The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropy, is teaming up with Pearson, one of the country’s largest developers of education materials, to create a new set of online courses. These courses will align with “common core”, a new set of curriculum standards passed in 40 states over the last several months. This article from the New York Times describes the pairing of these two education power houses in detail.
It is exciting to see two such prominent names in the education community picking up the ball on virtual education. The Gates Foundation has been a champion of improving public education through technological innovation and increased dedication to the STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) for many years, and the article mentions that with Pearson taking the lead on developing virtual education materials, other curriculum developers will likely follow suit.
With only a month to go in the current legislative session, hopefully Texas lawmakers will take note of national leaders in the education field taking such substantial steps toward enhancing digital learning, such as those in Rep. Ryan Guillen’s HB 3280, and expand virtual education in Texas.
-James Golsan