I.Why? - Unpack the Myth of Average
We think it's worth the 18 minutes of your time to watch Todd Rose's engaging and provocative Ted Talk "The Myth of Average" to jump start your work. Scroll halfway down the in this article that summarizes the talk to start watching or skip the article context and just watch the video.
II. Get a Handle on What Personalizing Learning Means
Before diving into creating specific resources, take a minute to define what we mean when we talk about personalized learning by reading the first section of the iNACOL document Mean What You Say. This document will serve you well when crafting a rationale for your work.
Next, walk through the 10 Trends for Personalizing Learning in 2014 to make the idea a little more concrete. You'll find some good resources linked to each of the trends.
Then, look at the chart "The Stages of Personalized Learning" as a way to assess where you and your colleagues are currently and as a tool to help you plan where you would like to be.
III. How-to Overview and Implementation Guide for Blended Learning
One way educators are tackling the transformation to personalized learning is by creating a combination of physical and virtual learning opportunities. The infographic will help you quickly see the big idea of how blended learning can support personalized pathways in your school. And, the Implementation Guide will provide steps and resources to move you forward in your quest to harness the power of technology to do so.
IV. Personal Learning Environments
The resources above helped you think about the big picture. What might a Personal Learning Environment (PLE) look like for each student as individual learners in your schools? Check out an example of a 7th grade student learning and engaging with science through her own Personal Learning Environment in the short video below.
Now read the research that details the pedagogy behind it and describes how to set it up for your students.
The Networked Student Model for Construction of Personal Learning Environments: Balancing Teacher Control and Student Autonomy Wendy Drexler, Australasian Journal of educational Technology, 2010, Volume 26 Issue 3
MGI 2014 Tech Strand UPDATED VERSION
V. What's Next? Exploring Resources and Ideas for Implementation
One way to gain access to the current thinking and implementation of Personalized Learning is to check in on the Twitter Chat #plearnchat.
Here are some resources to explore from Scoop.it that aggregate or provide access to information, apps, tools, etc. about Personalized Learning: