75. Building & Strengthening Students’ Networks: A Conversation with Julia Freeland Fisher

The Disruptive Voice

In this conversation, hosted by Michael Horn, Julia builds on her foundational statement, “Opportunity really sits at the intersection of what you know and who you know.” Together, they discuss the important distinctions between our strong tie and weak tie networks; innovation in education; the ed tech market and which tools are best suited for network building, and in which circumstances; the Cadillac versus the KIA of mentoring organizations and strategies; performance metrics; the rise of chat bots, and more! Julia also shines a light on the new playbook created by The Clayton Christensen Institute, designed to support K-12 and post-secondary leadership in the implementation and adaptation of strategies, tools, and metrics that build and strengthen their students’ networks. The disruption story here lies in the potential not of putting all relationships online but rather exploiting technology’s competitive advantage to diversify our weak tie networks, which are most helpful for creating opportunities that may otherwise be out of reach. Listen to learn more about steps we can take to help ensure that every student graduates with the networks needed to thrive!