Learning Gets Personal
September 23, 2016
It's what we all want... Student Engagement!
As schools have been working to develop their vision for personalized learning and their problem of practice there are several themes that seem to crop up frequently. One of the things I hear most often is, "We need a way for our students to be more engaged and own their learning." So, how can you tell the difference between students who are truly engaged, and those who are just on-task?
As a teacher, when people walked in to my room, they would often comment on how my students were very engaged in their learning. And they were engaged, in the sense that they were on task and they were learning the material. They were very high achieving and exceeded traditional measures for academic success. But despite the fact that they were doing well, I sometimes felt that they really “plugged in” when they were at home. When they were at home, they were able to pursue their interests and be creative. They went online to learn about the things that interested them and they spent large amounts of time truly engaged in learning and creating digital content. I wanted to find a way to tap into my students’ drive to learn, while they were at school. Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey describe this as the continuum of engagement. There is a difference between students who are "compliant" and those who are in the "flow" of learning. Personalized learning has tremendous potential to help us move students from being compliant to being truly engaged in their learning.
Best,
Heather Van Looy
Note: The professional learning department is offering a Personalized Learning Pathway led by Barbara Bray & Kathleen McClaskey. See below or click here for more information.
4 Go-To Strategies for Engaging Digital Learners
Today’s students live in a world of constant stimulation. Whether it’s Xbox, social media, or television, students have continuous access to highly enticing visual information, entertainment, and connectivity with friends.
How do your teachers capture students’ attention and engage them amid all the distractions? Click here to read more...
Golden Rules for Engaging Students in Learning Activities
When we think of student engagement in learning activities, it is often convenient to understand engagement with an activity as being represented by good behavior (i.e. behavioral engagement), positive feelings (i.e. emotional engagement), and, above all, student thinking (i.e. cognitive engagement) (Fredricks, 2014). This is because students may be behaviorally and/or emotionally invested in a given activity without actually exerting the necessary mental effort to understand and master the knowledge, craft, or skill that the activity promotes. Click here to read more...
Continuum of Engagement: From Compliant to Flow
Spotlight on Schools: River Trail
Important Announcements
Reflect & Iterate Webinars for Launch, Group 1, & Group 2 Schools
Celebrating our PL "Bright Spots!"
FCS Application Marketplace
The FCS application marketplace is a resource to find information about district applications, both instructional and non-instructional. It can be leveraged by school leaders, teachers and others to determine if a website or other software has been purchased for use or submitted for inclusion. Have an application you want added to the marketplace? Follow these steps!
Ready to Distribute Devices... Get the Updated User Agreements Here!
Upcoming Professional Learning
Microsoft Hack the Classroom
By attending Microsoft's Hack the Classroom online event, you will:
- Hear from inspiring speakers and thought leading educators
- Learn from innovative teachers by taking a glimpse into their classrooms to see how small changes result in huge student impact
- Engage, interact, and pose questions with speakers and other educators
- Gain access to professional development resources and tools to get started
View the full agenda and inspiring speakers.
Saturday, Sep 24, 2016, 11:00 AM
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Instructional Tools for Personalized Learning: Insights from a Student and Superintendent
Thursday, October 20, 2016
6:00p.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET (register)
On Thursday, October 20, 2016 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET, the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) is hosting a Teacher Talk Webinar to share insights on instructional tools for personalized learning.
How can teachers create a classroom environment that enables student voice and choice, deeper learning and agency, while ensuring students develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions that lead to success?
Join this webinar to hear from Brooke Berry, a middle school student at Eminence Independent School District, and her father Buddy Berry, Superintendent at Eminence Independent School District, about instructional tools designed for personalized learning.
Teachers will learn how to embed tools and practices into their pedagogical approaches to create powerful, personalized learning opportunities for all students. Buddy will discuss how to empower teachers to make the shift toward personalized learning, and Brooke will share tools and instructional examples for teachers to bring back to their own students, including project-based learning, passion projects and more.
This webinar is free to attend-participants are invited to register here for final details and login information.
Edcamp Fulton
Personalized Learning Pathway
Professional Learning has a wonderful learning opportunity coming up, focusing on Personalized Learning. Please click the link or image below to access the informational flyer for the new Personalized Learning Pathway. Please help us promote this opportunity within your departments and instructional teams you support!
Personalized Learning Environments by Design
Ridgeview MS, Room 202
Middle School Session - 8:30 - 11:30 a.m.
High School Session - 12:30 - 3:30 p.m.
How does your classroom facilitate a successful personalized learning environment (PLE)? Through a creative and disciplined approach attendees will explore the latest brain research, design elements, and best-practices required to successfully manage and sustain the PLE. Attendees will leave with a ready-to-implement technology-based learning environment matrix.
Instructional Technology Trainings
Microsoft School Leaders Academy
Bear Creek
8:30-3:30
Getting Started with Office 365
Centennial HS
8:30-11:30
OneNote Class Notebook
Centennial HS
12:30-3:30
Getting Started with Office 365
Westlake HS
8:30-11:30
OneNote Class Notebook
Westlake HS
12:30-3:30
Intro to SAFARI Montage
Ridgeview MS
8:30-11:30 or 12:30-3:30
Tuesday, Oct 11, 2016, 12:00 AM
Various Locations
Helpful Links
Questions?
Heather Van Looy, Ed.S.
Fulton County Schools
Email: vanlooy@fultonschools.org
Website: https://employees.fultonschools.org/academics/Personalized%20Learning/Pages/default.aspx
Location: 6201 Powers Ferry Road, Atlanta, GA 30339
Phone: 470-254-6899
Twitter: @heathervanlooy