Just recently, Elon Musk made headlines for donating $5 million through to Khan Academy, a non-profit institution in the USA which provides access to free resources like practice exercises, instructional videos, and personalized learning dashboards for self-guided learning. As a self-professed lifelong learner, this is exciting news to me!

In this episode of Illuminate Higher Education, guest Drew Schantz, Design Principle at Education Elements, returns to continue the discussion about personalized learning and how these principles can be applicable in a variety of post-secondary educational settings.

We typically think of the K-12 educational experience as something highly regimented. The state establishes certain milestones for achievement we’re expected to hit along the way. Everything from standardized tests to report cards suggests that the one-size-fits-all approach is the only option, and teachers have limited flexibility to address each student’s individual needs as effectively as possible.

In an episode of my Illuminate Higher Education podcast, featured guest and current senior at the University of Michigan Matt Blattman said something that stuck with me. We’ve spent quite a bit of time on recent podcasts talking about measuring the value of the traditional four-year college experience. We’ve asked ourselves, “Where does this value come from?”

In recent weeks, both in this blog and on my podcast Illuminate Higher Education, we’ve carried on an extended discussion about higher education and measuring its real value. We’ve explored college in the age of COVID-19 and made some educated predictions about how higher education might change in the future.

The debate over the cost of higher education in the US today rages on. These conversations were already rampant in the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis situation which only exacerbated the existing challenges students and parents face in trying to plan for the future.

In addition to being an advocate for higher education and a tech enthusiast, I’m also a parent. I currently have children in high school, and like many other parents, we’re actively considering all the options when it comes to life after high school. Families have tough choices to make when it comes to college today, and my family is certainly no exception.

I’ve spent the vast majority of my career working to improve the quality and value of the higher education experience. I found my years in university to be transformative. The education I received and the social connections I made allowed me to grow and build a career I may never have imagined otherwise.