Strategies, Facilities Planning, and Innovative Ideas for Educational Organizations

In her February 24 commentary in Education Week, Jenifer Carolan, co-founding partner of Reach Capital makes a solid point about personalized learning.

…personalization does not mean isolation, and it doesn’t mean sitting our students down in front of laptops all day. Personalization is a strategy that allows us to adapt to the needs of all children, preferably after giving them a powerful, shared learning experience that motivates them to dive deeper.

The most productive PL is collaborative – a group of three or four students working together to solve an “impossible” problem, or a student working diligently with a teacher/coach nearby prodding and praising. While the technology provides the access to the information, the social connection is the all-important ingredient that creates the knowledge.