My New “First Day of School” Experience

My New First Day of School Experience
by Dria Setter, Professional Development Specialist As a new(er) member of the professional development team at the Institute for Personalized Learning, this is the first year I didn’t experience your traditional first day of school. I honestly wasn't sure how I would feel about it. After 18 years, I didn’t experience the bustle of 500 students through the front door with looks of excitement, bew...
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Scouts, Pioneers and Settlers: The Wild, Wild West of Personalized Learning

Wild West of Personalized Learning
Watching the growth and spread of personalized learning in Southeastern Wisconsin has been an amazing experience. In less than five years the movement has grown from an urgent call to action with a vision of redesigning education around the learner to a strong and growing movement transforming the practices of almost a thousand educators and the more than 14,000 learners whose lives they touch. ...
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I Know What I Did This Summer

2014 Summer Camp
By Kim Jenkins, Assistant Director The breeze is warm, some kids are walking up the path to go for a swim in the pool and I’ve landed a nice spot under a large oak tree.  Given the beautiful day my mind starts to drift off a bit as I think about the kids that just walked past -- school will start for them in a couple of weeks and I wonder what their classroom will look like, I wonder if they wi...
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Something in Common

Sam Chaltain, a DC-based writer and education activist, is scheduled to be the keynote presenter at our 4th Annual Fall Convening on November 5, 2013, so we have been following his work and writings. Sam has a regular blog on EdWeek and I recently came across a post that has several connections to the work underway as part of the Personalized Learning Initiative. In it, he summarizes the 10 part v...
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When Common Language is Not Enough

We hear often of the need for “common language” when embarking on new learning and innovation. We need to be able to describe what we are doing in ways that can be shared, documented and built upon. Once established, common language can serve as a short cut to communicate about the work, share learning and document experience. The work around Personalized Learning is no exception. Terms can be ...
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