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The Digital Backpack. Your Resource for Online Learning
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Nikki Herta

The Life-Affirming Role Of Authenticity in Learning

Meet Amos Briscoe, an art educator for the Washtenaw Alliance for Virtual Education (WAVE) who shares his journey going from feeling like an actor on a stage to bringing authenticity front and center in his classroom.

Research
Kristen DeBruler

Research on K-12 Online Best Practices

One of the first themes to clearly distinguish itself during the analysis of the reports published by Michigan Virtual was best practices in K-12 online learning. Over the last several years, our research team has explored factors for online student success such enrollment reason, student pacing, teacher-student communication, and instructor role.

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Nikki Herta

What’s Best for Kids

Meet Tanya Leon, an English teacher at Richards Middle School with a vision for rebuilding a system of schooling that’s personalized at scale.

Online Learning
Stacey Schuh

Stop calling it “learning loss”

I kept thinking about how negative the word “loss” sounded when describing my children’s remote learning experiences. It bothered me and made me feel as if all of the hard work done to support students wasn’t being acknowledged or given the credit it deserves.

Professional Development
Sarah Hill

Teaching for Today & Tomorrow: 2021 Takeaways

On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, hundreds of educators and administrators participated in the Teaching for Today & Tomorrow conference presented by Michigan Association of Secondary

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Nikki Herta

Valuing vs. Acknowledging Diversity

Meet Joy Taylor, a teaching consultant from WAVE who reminds us that there’s a big difference between ACKNOWLEDGING diversity in education and VALUING it.

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Nikki Herta

Where Does Tech Belong in Teaching?

Meet Amy Gwizdz & Bob Harrison, an instructional technology coach duo from Dearborn Public Schools with insights on how to leverage technology to create student-centered classrooms.

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Online Learning
Michigan Virtual

Best of 2020

A compilation of our top-viewed content in 2020, including blog articles, podcasts, webinars, research articles, and more.

Road with years listed between yellow lines - 2020 - 2021 - 2022 and beyond
Research
Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute

Looking Ahead: How to Thrive in (and Beyond) the 2020-21 School Year

What steps can you be taking now to better prepare your students, yourself, and your school district for the future? When you think about the learning environment that your students will need, does it encompass any of the principles of student-centered learning?

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Research
Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute

Tips and Tricks for Communicating with Parents and Students

During this time of remote learning, what are some best practices in the ways you communicate with your students and their parents? In this webinar, we’ll explore examples and tips for communication, specific tools and resources to aid this process, and lessons learned from applying these practices.

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Research
Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute

Increasing Learner Agency Through Continuous Monitoring of Student Needs

Student-centered learning is about more than just putting students at the center of education. It is about giving each student the opportunity for success. It is about designing learning to be flexible and adaptable for each learner, not just the average student. It is about understanding the whole child—what they need both academically and non-academically—and giving students the skills they need for success within and beyond the classroom.

Research
Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute

Competency-Based Progression: Designed for Student Success

As we transition into another school year faced with many uncertainties, maybe it doesn’t make sense to try and get back to “normal.” Maybe the need for learning continuity and remote learning actually provides us with an opportunity to look at teaching and learning differently. Maybe this is an opportunity to rethink what we know and believe education to be. Maybe this is an opportunity to make learning more student-centered.

Tips and Tools
Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute

You Can Do This! Transitioning to Remote Teaching & Learning

Are you feeling overwhelmed about transitioning your classroom into a remote learning environment? In this webinar, we share simple strategies for getting started, communicating with students and parents, finding and delivering content, building relationships, and designing assessments. You can do this!

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