If you wait until you’re ready for personalized learning, you’ll never get started! Personalized Learning Education Educators Leaders innovationOur antiquated, factory-style education system is failing our students. It’s also failing our teachers. We have more and more students each year struggling to find relevance and connections between what they do in school each day and their future hopes and dreams. MORE

It is part of a series about the Building Blocks for Personalized Learning. Although it may seem unusual to connect collaboration to the practice of personalized learning, it is important to remember that students don’t learn within a vacuum. MORE

Up until that point, I would look at a picture and judge its impact based on my own personal interest or something of beauty that I saw in the photo. After nearly two decades of refining my skill set in the field of photography, I’ve learned that the photos that leave the greatest impression on the viewer actually follow very technical photography rules. Personalized Learning MORE

Every time I work with a school district, I hope that they learn from me because I learn from them. Recently, in Del Mar Schools, Laura Spencer shared their idea of “personalization” of learning. Don’t forget the person in the word “personalized.” MORE

on Thursday night of Education Elements' 3rd Annual Personalized Learning Summit. Personalized Learning Blended Learning Education Education Elements School Districts communicationsEpic Lip Sync Battle. I almost feel like I could both start and end this post with just those 4 words and a short description of what it was like to be in a room full of educators singing and dancing their hearts out (some in costume!) MORE

“You can’t buy personalized learning…” I read this statement by Richard Culatta recently and it really resonated with me because personalizing learning is about skilled teachers, not students working on computers for a large part of a day. Good teachers are a crucial element of personalized learning. Personalized Learning MORE

Personalized LearningImagine you’re exploring a new place. It’s exciting, but unfamiliar and so remote that you’ve lost cell service. How do you get where you’re going? Chances are, you’ll seek out an expert - someone who knows the lay of the land and can give you directions. Once you’ve found the corner gas station and asked for assistance, what will your expert guide tell you? MORE

In the three-plus years since introducing Personalized Learning (PL) in individual schools within a large public school system, the Imaginarium, Denver Public Schools’ (DPS) innovation lab, has been studying the conditions that help and hinder the implementation of PL at scale. Personalized Learning MORE

Personalized Learning is coming to life in innovative classrooms across the country and Highlight is here to help. Personalized Learning Highlight PLP EdTech MORE

I was blessed to become a Personalized Learning Lexington Education Leadership Award Fellow (2nd Class) back in December of 2015. Education Elements not only influenced my personal work, but it motivated me to make learning meaningful for my students (all 4,970) in an exceptional way. My work in personalized learning has been inspirational in my district. If you ask if leaders embed small group learning into their districts, the answer will be yes. MORE

Merriam-Webster defines a superhero as an exceptionally skillful or successful person and that is exactly what West Fork High School is producing in our Personalized Learning Academy (PLA)! Designing and implementing personalized learning (PL) in my classroom is intense and I would love to increase my superpowers by attending the PL Summit. Personalized Learning Teachers Personalized Classroom MORE

Personalized Learning Curriculum ClassroomsThe world of work is changing. As we integrate into a global community, we’re tasked to work together to solve complex problems. Our solutions can be innovative and represent multiple perspectives if we know how to maximize group work. With so many benefits to a collaborative environment, why is it so challenging? MORE

Try as I might to set up my classroom for those students, it never failed that once I got to know them, I’d redesign the learning environment to better meet their needs. Regardless, the way I set up my classroom was entirely dependent on the needs, interests, and personalities of the learners inside. Personalized LearningAs the 2018-2019 school year begins, I can’t help but think back to my years in the classroom and the days and weeks leading up to a new school year. MORE

When we work with school districts to embark on a personalized learning journey, we empower students to be self-directed, independent, motivated, and well-versed in articulating and sharing ideas. Personalized Learning Education Educators LeadersWe encourage students to reflect on their own performance data and collaboratively plan an academic path forward that meets their needs. Yet we don’t build that sort of student agency when it comes to behavior and discipline. MORE

It has been demonstrated that any classroom can implement blended learning and, when done well, get superior results. Personalized learning is now part of an increasing number of district and school strategic plans. Personalized Learning Personalized Classroom EdTech MORE

Since 2010 Education Elements has supported more than 150 districts, 600 schools, and 550,000 students with personalized learning implementations. Through our work with schools and districts across the country, we established the Core Four of Personalized Learning : four key elements that we believe ensure that personalized learning is implemented with high fidelity and success. Personalized Learning MORE

In 2015 we published the first edition of our Personalized Learning Implementation Framework (aka PL Framework) based on lessons learned from working with schools and districts over the previous five years. Personalized Learning Leaders School DistrictsAt that time I shared how the PL Implementation Framework was inspired by my Grandma Rose’s love of bingo and the idea that, much like on a bingo board, there are many ways to “win” on the PL Framework. MORE

We are amazed and inspired by all the passion, leadership and innovation in the personalized learning space reflected in the Bring Your Own Thoughts (BYOT) blog. While we can’t say enough good things about every blog that’s been shared, here are the top 10 most popular posts from the past year: Personalized Learning Blog Education Leaders MORE

This week saw the release of the third in a series of personalized learning studies conducted by the RAND Foundation. The research analyzed implementation, survey, and efficacy data in a sample of schools that are part of the Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) portfolio, and compared that data to a national sample of schools. Advocates for and critics against personalized learning will inevitably interpret these findings in wildly different ways. MORE

One of the major complaints that I have heard in my community as we have adopted personalized learning relates to the idea that personalized learning means that we are adopting technology and getting rid of teachers. There may be some places that are doing that, but my vision for personalized learning doesn’t include removing teachers – instead, it requires asking even more of teachers. Personalized Learning Classrooms MORE

We hear all the time “You’ve seen districts implement personalized learning all across the country - give it to us straight - how do we compare?” Whether districts are just getting started and dipping a toe into personalized learning, or are reflecting on several successful years of implementation and searching for ways to go deeper, district leaders want to know how their progress compares to national benchmarks. Personalized Learning Leaders School Districts MORE

Learn to Voice Type. However, you do have to learn how to speak your punctuation. This “Swiss Army knife” artificial intelligence learning assistant can do so much. It defines words and makes a personal word dictionary. Learn to Screencast. MORE

Education Elements put together a few of our favorites on personalized and blended learning just for you. You’ll start the 2017-18 school year refreshed and full of great ideas to continue to move forward with personalized learning at your school and across your district. Personalized Learning LeadersIf you’re like us, as you wind down another hectic school year, you’re imagining yourself on a beach with a few good reads. But what books will make the cut? MORE

Each year we receive hundreds of questions along the lines of, “Okay…so what does personalized learning actually look like?”. One is that personalized learning always involves these core four elements - targeted instruction, data-driven decisions, flexible content, and student reflection and ownership. Personalized Learning School Districts Classrooms MORE

Personal Learning Networks (PLNs) are the groups of people around us that help us develop skills and knowledge. Many teachers are now learning from each other online. But my favourite way of learning is through Twitter chats. MORE

Personalized Learning Education Horry County SchoolsIt was so exciting for me to visit South Carolina for the first time last month. What was most exciting was that I got to join the Ed Elements team at our partner Horry County Schools (HCS), South Carolina’s third largest district. HCS has 54 schools, 2,700 teachers and more than 40,000 K-12 students. MORE

You can encourage parents to avoid this by asking questions connected to personalized learning. Remind them that in their child’s classroom, teachers and students are working together to include four elements of personalized learning. Personalized Learning core fourThis scenario is all too familiar. Children spend a day at school and then have nothing to report. How is this possible? MORE

Interest in personalized learning continues to surge all across the country. However, not everyone understands what personalized learning looks like or the changes it will necessitate, and people are often wary of what they don’t understand. So how we talk about personalized learning can either engage families or push them away. Personalized Learning MORE

It was about a year ago that I took the plunge and implemented personalized learning in my classroom. Under the guidance of and support from Kelly Freiheit at Education Elements, my traditional third grade classroom has evolved into a personalized learning classroom that has changed the way my students learn. Personalized Learning ClassroomsThat decision turned out to be one of the best I’ve made in my sixteen years as an educator. MORE

In Harrisburg we have been implementing personalized learning for a little over 5 years. In our 5 years of implementation we have learned a ton and have started to create a solid roll out plan: Personalized Learning Classrooms MORE

In year one of being a personalized learning school, I have had many reflective moments like this at Trailside Middle School. Students engage in selecting their pathway for learning, collaborating, questioning, and self-assessing all day long. Teachers have assumed the role of facilitator and students are owners of their learning. Personalized Learning Blended Learning Education Education Elements School Districts communications MORE

Personalized Learning CognitionIt must be hard to be a cognitive scientist. You spend considerable time meticulously conducting research, designing experiments, summarizing findings, and publishing your work, all in the noble pursuit of furthering human understanding of how the mind works. But that's not enough. In fact, that’s the easy part. The hard part: getting millions of teachers (there are 3.4 million in the U.S. alone) to. MORE

This is especially true for leaders introducing personalized learning into their organizations. I often have a front-row seat to the resulting backlash and chaos that stems from leaders as they help their districts make shifts toward personalizing learning for students. Although the specific challenges that each district faces may differ, one lesson is clear: how personalized learning is introduced into a community matters. Personalized Learning MORE

Personalized Learning Leaders School DistrictsAt Education Elements we are incredibly fortunate to work with so many exceptional, passionate, and extraordinarily talented people, including teachers, coaches, principals, and district leaders. These amazing people are going above and beyond to transform education, and are helping to write the future through the success of their students. MORE

I hear educators across the country telling themselves the same lie: “I would love to personalize learning for students, but I can’t because I don’t have the technology.” Personalized Learning Blended Learning Education School Districts EdTech communicationsI was lying to myself and didn’t even realize it. After completing numerous 5K and 10K runs, I was considering taking my running to the next level by training for my first half marathon. MORE

As an increasing number of schools and classrooms shift to personalized learning across the country, educators face many questions. Many of these questions focus on the need to define the purpose of curriculum, digital content, and tools in a personalized learning setting. While educators are certainly familiar with the use of curriculum in a traditional classroom, a shift to personalized learning brings up new questions like: Personalized Learning Curriculum MORE

In the middle of January, with little daylight and plenty of snow, we began the process of bringing together the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District community to learn about personalized learning. Personalized Learning LeadershipWith a week of workshops, board sessions and community nights behind us, we realized that over the course of a few days we significantly moved forward work that would impact our 14,000 students for the rest of their lives. MORE

It is part of a series about the Building Blocks for Personalized Learning. Although it may seem unusual to connect collaboration to the practice of personalized learning, it is important to remember that students don’t learn within a vacuum. MORE

The philosophies and strategies of the Coca-Cola Company played a large role in our upbringing and now shape our work as leaders of personalized learning. We've crafted 5 lessons inspired by Coca-Cola which we hope you will find useful, no matter where you are on your personalized learning journey. Personalized Learning MORE

Personalized learning is quickly gaining steam among educators, philanthropists, and policymakers. And without that theoretical underpinning, scaling personalized learning approaches with predictable quality will remain challenging. MORE