Drop the Chalk: Teaching in the 21st Century

Although data driven teaching has become a buzzword in academic circles, the time it takes to develop a real understanding of it; how best to implement data driven techniques; and the simple act of collecting the data can be overwhelming. To quote the slogan of the startup company Drop the Chalk, the key is to “be data driven, not data drowning.” The feeling of drowning is something the company is hoping to eliminate with its intuitive program, Kickboard. Founded in 2011 by Jennifer Medbery, Drop the Chalk is focused on making new, technologically advanced programs for teachers that are easy to learn, use, and master. Kickboard is its first program, and will be used in nine cities for the school year 2012-2013.

Jen Schnidman discusses Drop the Chalk

Despite its name, Kickboard is not a replacement for a teacher’s blackboard; it is a way for teachers to track, analyze, and react to data about their classrooms and the needs of specific students. That in and of itself requires an ocean of data which Kickboard allows the teacher to navigate with ease; thanks to a simple, easy-to-use interface. Things like learning trends, grade ratios between subjects, between grade levels, or anything else, can be calculated and viewed with a few clicks.

Traditional teaching methods have their fair share of disadvantages. The American educational system has remained virtually unchanged for decades. While other industries adapt to changing demands and new information, the majority of schools trudge along much as they have been. Granted, not everything about the traditional model is negative or needs to change but the Kickboard program is something new in that it supplements a teacher or administrator’s intuition about what works or does not with actual data.

The advantages to this are two-fold: first, it takes pressure off the teachers, a group of people who are already burdened with enough stress, by making new data driven methods simple and achievable; second, students will benefit from teachers whose style has been tailored to perfection. Kickboard helps to make data driven less of a buzzword and more of a reality.