Computerized Grit & Snake Oil

At last! Students can learn grit on their computers!!

EduGuide (Motto: One more company that figured out how to work "edu" into its name!) is proud to announce "The nonprofit, evidence-based online training program that strengthens core learning skills." So, with trembling, excited fingers, I am going to scroll down this very long page and see what the secret of teaching grit with a computer might be!

I google-learned that EduGuide is out of Lansing, MI, and "has been recognized for Distinguished Achievement by the School Public Relations Association." Their funders have included Kellogg, Ford and Google. In 2012 Lumina gave them 155K "to provide an online and mobile platform that enables college access programs to multyiply their reach, contact hours, manpower and collaborative impact in a measurable and scalable way." So these guys sound like loads of fun!


But how does the program work? Scrolling.... oh wait. Here we go! "How It Works!"

     1) Engage. Students do on-line activities 15+ minutes weekly
     2) Interact. Teachers and other partners interact with students on their activities
     3) Grow. Attitudes shift; behavior changes. Students grow; achievement goes up.
     4) Persist. Each year students tackle new activities, proactively preparing them for bigger challenges.

So, magic. Let's keep scrolling. Maybe there will be-- nope. Here's a quote from the founders of Grittology, the inscrutable Duckworth and Quinn. Now we're going to the research section. Says EduGuide, "EduGuide's activities are based on more than a decade of evidence on how to change students' mindsets and the passion they bring to challenging work and long term goals." So, our answer to the question "What research is behind this?" is "There is research behind this!"

OH NO MY EYES!! "Go deeper to reach students where they're at."  As I've been known to tell my students, it sure is a good thing they included that "at" because if they had just said "reach students where they are" nobody would have had any idea what they were talking about. (And before you go running to the comments section, professional copy writers are totally subject to kibbitzing by grammar/usage nazis.)

Had enough vague advertising snake oily blather yet? But wait-- there's more. This as yet unnamed program will save you time two ways. 1) "EduGuide's ready-made activities mean you can put students right to work without a lot of preparation, knowing the innovative online system ensures fidelity to the research model." I have several resources like this. They're called "books," but okay. 2) "The activities do double duty by meeting core curriculum requirements for critical thinking and reflective writing with multimedia informational text." So, this stuff is infused with CCSS-ready magic, buzzword buzzword.

And it just keeps going. The mystery program is like strength training. And there are many quotes from satisfied customers. There's a list of features including "On-call support during business hours" and (my favorite) "Impact guarantee." EduGuide says your students will be noticeably improved within a year, or your money back. That is highlighted by a gold seal with spikey edges (like a picture of the sun) that says "100% satisfaction guarantee," and I'm convinced, because nobody would make a graphic like that if they weren't confident.

Finally, the FAQ (which I'm guessing don't include "Can you say offer even one actual specific about this program"). From the FAQ, we can gather that this is basically a collection of computer-delivered (because a worksheet on a computer is a technologically forward learning experience) fifteen minute lessons that you can do often or not, for longer than fifteen minute spans, or not. You can use them in middle, high or college schools. Your cloud based worksheets software comes with a personal EduGuides Results Choice, who will come hang out and provide support in ways that are totes different from, say, a company sales rep.

How do they know it works?

The activities are based on more than a decade of research on exercises that have increased student GPA by .3 grade points, improved academic behaviors, increased degree completion and closed achievement gaps by as much as half.

Increased GPA by .3!!!! Wait! Wait!! I want to buy stock in this company! No wait-- I can't because it's a nonprofit. Regular folks think "nonprofit" means "We will never charge more for our product than it costs to make it, and if we accidentally make money, we will give it to some charity that buys puppies for orphans." Of course, "nonprofit" actually means, "I don't have to share this pile of money with stockholders or anybody else-- it's mine, mine, all mine!!" So someone at EduGuide is going to get rich because-- .3!!

So we're at the bottom of the page, and still not a hint about what the program actually does. Gee, can we at least have one last blast or corporate ad copy?

EduGuide’s system has been designed to deliver these activities with fidelity and to amplify their impact with the unique features of our online platform. Thanks to multiple national grants we’ve been able to research, design, develop and scale this model to deepen its impact. 

Hey, nobody could possibly write that unless they knew the secret of grit. And yet, I can't help but admire how that exact copy could be used to sell pretty much anything. It will be handy when we've dropped grit and moved on to the next big thing-- these guys won't have to alter their ad copy at all. So I guess that's a practical display of grit, or testicle, or something profitable.

To provide an online and mobile platform that enables college access programs to multiply their reach, contact hours, manpower and collaborative impact in a measurable and scalable way. - See more at: http://www.luminafoundation.org/luminagrants/eduguide_lansing_mi/#sthash.uDgeH5Og.dpuf

To provide an online and mobile platform that enables college access programs to multiply their reach, contact hours, manpower and collaborative impact in a measurable and scalable way. - See more at: http://www.luminafoundation.org/luminagrants/eduguide_lansing_mi/#sthash.uDgeH5Og.dpuf

To provide an online and mobile platform that enables college access programs to multiply their reach, contact hours, manpower and collaborative impact in a measurable and scalable way. - See more at: http://www.luminafoundation.org/luminagrants/eduguide_lansing_mi/#sthash.uDgeH5Og.dpuf