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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.
School Leader Insights: Leading Toward Success
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this final blog post of the series, we discuss how to lead a new digital learning program toward success in the long term.
Why online learning can be liberating for students with IEP and 504 plans
Michigan Virtual
Meet Lisa Rohde, special education and instructional support manager at Michigan Virtual, who shares some of the pros and cons of online learning for students requiring accommodations.
School Leader Insights: Shifting School Operations to Support Digital Learning
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this blog post, we discuss the importance of shifting school operations to support digital learning. Significant implementation challenges arise without staying in touch and coordinating with a variety of stakeholders responsible for school operations.
Monitoring Student Needs and Progress in a Student-Centered Classroom
Christa Green
In a truly student-centered learning environment, it really goes beyond just data. Teachers and administrators should look at the whole child, considering both their academic and non-academic needs.
School Leader Insights: Professional Learning as a Catalyst for Change
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this blog post, we discuss how professional learning programs for teachers can provide job satisfaction, improve digital learning outcomes for students, and serve as a catalyst for change.
Bringing the world into your classroom with technology
Michigan Virtual
Meet Natalie Anderson, a fifth-grade teacher from Saline Area Schools and the recipient of MACUL’s 2021 Innovative Teacher of the Year award.
School Leader Insights: Technology as a Foundation
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this blog post, we discuss the importance of thinking deliberately about technology. Some might think that a digital learning initiative should start with technology. However, to leverage technology effectively to reach certain digital learning goals, leaders need to execute a project vision based on a clear understanding of the interplay between curriculum, instruction, and assessment and the needs of all members of a school community.
A Competency-Based Approach to Student-Centered Learning
Christa Green
Creating competencies and designing flexible learning opportunities that allow students to demonstrate mastery of these competencies on their own pathway and at their own pace is one piece of designing a learning environment that is student-centered.
Competency-based education in science
What is CBE?Competency-Based Education (CBE) is a student-centered methodology of instruction that incorporates elements of constructivist philosophy, 21st Century Skills education, and flexible learn
School Leader Insights: The Interplay Between Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this blog post, we discuss the importance of understanding the relationship between curriculum, instruction, and assessment in designing digital learning experiences that align with the underlying purposes for why a digital learning initiative is pursued in the first place.
What kindergarten bloggers can teach us about wonder
Michigan Virtual
Meet Barb Ozminkowski, a kindergarten teacher from Walled Lake who was an early adopter of technology in her classroom and has been blogging with her young students for years.
School Leader Insights: Institutionalizing a Vision for Digital Learning
The School Leader Insights blog series provides school leaders with practical guidance and advice on how to develop and support digital learning programs within their schools and districts. Based on research and on-the-ground experiences working with school leaders, Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute aims to identify and share effective practices with these school leaders to support their work and encourage their success. In this blog post, we discuss the process of developing a shared vision among school and district stakeholders and the process by which school leaders may institutionalize the vision for continued growth and sustainability.
Making Learning Student-Centered: Providing Voice and Choice
Christa Green
We know that not all students learn in the same way. Why is it then that in the traditional model of education, we expect students to learn along the same pathway at the same time?
Michigan Virtual Research on Online Learning in Higher Education
Kristen DeBruler
Research at the higher education level is well established and can provide valuable insights into online learning overall. It is important, however, to consider the unique needs of K-12 online learners as compared to adults when determining which research findings to apply.
Michigan Virtual Research on K-12 Online Teacher Preparation, Professional Development, & On-Site Mentoring
Kristen DeBruler
Teachers play a critical role in instruction regardless of if the instruction is face-to-face, fully online, or somewhere in between. Training for working effectively with remote students is critical now more than ever and should, at the very least in a small way, be part of traditional teacher preparation programs.
The past, present, and future of online course design
Michigan Virtual
Meet Kristi Peacock, a course development manager for Michigan Virtual, who shares what it means to be an instructional designer, what advice she has for educators designing their own online learning experiences for students, and what she hopes the future will hold for this ever-evolving sector of education.
The art of debugging & how to think like a computer scientist
Michigan Virtual
Meet Dr. Aman Yadav, a professor of educational psychology and educational technology at Michigan State University, who shares his insights on the rich applications of both "plugged" and "unplugged" computational thinking for the K-12 classroom and sheds light on the biased algorithms that govern our everyday lives.
Competency-based education in mathematics
What is competency-based education?Competency-based education (CBE) is a student-centered methodology of instruction that incorporates elements of constructivist philosophy, 21st century skills educat
Michigan Virtual’s Strategic Plan: Employee spotlight
There’s no clear-cut definition of the term “strategic plan.” Sure, there’s a Wikipedia page, but my years in high school debate scared me from using that as a source.
So what is a strategic plan? What’s Michigan Virtual’s and why should you care?
OK, that’s a lot of questions I just asked. Let’s start with the first one.
The conflicted history & achievable future of social emotional learning
Michigan Virtual
Meet Lauren Kazee, one of Michigan’s leading experts on social emotional learning or “SEL,” who shares her personal definition of SEL, dives into the history of this concept, and offers advice for educators looking to prioritize their own social and emotional wellness and model this behavior for their students.
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