The idea of student-centered learning is not new; teachers have long sought to design personalized, competency-based environments that are tailored to individuals and that empower students to drive their own learning. What is new is the emergence of an online learning ecosystem and, with it, the technical possibility of equipping all students with…

Over the last two decades, online learning adoption happened gradually in K-12 schools, mostly among innovators and early adopters. Then in 2020, the onset of COVID-19 ignited widespread adoption of emergency online learning, practically overnight. Online learning moved swiftly from the periphery to the core of K-12 education since it offered the…

Practically overnight, the spread of COVID-19 caused a sudden shutdown of classroom-based instruction--the centuries-old emblem of formal education. Fortunately, the capabilities of the technological era--in which broadband connectivity, mobile communication, and video conferencing are increasingly common--meant that for the first time in world…