BrainMatch, Inc. » Blog

Lean Business for Better Education

Charles — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 04:11:32 +0000

Here at BrainMatch, we believe that the traditional education system is broken. And like anything else that’s broken, there are really only two choices: repair or replace. Advocates who have spent their lives within the current system attempt to repair what’s wrong with it through incremental changes. Those of us outside the system can opt for something a bit more dramatic. At BrainMatch, we advocate a truly radical approach to education: entrepreneurship.

Students today grow up in an information-driven economy where their parents’ rules of ’9-to-5′ don’t apply, and the idea that they are always going to work for someone else is a dangerous assumption that leaves them ill-prepared for the world they face. BrainMatch is built to help prepare students for the real world — not a 1950′s fantasy that ends after 40 years of employment with a pension and a gold watch.

Public education was established to ensure that the average person could be a productive member of society, starting with getting and keeping a job. Over time, what those jobs demand has changed, but the education system has remained stuck in an antiquated paradigm that resembles modern reality less and less. If an educated population must be employable, then shouldn’t business be directly involved in ensuring that students are learning what really matters in the modern economy?

At BrainMatch, we believe that the “Lean Startup” models of prototyping, feedback, and iteration can and should be applied to much more than just technology startups.

By posting real world business projects to BrainMatch, not only does a company get their project completed by eager, fresh talent, but they are also helping to set a new standard for educational excellence. No more antiquated ideas or theoretical models. How do real companies get real business done? Through an on-going process of feedback and iteration until the result matches what the customer really wants. That’s what BrainMatch is about.

Instead of wandering aimlessly through school, bouncing from major to major, students who use BrainMatch to gain real world work experience can quickly figure out if their fantasy major really is a fantasy or if it’s actually a nightmare — and they can do it while making money for school, rather than taking out thousands of dollars in student loans. We call this “lean education.”

BrainMatch believes that thanks to the democratization of technology and the proliferation of communications infrastructure, the 21st Century is the era of the entrepreneur. Our old way of educating students doesn’t prepare them for a fast-moving, digitally-driven, right-brained world. And ill-prepared students are bad for business.

There is a reason that, at BrainMatch, we call what we do a win-win-win. Anything less simply isn’t good enough.

Ken Robinson on the Dangers of Standardized Testing

Charles — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 22:07:36 +0000

Sir Ken Robinson (on the Bonnie Hunt shows) discussed the dangers of standardized testing in schools, and what we should be looking for when it comes to real solutions.

TED: Sir Ken Robinson: Schools Kill Creativity

A Timeline of Education in the Future

Charles — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:28:14 +0000

A glimpse into education’s future by Dr. Moravec and Education Futures: If you haven’t seen any of his other decks, check out John Moravec’s SlideShare profile. He has some amazing stuff in there.

The Education Futures timeline of education: 1657 – 2045

View more presentations from John Moravec.

TED: Liz Coleman’s call to reinvent liberal arts education

TED: Dave Eggers’ Wish: Once Upon a School

Charles — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 02:28:30 +0000

Author and activist Dave Eggers speaks at TED about the unusual recipe that — once combined — has started to produce a fascinating cocktail of fun, inspired learning for kids (and their adult volunteers) around the country.

LIFT: Sugata Mitra Shows How Kids Teach Themselves

Gen Y’s Perception on Publishing

Charles — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:53:29 +0000

Gen Y’s Perception on Publishing: This is a great, simple video that is a powerful statement on the assumptions made by Gen X and the older generations when it comes to what we often believe is — and isn’t — important to Gen Y. …And how little it takes to turn those assumptions around.

Be sure to watch to the end of the video. It’s a great illustration.

TED: Gever Tulley teaches life lessons through tinkering

Charles — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:24:40 +0000

Gever Tulley uses engaging photos and footage to demonstrate the valuable lessons kids learn at his Tinkering School. When given tools, materials and guidance, these young imaginations run wild and creative problem-solving takes over to build unique boats, bridges and even a rollercoaster!

TED: David Merrill demos Siftables

Charles — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:54:45 +0000

MIT grad student David Merrill demos Siftables — cookie-sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands. These future-toys can do math, play music, and talk to their friends, too. Is this the next thing in hands-on learning?

TED: Mae Jemison on teaching arts and sciences together

Charles — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:51:53 +0000

Mae Jemison is an astronaut, a doctor, an art collector, a dancer … Telling stories from her own education and from her time in space, she calls on educators to teach both the arts and sciences, both intuition and logic, as one — to create bold thinker

Will Wright and the Importance of Inspiration in Education

Charles — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:11:17 +0000

TED: Arthur Benjamin’s formula for changing math education

Charles — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:45:09 +0000

Someone always asks the math teacher, “Am I going to use calculus in real life?” And for most of us, says Arthur Benjamin, the answer is no. He offers a bold proposal on how to make math education relevant in the digital age.