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The Digital Backpack
Your resource for online learning
Your trusted source for K-12 online learning insights, teaching strategies, and success stories from Michigan’s leading virtual education provider. Join us as we explore innovative approaches to help students thrive in the digital age.
21st-century skills: What are they, how should I teach them, and why are they important?
Nikolas McGehee
What are 21st-century skills?There have been many substantial changes in the world at large, but especially in education, over the past few years. With so many things rapidly changing, one of the only
A roadmap to K-12 innovation: Three takeaways from Michael Horn’s latest masterpiece
Michigan Virtual
Here are our top takeaways from educational futurist Michael Horn's latest book, which offers a practical roadmap to K-12 innovation for school leaders.
Time for Teachers: Self-Assessment with Community Support as Individual Solutions
Ed Timke
Educators often cite a lack of time as one of their most significant stressors. How can we help teachers find the balance necessary to feel satisfied in their jobs and meet their social and emotional needs? This third post in the Time for Teachers blog series will discuss the importance of a self-assessment in addressing individual problems and solutions teachers face. This is not to say the onus of addressing challenges should fall squarely on the shoulders of individual teachers. Teachers need a community of practice and support to help them identify problems they might face individually that could benefit from solutions that come from consulting with colleagues.
Time for Teachers: Agile Meetings and Short Pulse Surveys as Systemic Solutions
Ed Timke
Educators often cite a lack of time as one of their most significant stressors. How can we help teachers find the balance necessary to feel satisfied in their jobs and meet their social and emotional needs? This second post in the Time for Teachers blog series will discuss two possible solutions that can help all educators save time while addressing needs to serve students and communities: agile meetings and short pulse surveys.
8 go-to SEL tools for teachers
Nikolas McGehee
Social emotional learning — also known as “SEL” — is a component of education that addresses the traditionally non-academic side of student development and learning.The idea is that children should ha
Effective Practices in Professional Learning Course Design: Course Content
Christa Green
Based on direct input from learners via end-of-course survey data, Michigan Virtual’s Instructional Product Development team gleaned the effective practices outlined in this blog in order to improve their course development and better meet the needs of the educators whom they serve.
Effective Practices in Professional Learning Course Design: Assessments, Format, Structure, and Appearance
Christa Green
Based on direct input from learners via end-of-course survey data, Michigan Virtual’s Instructional Product Development team gleaned the effective practices outlined in this blog in order to improve their course development and better meet the needs of the educators whom they serve.
Step 2: How do we gain an empathetic understanding of the problem at hand?
You’ve already completed the first step of this process – immersion. You’ve immersed yourself in the problem at hand and discovered the right questions to ask. Now, you’re ready to conduct research to start answering those questions.
3 tips for bringing hope into the alternative classroom
Michigan Virtual
Or listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or another platform. Alternatively, you can read along with the transcript.For students who struggle in the traditional classroom, alternative education programs c
Bolstering Michigan's Teacher Recruitment through Grow Your Own Programs
Ed Timke
There is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in Michigan and across the country. Why is there a crisis? What can be done? This last post in a blog series on teacher recruitment and retention summarizes the potential to address the crisis through Grow Your Own Programs.
Modernizing Professional Learning, Modeling Effective Practices for Student-Centered Learning
Christa Green
Based on direct input from learners via end-of-course survey data, Michigan Virtual’s Professional Learning Services team has modernized their professional learning for educators while modeling effective practices for student-centered learning.
3 things to consider when implementing restorative practices
Michigan Virtual
Getting ready to take restorative practices to the next level in your school community? Check out this list of strategies first!
3 ways to bring digital literacy into your classroom
Michigan Virtual
This Kalamazoo teacher is passionate about teaching digital literacy skills to the next generation.
Esports is coming to a school near you (here's why that's a good thing!)
Like anything new and growing at a fast pace, esports can be a confusing topic. Today, we will explore the benefits of encouraging esports in schools using global examples and my personal experience w
3 tips for engaging students in the post-pandemic classroom
Michigan Virtual
This Michigan teacher is changing up her instruction to better meet the needs of her students in the post-pandemic classroom.
Simulations, Visualizations, and Interactives: When to use them, why you should use them, and where to find them
Nikolas McGehee
Simulations, Visualizations, Interactive Applications and their place in education.Learning in the year 2022 looks vastly different than it did in the early days of education theory development. Educa
3 ways to support students experiencing trauma
Michigan Virtual
Check out this Washtenaw teacher’s go-to strategies for creating a trauma-informed classroom.
3 ways to make your math instruction more equitable
Michigan Virtual
This Detroit teacher is fighting to challenge stereotypes about who is and isn’t “good at math.”
Supports associated with teacher retention in Michigan
Ed Timke
There is a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in Michigan and across the country. Why is there a crisis? What can be done? This third post in a blog series on teacher recruitment and retention summarizes an important recent study on factors that help teacher retention in Michigan.
3 tips for starting an esports program at your school
Michigan Virtual
Esports is a billion-dollar industry and growing fast. That’s just one of many reasons this assistant principal from Ludington is giving students who may not otherwise engage in school activities the critical opportunity to be part of a team.
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