Facebook develops free student-directed learning system

New York

FACEBOOK is out to upend the traditional student-teacher relationship.

On Tuesday, Facebook and Summit Public Schools, a non-profit charter school network with headquarters in Silicon Valley, announced that nearly 120 schools planned this autumn to introduce a free student-directed learning system developed jointly by the social network and the charter schools.

Rather than have teachers hand out class assignments, the Facebook-Summit learning management system puts students in charge of selecting their projects and setting their pace. The idea…