, visits outside school or watching a movie/event and talk about it. Until 11.15

am and after 3 pm in principle only the activities take place individually or in small

groups to take place. - Parents can choose which of the 4 times between 8.15 am

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and 11.15 am they bring their child on a certain day and when between 15 hours

and 18 hours they pick up their child. Importantly, they have indicated in advance

the schedule what times they have chosen that week and that they keep to these

times. As in many companies nowadays, it is not primarily the physical presence, but

the output which is important. So it is at this school. Learning is not confined to the

physical presence in school, but is a more or less permanent state, even if outside

of school or “on holiday”. Even from the disease it is possible to learn, both for the

students themselves and for others. Holidays can be taken by the parents of the

children, up to 16 weeks per year and not longer than 4 consecutive weeks.

With support from the school, pupils can learn from the experiences they gained

during a holiday. This applies not only to the pupil concerned, but also for other

students. Holidays should be announced well in advance and pupils and parents

get holiday assignments which should be done. Through the ELE learning can be

followed and supervised by the coach. During this period, at least once a week there

is contact between parents and coaches about the progress. Upon return the student

presents a “digital report” to a group of other students about the assignment he or

she received. The report must meet certain requirements. For example, a geographic

component (Google Earth), certain facts (supported with digital photos) and a

quantity of relevant links. These presentations are available to the community.

Hardware and softwareThe tablet which the students have may also be used outside school. Outside the

school and outside school hours, the student has access to the ELE with the tablet

and so to learning materials. Via the ELE, the parents can see what assignments

their child is doing / should be doing. Students create digital presentations of special

activities (visits outside the school, presentations from parents, an internal or external

performance). The school has cameras and other hardware and software for digital

reporting. On the Internet there are many tools (and, more and more) which either

individually or collectively can be used. Knowledge and skills necessary to do so

before the students can get to work, can found within the community attached to the

school. The community provides an overview of these tools, including experience

and the names of those willing to play a supporting role. This also applies to non-

digital components that are important for the students.

Collaboration between parents, child and schoolThis approach requires more commitment from the school of the parents. Parents

are members of the community and thus partly responsible. There are costs and

benefits, rights and duties. Each school will set up its own balance. If they fail to

do so it they are like all community members held accountable. If this is because

one wants to resign, or is inadequate in terms of available time or skill, then it is

attempted, by means of other (s) to compensate. With reluctance and/or failure

10 educational concept o4nt.nl

to adhere to the agreed rules and tasks consultation on the commitment with the

school follows. This type of school requires different (including financial) efforts of the

parents. For parents who can not afford these efforts financial aid is available. Here

we ensure that in every group a minimum number of these students is present.

It will be appreciated that in this school not all activities are fixed in advance, and

is established at what moments which goals are achieved for each student. It is

also partly a “journey into the unknown”, partly because in the coming years the

possibilities of this virtual world continue to expand. It is also a type of school with

much confidence in the teachers/coaches, parents and not least in the students

themselves. They will be prepared for the future in an enthusiastic manner. And that

goes for all concerned.

11 educational concept o4nt.nl

Management and organization

Important values and insights In realizing our ambition we use the following starting points. Within Dutch education

we provide education and care that help the adults of tomorrow optimally to be a

good global citizen.

It is important that children, parents, school and environment are directly involved in

the development of the child. They are joint “owner”.

The establishment of management and organization is just as “open source” as the

organization of education. Only where the person is at stake, there is a limitation.

In many educational organizations is the child is central. We go a step further and

find in the development of every child our primary starting point with regard to

management and organization.

The philosophy and establishment of the BoardIn the Netherlands we know various denominations of schools. The best known are

the Catholic, Protestant, Evangelical, the Islamic and the general private schools. Our

school is open to every child which means it is a “general private” school. It is not the

school of today, but the school of tomorrow.

The layout of the board is guaranteed in the cooperative association (CA). All parents

are members of this CA and together they form the board. The main tasks of the

board are:

meet the requirements for providing care and education;

monitoring of the proceeds of the organization;

inspire and provide space for the deployment of people and activities.

The CA incorporates physical and virtual communities. They formalize the policies

of the CA. And they give a strong impetus to the development of this system of

governing and organizing.

Verification of resultWe follow the broad development of the child closely. We do this offering by the

child the most appropriate learning resource. In combination with skilled employees

who have the quality to to follow a student in his or her development, the optimum

condition for the development of children. The child is always taking the next step.

What the student can do now determines what he or she does afterwards! The

verification of the results (especially the broad development of the child) can be

arranged individually and at group level. Obviously, we share these results (also) with

the Inspectorate for Education. In collaboration with universities and/or colleges, our

results are measured, analyzed, criticized and adopted, so that the development is

based on facts.

3

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FinancesWe will have to deal with different funding streams. From the government, from

local government, parents and possibly others. We expect that companies will have

interest in this form of education. This means that financing consist of a number

of parts. This is necessary to provide the required accountability to the various

funders. In financing its education, we also organize the finances around the child.

A child will need to have the resources to enable the talent to develop. This requires

flexibility and creativity. This way of looking at funding for the primary process yields

at least much more room for choices than the simple yes/no in the current financing

system and leads to standardization of input from school boards and thus to

standardizeation of the input of schools.

The staffWe know from experiences in the country, that this form of organizing other demands

on the job structure. This will incline and becomewider. The goal is to create

maximum development around teaching a child with a minimum of management.

In the movement “Continuous improvement” that is now applied at some schools

in the Netherlands experience has been gained with this principle. Research shows

that challenging methods in combination with ownership lead to a management-

independent process of development.

Industrial relations follow where possible the’ CAO’ Primary education. In

consultation with the unions, who will be invited from the outset to have input in this

open-source project, the appropriate answer will be found. In the staff, we will will

encounter “virtual” employees. A teacher in Canada would temporarily be able to

teach one or more children, for example through Skype or ICal.

The legal entityThe CA will meet the requirements of the law to give care and education in the

Netherlands. We expect to encounter situations where the law currently does not

provide. How skilled is a virtual teacher? Should he or she be obliged to have

a licence? How do we arrange liability for the workers in this situation? We will

constantly keep working to find solutions to the structural issues that we meet. Much

of the communication will run over the Internet.

On our website www.o4nt.nl we present out manifesto and we invite everyone to

participate. A compact backoffice is organized to start with. June 1, 2013 we expect

to actually start in 3 municipalities in the Netherlands. On 1 August 2013, the schools

are open. The back office will arrange for the necessary support of the board (the

CA) and schools (communities) in formation (focus, organization and conduct),

maintenance of the website and communication (networks), setting up a database

ofopen source materials and teaching aids, setting up the legal environment

(statutes, etc.), establishing the control environment (management and accounting

information), setting up the financial environment (planning and control cycle),

organization of the human environment (Payrol and HR (t) M), provide liaison with

governments, science and research.