Last week, we were guests of Regency Beauty Institute and Cambio Education at the unveiling of a new way to look at school. What we learned was invaluable.

Anyone can say they’re using iPads and iPods for education purposes, but J. Hayes Baston and team are not doing that. They’re doing more. A few years ago, Baston was invited to Washington DC to talk with other education leaders. While there, it seems as if he had a vision.

Companies like Google, Apple, GE and 3M all invest billions in research and development. The goal is to find better ways to do things. Better products to make so our lives are enriched. Why on earth doesn’t education invest a fraction in R&D compared to those other innovators?

That’s where Baston picked up.

While sitting in our third balcony seats, Geoff and I witnessed a leader in education throw away the system, and focus on learning.

This summer, Regency Beauty Institute, with Cambio Education, will be launching an entire platform to create not just better students, but better people. By focusing on three core problems, they think they can solve education.

Focused Teaching.

Faster Learning.

More Fun.

These three tenants are their focus, and they solve it not by “using apps”, but by developing an ecosystem of learning and teaching. From an administrative side, there’s no more paperwork, and teachers spend more time with their students. Focused on teaching. The teachers have the ability to manage everything while on the go, so that less time is spent on administration, and students get more learning opportunities. Time saved means closer connections with students, and a focus on teaching. Huge.

By itself, that’d be enough to make a dent.

With a product called Filmbook, students will bypass lectures and get straight to learning at their own pace. Structured content with embedded quizzes and gut checks. Interactive, animation based tools that show not only great content, but make it rememberable. More clarity provides Faster Learning. More Context creates Faster Learning. More comprehension makes Faster Learning. And integrating checks and balances into the curriculum on the fly makes for Faster Learning.

And, it makes it more fun.

With these two tools, it can be more than a dent and start real change. But that wasn’t enough for Baston and team.

Studio Luma is the third part of answering a complex problem. How in the world do you make these things matter, and stay interesting? By essentially creating a mini-TV series, naturally. By creating a fictional salon, Regency students are able to take a peek at what salon life is, and give them real world scenarios without fear of it being the real world. From dealing with difficult clients, to how to run a salon, this mini series is not a small undertaking.

It’s real world. It’s emotional. And, even I wanted to watch more.

We’re happy to be a small part of this, but more importantly we’re thrilled at the prospect of changing education. Taking a hard to learn skill and providing a real opportunity for success is paramount.

Anyone can put iPads in classrooms. Only some people can change education. Kudos to Regency Beauty Institute and Cambio Education for thinking differently.