Beyond the Tools: Encouraging Self-determination

Kagan Kalinyazgan, CEO, Yuce Schools and Educational Software Creator, brings an engineer’s logical perspective to education.  That means looking 20 years into the future, and educating children accordingly. In 2005, the established an educational software company, ultimately launching the Learning Cloud Network (LCloudNet) — a platform where multiple educational tools come together for students on tablet PCs.

And the results are evident.

“This project sparked a big change for the better in the way we do education,” Kalinyazgan says. “It made a tangible difference in the daily lives of students, educators and parents. The response and positive outcomes we have received so far have encouraged us to disseminate (the platform) among other schools.” Thinking beyond the tools themselves, Kagan sees a future where students take a more organic path, and are able to practice more self-determination.

“Today’s classroom concept represents a certain number of students at the same age group coming together at one location, through the same instruction, the same subject,” notes Kalinyaszgan. “If I had a chance, I would break down the classroom walls and build learning centers designed for subject areas such as Math, Science, Social Studies, Literature, and the like. Student groups would not be formed according to age, gender, academic level but they would be working on common topics according to their desires and needs.”

His inspiration comes from an unlikely place: the busy playground in his housing complex.

“I have never seen children at the same age group coming together and playing together. I always observed that children form play groups from different ages and shared interests,” Kalinyazgan says. “Future classes must follow the same natural flow depending on children’s willingness. We have to find ways to adopt the same pattern of playgrounds to schools. Students interested in a specific topic coming together at learning centers and learning collaboratively. “

What do you think about this approach?

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About Kagan Kalinyazgan
After earning a degree in civil engineering and working in the private sector for a number of years, Kagan joined YUCE in 1995. He initiated the YUCE Information Technology Academy and YUCE Information Systems. Today, he is General Manager of YUCE Inc., and is married with one son.
Birthplace:   Turkey
Current residence:  Ankara, Turkey
Education:  Engineering