Digital Learning Leader

To make your own please see the Portfolio page!

Purpose of this website: 

The concept of a digital  learning leader is a professional who brings to an organization a strong portfolio that demonstrates their contribution to teaching and learning. These leaders partner with a teacher, trainer, or instructor to fold in a wide variety of learning strategies in virtual and even face to face learning environments. They may work in K-12 schools, universities, business organizations, government entities or startups where any kind of teaching and learning is happening.

The major difference in their role from other specialists is that they roll up their sleeves alongside a regular instructor to enhance, redesign, or build a much deeper learning experience for the student. They go beyond observation and advice; beyond introducing a technology; beyond duplicating past practice from face to face into online experiences. To the planning, teaching and assessment of a learning experience they bring instructional design skills, technologies, learning strategies, social and emotional learning, and a major concern for equity for every student. They combine their expertise with that of their partner as they work to mentor each learner toward excellence.

Persons interested in building such a portfolio include school librarians,  technology specialists, instructional coaches, administrators who oversee instructional quality, industry trainers, government agency instructors...anyone interested in demonstrating their knowledge and skill in building deep learning through technology.

The model below can be used by the digital learning leader to document their expertise in partnering on many types of learning experiences in any type of organization intent on education and training of young people or adults.

Below, find the six types of learning experiences that Digital Learning Leaders enhance on a regular basis:  https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1zcxvKG1cJi4-AHQXNkhy8N_hFiu_5Q7DYIszqfdCwq0/edit?usp=sharing 

For sample deep learning experiences, see the Digital Learning Showcase website at: https://sites.google.com/view/digitallearningshowcae/home 

Perspectives on School Librarian Employment in the United States, 2009-10 to 2018-19

This major study don by Keith Curry Lance looks at the decline of credentialed school librarians across the U.S. at: https://libslide.org/publications/perspectives/ 


 Watch for the launch of Hello Genius Nov 17, 2020 associated with the late Sir Ken Robinson at: https://www.schoolandcollegelistings.com/XX/Unknown/104648021002212/Hello-Genius   

Education Reimagined: The Future of Learning is a major report is a major report that looks not only at the current global pandemic problem but looks beyond to much deeper learning in education.  See the report at: . http://aka.ms/hybridlearningpaper 

Check out the role of the Technology coach  and the Digital  Learning Project at: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-09-02-how-personalized-coaching-can-kick-start-your-school-s-pd?utm_source=EdSurgeInnovate&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=09-16-20&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTUdJd04yWTROR0ZoTkdFMCIsInQiOiJCbDZTdndkRlNDcVlsQVwvS2grYitna2VuVlhDT1wveEt4ZUc2a21tdmEyVDJacHFzMTVuV2tBZ1JZY3V6cHRqckJHSFlBY3JubTduRzBXNXR6b1VYZWRlZU5YaDllMVpNQlBzRG5NRDNOc1NIMjFNdk1vMUZHOU9xY3ZtWXJJNTFcLyJ9

Note that the tech coach is not taking responsibility for the actual amount of learning by students, whereas, the Digital Learning Leader pictured in this website would partner to  make an impact on every leader in a  particular learning experience.

Check out this August, 2020 report about the future of education :

https://assets.imaginablefutures.com/media/documents/Learning_Reimagined_Radical_Thinking_for_Equitable_Futures.pdf 

Also, here are the values of this company  known as imaginable Futures that has worked with Ideo on this project:

Compassionate  changemakers

Justice seekers

Inclusive Collaborators


Jamie Merisotis on Human Work in the Age of Smart Machines is an incredible rethinking of the nature of learning, working and serving to collaborate with machines to solve many problems and develop a new view of democratic society.

      https://vimeo.com/470273635?utm_source=Smart+Update&utm_campaign=d0da36545a-SMART_UPDATE_2020_10_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_17bb008ec3-d0da36545a-321306465 

Create a new high school conversation with four powerhouse idea  innovators

https://vimeo.com/490769260

Grasp : The Science Transforming How We Learn by Sarma and Luke Yoquinto.

This podcast interview is interesting but the book is better. The book traces the history of educational theory and offers a five step look into learning based on the best of what we know from the learning sciences. 

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-12-22-forgetting-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-how-the-brain-grasps-new-concepts?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=104068112&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-96eemrljE5ZPy0wLdFhuNOKemsVxvI2XEXdvv4qDTn5B35bEAY5fgKgDh8rG66v626ZP7eyCM8M_k2qW4mNPyefYNKHA&utm_content=104068112&utm_source=hs_email 

Project based learning in the Iowa BIG schools at: https://vimeo.com/504559757 

Interview with the founder of TKS learning society about opportunities for teens in making a difference: https://vimeo.com/507633391 

Tom Vander Ark is a constructivist and has written the excellent book: Difference Making in 2020. Almost every week for the past months, he interviews like-minded educators who are trying to change education today.  The interviews are very worth the time:

https://www.gettingsmart.com/inventionopportunity/ 

Look at this new report issued today  by the Gates Foundation: 20 Invention Opportunities in Learning and Development at: https://www.gettingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/GS_InventionOpportunities_FINAL.pdf 

PICRAT Model of Technology: https://youtu.be/bfvuG620Bto 

Provides a guide to classifying technology uses in learning

The role of instructional coach, teacher librarian, and a digital learning leader are entertwined.  Do you qualify for any one of these titles?  Here are a list of ten questions you might be asked in an interview to become an instructional coach.  It might help you prepare: https://www.edutopia.org/article/9-questions-youll-be-asked-instructional-coach-interview?utm_content=linkpos6&utm_source=edu-legacy&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly-2021-12-15