Eclectic Technology

This infographic, byt Mia MacMeekin, looks at personalized learning and the three areas below. In each area the question is also "How can curriculum design address personalized learning?"

What are the three areas?

* What is personalized learning

* How to personalize learning

* Examples of personalized learning

In each of these areas she also looks at the How, What, When, Where, and Why, providing key words or phrases that help you dig a little deeper into the subject.

Mia MacMeekin has provided an infographic that you could share with others in your building. Today we are asked to personalize curriculum, but support is not always available. This visual will help you better understand some key concepts, and provide you with ideas on how you might move forward.

Have you thought about what the characteristics of a highly effective learning environment are? This post may provide many ideas for you. Several of the characteristics are listed below. You will find many more in the post as well as some detailed descriptions.

* The students ask the questions—good questions. Do your students know how to ask good questions?  Do you know how to teach them to ask good questions? Are they supported when they ask questions?

* Ideas come from a divergent sources. Are we asking students to use multiple sources and to see more than one view of an issue?

* Criteria for success is balanced and transparent. This is a tougher one to meet (based on the post). Do your students understand the criteria for success?

As we come to the end of this school year this is a great time to reflect and think about what we might change next year. Looking through these 10 characteristics may lead you to some changes in your classroom next year.

This post is split into three sections. The first section looks at the term "culturally responsive instruction" and provides not only a definition but also a list of ten characteristics that provide a more robust understanding.

The second section provides a look at "common assumptions placed on students from other cultures." Eleven common misconceptions are shared (based on research from the Center for Research on Teaching and Learning at the University of Michigan.

The final section has 30 recommended instructional strategies. The post states "The cultural inclusiveness of a learning environment will depend upon the kinds of interactions that occur among you and your students." The post discusses the various types of interactions that may take place and then provides a lit of the recommended strategies. Three are listed below. All are briefly discussed in the post.

* Anticipate possible responses to controversial topics.

* Be ready to challenge assumptions that groups will either be aided or hindered by having certain kinds of students in their group.

Why would we want to use next gen tools in our classroom? One reason is they provide a richer experience for our students, richer content, potentially richer discussions, and more as well as the fact that these tools are often multi-disciplinary and multi-sensory.

The 25 tools listed here address large parts of the curriculum as well as grade levels. Five are listed below. Click through to the post to learn more about them and twenty more.

* PBS for Educators has many resources available. This post highlights three specifically: Point of View (which is geared to older students); SCI Girls (think STEM); and Daily News Story (as you probably guessed we are talking current events).

* Big History Project goal is to develop a full curriculum for high school. At this point they have four key areas: the universe, or solar system and Earth, Life and Humans, with a total of seven "threshholds."

* Do you want your students to publish work online? Consider checking out EduBlog, KidBlog and Blogger?

Have fun exploring and teach your students (and yourself) some next gen tools!

Have you considered how empathy may be an important component of your classroom? Should it be a "concern of educators"? Should it be "intentionally used as a primary instructional strategy?"

This post looks at these questions and provides a number of definitions for empathy as well as benefits of empathy in teaching and learning. There is also an excellent short animated video from RSA Shorts - The Power of Empathy.

This is the first of four infographics that will be published on personalized learning. The focus for this is providing a definition, providing examples of what it may look like in a classroom, and providing solutions and resources.

Many of us believe that personalized learning is new, but according to this post it has been around since the early 1990s. For more information click through to the post.

Getting Smart has published an infographic that not only looks at deeper learning and provides an overview but also provides links to 20 schools across the US which have put deeper learning into practice. Learn about strategies that promote deeper learning, deeper learning competencies and click through to the schools (located in 13 states) to learn more from their websites. To access these sites you must download the pdf version of this infographic, available on the site or by at this address: http://gettingsmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/FINAL-Deeper-Learning-Infographic.pdf