This past year, I decided to step out of my comfort zone. I wanted to try some new experiences, but something was holding me back. I couldn’t figure it out. I think what was keeping me from finding my magic was fear. Fear of not having enough money so I kept taking jobs that kept me comfortable. Fear of looking foolish so I kept doing the same presentations. Fear of letting my family down. Actually, my family was pushing me to go out of my comfort zone. I didn’t realize I had a fixed mindset that I couldn’t do something. It was me holding me back.

So I decided to start over and rethink what I’m doing with my life. I needed to find my WHY, my purpose. You probably notice a theme around passion and purpose in my posts and podcasts lately. I tried to figure out why I was letting fear take over so I had help from my family, friends, and a coach. Here are some tips that helped me:

1 – Know Your Fears

Fear is a valuable thing. It keeps you safe and encourages you to be cautious when you need to be. But fear also limits you. Not everything you’re afraid of deserves fear or caution. Sometimes, courage and bravery are needed to make your life better. First, review your fears and if they are real. I had no idea I was holding myself back when I didn’t have to. So I took time to address each fear one at a time and talk about that fear. I needed to figure out on a scale of one to ten how real that fear really was. There were no fears in my work that were 10s. I made the fears bigger than they really were.

2- Challenge Yourself with Small Activities

One of my fears was changing the direction in my work. Before I jumped straight in, I needed to identify the direction I wanted to go. I had been blogging on my website Rethinking Learning since 2010 and before that blogged as Rethinking Learning on My eCoach since 2004. I really love to write and share. I figured the easiest thing to do was to start blogging again around passion, purpose, kindness, and agency. So I did. I’m loving it and writing every day. It’s about going slow and dipping your toes into what you’re passionate about.

3- Think of it as a Blesson

I learned from my husband that everything you do that takes you out of your comfort zone can be a blessing and a lesson: a Blesson. I love that. I decided to ask me a few questions: “What happened that I can learn from and learn about me? What am I learning about the other people who have gone through a similar discomfort? How can I use the information from both of these questions in my professional and personal lives?”

4- Be Your Own Coach

I am a coach for others and even help schools with their coaching programs. My coach asked me: “What questions do you ask when you are coaching someone out of their comfort zone?” I knew the questions and realized that I could do this for me. These are the questions I asked me: “What are the worst things that could happen if I go out of my comfort zone? What are the best things that could happen? Will I and others benefit from my actions? Would it be better to stay where I am? What is holding me back?”

5- Get a Handle on your Fears

After I identified some of my fears, I needed to do research on different topics. I needed to reinvent myself. That seemed so big, that I just kept doing the same thing even though it wasn’t working for me. I guess I didn’t feel confident in myself. I needed to get out and talk to people, visit schools, and travel. This is a mental trick anyone needs to do. It is about believing that you can do something if you do the research on what it is you want to do. The research builds knowledge. When you have that knowledge, you build the confidence you need to move forward.

6- Living with Uncertainty

Being uncomfortable is kind of the new norm today. The world is changing so fast that no one knows what is ahead for us. There is an uncertainty about the type of work is needed in the future. That impacts all of us. For me, I knew I couldn’t keep going down the same road because it wasn’t working for me and for others. The best habit for me was to practice becoming familiar with uncertainty and discomfort. I try to pick one thing each day that kind of scares me and act on it. The one big thing I did was start my podcast show. Each show puts me out of my comfort zone. I needed to push myself so I did big time. I really recommend the idea of picking one thing each day that scares you and go and do it. You will be amazed at how you will be able to live with uncertainty easier every day and build a growth mindset about whatever you want to do.

When you take at least one small step to living uncomfortably and tackle your fears, you will be amazed at what magic occurs within you.

Eric is an author, innovator, and speaker. He is a Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on Digital Leadership with the International Center for Leadership in Education and before that he was Principal at New Milford High School in NJ. Eric formed the Pillars of Digital Leadership, a framework for all educators to initiate sustainable change to transform school cultures.

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Eric is making change happen. The book he co-authored with Tom Murray, Learning Transformed, really opened my eyes about changing culture with the 8 keys. I”ve read most of Eric’s books and attended many of his keynotes. I have looked forward to talking to Eric and was so honored when he said yes to our conversation. Below are a few excerpts from the podcast along with resources and links:

Share about you, your family, and your background

I was born and raised in New Jersey, lived in New York for 13 years, and was a principal New Milford High School in New Jersey where we did some pretty amazing things. I was very fortunate to be surrounded by a dedicated staff and student body who was willing to embrace different and better to improve results. I played a small role to get everyone to see the part that they could play. I might have got the ball rolling in 2009, but the majority of my teachers didn’t change because they had to, they changed because they wanted to.When everyone in our community understood how we were changing, why were getting results along with the process and tools we used, it just became a celebratory culture of excellence.  Through that we had visitors from all over the world, and then I got asked to scale the work.

Right after moving to Houston

Now I am working with the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE) so my family and I moved from New York to Houston, Texas. We are now residing in Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (CFISD), an amazing school district. My son, Nicholas, is in middle school and my daughter, Bella, is in 5th grade where they are doing some incredible things transforming their learning.

Houston had a rough go being hit by Hurricane Harvey. It was a challenge, but we saw the best of people. We saw empathy, selflessness, and people rising up. I saw people organizing relief efforts using social media and on local Facebook pages. We were using push-to-talk applications sharing where demolition crews needed to go and where help was needed the most. I’ve used social media for my professional practice, but I saw it as a means for humanity to rise. My home was threatened but not  damaged so social media gave me the avenue to give back and help people in need. If it wasn’t for social media, we wouldn’t know where the help was or who needed help. We’ve rebounded and rebuilt. Thank goodness for the human spirit and technology to support each other when we needed it most. In fact, the experience helped my children look beyond their privilege.

[I’m including this article by Eric, Humanity’s Gift, written during the relief efforts about his and his family experience. Powerful!]

“Life can’t always be about what we do for ourselves. It has to be equally about what we do for others.”   Eric Sheninger

Change Begins by Believing in Ourselves

In our book, Learning Transformed, we say that “you” are the solution. The only way we can transform teaching and leadership if we all believe in our own abilities to initiate and sustain change. When we think about motivation and mindset, change begins with us. We cannot expect others to change if we are not willing to change ourselves. When we change ourselves and take calculated risks, we can inspire others. Success breeds success. Whether it is about increasing achievement or about our children owning their learning or hosting other schools to see how we were doing in the face of significant challenges. It all comes back to belief and the collaborative spirit. 

A Sense of Urgency

There is a sense of urgency to transform learning. I know everyone is talking about the why, but the how is so much more important. There was a sense of urgency for me to expose a vast body of research that supports all the talk about the why.  I’m in schools every week talking to teachers, walking in classrooms, and asking kids why you are learning what you are learning. What I’ve noticed is that the talk is not being backed up by scalable action. We have isolated pockets of excellence. We have districts and schools doing amazing things but we need to scale the work.

We need to prepare kids for a world that we have no idea what it will look like. We need to provide kids with human specific competencies not just skills that allow them to compete in an ever-changing world. We need to provide the research to back up what we need to do along with evidence that holds ourselves accountable to showcase a path toward efficacy.

How are we reaching our desired goals? How is it grounded in research and supported by evidence? Evidence should drive the conversations. When we talk about all this great stuff, we are able to show artifacts that support how we are changing teaching and leadership. We can keep talking, but we need to double our efforts in how we act to change things. There are a lot of great ideas but we have to account for the challenges schools have and how we act on them. This is why Tom Murray and I wrote Learning Transformed supported by evidence driven by research.

Leadership Lays the Foundation

I don’t have power now or a title. I’m not in a school, but I can talk about Laura Fleming who is a teacher at Milford HS who created a makerspace in the library. She did it. I just gave her the support and resources she needed to do the job. She had time conflicts trying to work with teachers so she created her own micro-credential platform to acknowledge each teacher’s professional learning. The most important changes that are implemented don’t come from people with titles in power, it comes from our teachers and our kids. If leaders want to have success with any specific mandate, they have to be able to articulate how they are doing that successfully. That’s how you persuade, inspire, and motivate those with the power and title to support the change.

When we talk about shifting mindset and practice, we need to focus more on the “what ifs” instead of the “yeah, buts.” If we focus on the “what ifs”, that how we get to a culture of YES. That’s how we get to really create a relevant, immersive, learning culture that primes kids for success.

What is Really New?

How can I craft a message that is relevant to the audience? Let’s talk about good, old fashioned research like Dewey, Vygotsky, Piaget and current research from Linda Darling-Hammond, John Hattie to build a vast research base that supports change. Project-based learning, student ownership of learning, and collaborative learning is connected to research, and learning approaches are not new. Technology is not new — it is a tool that supports and enhances.

Here’s a great quote from William Horton, “If we don’t get instructional design right, all technology is going to do is speed up the rate of failure.”

We need to inspire people about their own sense of urgency. We show Gallup data in Learning Transformed that the longer kids are in school, the less engaged they are. This data shows us that if kids are not engaged, then how do we expect them to learn. We connected the research to schools that focused on the what ifs, implemented change, and found success.

Make sure you listen to the podcast to the end…

The discussions got deep around disrupting school — you have to listen to Eric’s discussions around compliancy and parental pressure. Then Eric talked about his daughter, Bella, and the principal at Wells Elementary School. Eric even interviewed the principal on Periscope.

Bella loves school because they got rid of homework, bring their own device K-5 to leverage technology, flexible learning spaces, and portfolio-based assessment. The best part is that my daughter is happy and the journey to get to the destination is more enjoyable. All the teachers are sharing on social media with evidence to back up the research.

Everything comes down to relationships. Without trust, there is no relationship. Without relationships, no real learning occurs. Show kids you care! Get kids to trust you!

Don’t prepare your kids for something. Prepare them for anything! All kids have greatness inside them. It’s the job of educators to find and unleash that greatness.

****

Eric is a Senior Fellow and Thought Leader on Digital Leadership with the International Center for Leadership in Education (ICLE). Prior to this he was the award-winning Principal at New Milford High School. Under his leadership his school became a globally recognized model for innovative practices. Eric oversaw the successful implementation of several sustainable change initiatives that radically transformed the learning culture at his school while increasing achievement.

His work focuses on leading and learning in the digital age as a model for moving schools and districts forward. This has led to the formation of the Pillars of Digital Leadership, a framework for all educators to initiate sustainable change to transform school cultures. As a result Eric has emerged as an innovative leader, best selling author, and sought after speaker. His main focus is purposeful integration of technology to facilitate student learning, improve communications with stakeholders, enhance public relations, create a positive brand presence, discover opportunity, transform learning spaces, and help educators grow professionally.Eric has received numerous awards and acknowledgements for his work. He is a CDE Top 30 award recipient, Bammy Award winner, NASSP Digital Principal Award winner, PDK Emerging Leader Award recipient, winner of Learning Forward’s Excellence in Professional Practice Award, Google Certified Innovator, Adobe Education Leader, and ASCD 2011 Conference Scholar. He has authored and co-authored the following:

Learning Transformed: 8 Keys for Designing Tomorrow’s Schools, Today
Uncommon Learning: Creating Schools That Work for Kids
Communicating and Connecting With Social Media: Essentials for Principals
BrandED: Tell Your Story, Build Relationships, and Empower Learning
Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times
What Principals Need to Know About Teaching and Learning Science

Contact information

Email: Esheninger@gmail.com
Website: http://ericsheninger.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/E_Sheninger
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EricCSheninger

Rich Czyz is Principal of the Thomas Richards School in NJ and Co-Founder of FourOClockFaculty.com and the author of his new book, The Four O’Clock Faculty: A Rogue Guide To Revolutionizing Professional Learning.

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I started following Rich Czyz and Four O’Clock Faculty on Twitter several years ago and was amazed by how much he was sharing. Rich with Trevor Bryan post almost every day. They even wrote a section on culture in my book. When I finished reading Rich’s latest book, I just had to invite him to have a conversation. Below are excerpts from the podcast:

Can you share with my audience about you, your family, and your background?

I live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with my wife and three children. We really enjoy the area and I work in New Jersey. I started as a fifth-grade teacher and worked my way up through instructional coach to technology coach to a supervisor and then as a director of the curriculum. I felt I needed to be back with students so I took a principal’s job at a wonderful place to be every day in the 2nd and 3rd-grade building. I’m lucky to hang out with kids every day and collaborate with teachers.

Why are you so passionate about changing the culture of professional learning?

I’ve sat through a lot of professional development and been responsible for planning professional development (PD). Sitting through a lot of it, I’ve felt that it is not where it needs to be. My personal belief is that professional learning and professional development is the one thing that educators can do in order to change education. They can take charge of their own professional learning. A lot of times PD is left in the hands of a couple of district administrators or building principal. Leaving it in their hands, sometimes teachers are not necessarily getting what they need. It is the one thing that can really change the outcomes that we are seeing in classrooms. We are missing professional learning and development that is connected to what we are doing in the classroom.

Is that why you and Trevor Bryan started the Four O’Clock Faculty and posted tips and ideas often?

Trevor and I were colleagues in my first job where he was the art teacher at a new school. When I taught 5th grade, he was my students’ art teacher. We found that we were very similar in our beliefs about education. Trevor and I had some ideas about professional learning and development to help colleagues grow and learn so we decided to start a blog and reflect on our own learning. It all started on a snow day in 2015 with unexpected time and decided that day was the day to start our blog, Four O’Clock Faculty. I wrote two posts that day that started it off. It gives both Trevor and I a platform for sharing our message which we think is an important one about really inspiring students with creativity, collaboration, and getting them to authentic, relevant learning. We’re excited about it and we post almost every day. We recognized that visuals and simple messages are what everyone seems to gravitate to. So we create visuals with tips and short messages for educators to learn something in a quick and easy way.

Read more about the origins of the Four O’Clock Faculty.

I read your new book, The Four O’Clock Faculty: A Rogue Guide To Revolutionizing Professional Learning. My focus for years has been professional development. Now I call it professional learning and this is the book all of us need to read. Tell me your journey in writing it.

It kind of started with a couple of blog posts early on for Four O’Clock Faculty. It kind of blossomed into an idea for a book. I realized that I have a lot to share about professional development that people would enjoy reading about. I reached out to several educators who had written books to ask them about the process of writing a book. I was fortunate to connect with Dave Burgess with his Teach Like a Pirate theme and the Dave Burgess consulting group in order to get the book published. When I first met with Dave, he said: “if this is what you want to do this needs to be your manifesto about professional development and professional learning.” That’s really what I tried to do by stating my beliefs about what professional development and professional learning should look like and hopefully help everyone with tips on how to improve professional learning in their own setting.

Why do you believe that professional learning should be meaningful and relevant for educators? What are a few learning experiences that support your ideas of meaningful professional learning?

For me, it all started with a learning experience that I had as a second-year teacher when we were implementing a new writing rubric when I taught math and science. The district provided year long professional development on the new rubric, however, it was not something I was using in my math and science classes. At that point, I realized that I was forced to sit here and I’m not using this rubric and that I could use my time more effectively if I was able to work on some other things. It stemmed from that and other things that I saw as an administrator that professional learning is an important piece. A lot of times we are not giving educators what they need.

One example I always share is in my former district we used to force our school nurses to come to our staff meetings. When we were talking about language arts or mathematics, our school nurse was forced to sit there and listen. I recognized then that we are not doing it right. So if I’m a school nurse, help me learn about head trauma and where we’re going with concussions in athletics. Or if I’m a music teacher, what can I do to help my students learn in the music realm? We need to get professional learning that is meaningful and relevant. Districts can put some things in places like STEAM education or creativity by providing choice and integrating those big ideas into what is relevant for teachers.

What are a few ways to change a school or district’s culture surrounding professional learning one bite at a time?

In my previous district, we would focus on one staff meeting as professional learning opposed to a list of policies and procedures. We also did an Edcamp to take that learning and put the responsibility back on our educators. Even now, as a principal of a 2nd and 3rd-grade building with 40 staff members, we try to focus our monthly meeting on growing as professionals. I like to to do a lot of modeling since that is an important piece of changing that culture. If, as the leader, I’m expected to see a certain type of instruction in the classroom, then I should be modeling that instruction for my educators at staff meetings. That professional learning piece is a huge part of that staff meeting culture. That is where you take one bite at a time because you have to take baby steps because not everyone is ready for the change. There are some people that are so ingrained in how PD has been done that it has to start small and build from the ground up. It takes a couple of years, but I think that culture can change around the professional learning.

Let’s talk about the “Angry Administrator Update” that you include in each chapter. Do you have a story about this you would like to share?

So I believe I think differently than a lot of administrators and there are a lot of great administrators out there who are doing wonderful things. I think all of us need to connect with educators. I will always call myself a teacher first and try to never forget that. But there a number of administrators out there who do get angry when you try to change things. They’re kind of in love with the status quo and doing things a certain way. I just felt it was important to help those educators that were going to try to change professional learning to get that support that they need. So these updates are tips to help administrators who want ideas on how they can change and support their educators. It is about having the best interests of students in mind as well.

I have to ask you about the chapter about Going Rogue. Why do you call it a Rogue Guide? How do you start your own ROGUE professional learning?

The ROGUE chapter actually started as an early morning writing experience before I started my day with the kids and getting off to work. It was one of those inspirational mornings where I had recently talked to a colleague who was forced to sit through staff meetings that were just a list of procedures and policies. That colleague and a couple of others at his school decided to start their own weekly group where they read a blog post and meet to reflect on it. That’s kind of where that ROGUE spirit comes from and getting what they need. If they’re not getting what they need from their administrators or from the school district, then I believe it is important to get what they need on their own. I see educators at Edcamps on Saturdays who take time out of their personal lives to be together to grow as learners. I feel it is our responsibility as educators working with students to make sure we are doing everything we can to learn professionally.

ROGUE stands for Relevant Organized Group of Underground Educators. That’s the key piece. Sometimes you have to go a little underground if you are not getting what you need.

The one thing that is a real problem that I hear from teachers is time. Where can educators find extra time in their day to incorporate personal professional learning?

There is a chapter on Time. As educators, we tend to put more and more on our plates.  It seems like there is never enough time to do all the things that we used to do. One thing I would suggest is first to find those things on your plate that are not relevant or meaningful and not effective. There are things that we have been doing as educators that we continue to do just because we’ve been doing them. Those things probably can go so they can find more time for those things that are meaningful, relevant, and effective. As far as the professional learning, from something as my previous district, our teachers were required to be in the building 15 minutes before the day started and 15 minutes after the day ended for students. So we took those extra 15 minutes before and after to learn something new. We did something called Tech Mex Tuesday combining that idea of Taco Tuesday and Tech and sharing with teachers. We would start right when students got on the buses and show a relevant tech resource along with chips and salsa. What usually happened is that teachers that were learning something stayed longer than the 15 minute required time to continue their own learning. Lunch time is also another time for learning even though it can be the only time that teachers get to themselves. But taking once a week or even once a month to sit down with colleagues and learn something new during that lunchtime can be an important step as well. That first step might be finding those ROGUE educators as collaborators who want to make learning better for students.

Let’s talk about Twitter. That’s how I met you. How did Twitter change your view on what is possible for education?

So Twitter completely changed my worldview. Before Twitter, I was the educator that was not connected. I swore off Facebook because I was told that students and parents would try to connect with me and I was told to stay as far away from that as possible. I attended a professional learning session at a conference where they were talking about Twitter, and I was able to open an account. I let it sit for a couple of months and then I came back to it. I saw people were sharing relevant resources and ideas. I was finding things that were helping me. The next thing I jumped into Twitter chats that are amazing sources of information for educators and just really connecting. So, the idea that I was able to connect to you and other educators out there was amazing. Now when I see you and others that I met on Twitter at a conference, I feel like I’ve already known them. Twitter allows that personal connection even before the face-to-face meeting. Twitter allows for that collaboration and sharing and extends learning beyond your four walls.

Would you like to add anything more for my audience?

I’d like to add what we are doing on the Four O’Clock Faculty blog posting micro-learning sessions. They are short videos around 2-3 minutes each. The idea is from my children who do martial arts where their instructor would do these short videos of skills. He would teach the skill, have them practice, and then jump into another skill. I was thinking about that in terms of education, so we created these micro-learning videos where teachers can get an idea of a skill or something that they can practice. Then there’s a call to action on how they can take that idea and bring it back to their classroom. For example, one idea was how to ask more effective questions in the classroom and how to get students questioning. The call to action was to have teachers to write 10 really good questions that they want to ask their students during that week. The micro-learning sessions are another way that educators can practice skills in a short amount of time frame.

***

Rich Czyz is Principal of the Thomas Richards School in New Jersey. He is the co-founder of the Four O’Clock Faculty blog, which can be found at fouroclockfaculty.com. He is the author of The Four O’Clock Faculty: A Rogue Guide To Revolutionizing Professional Learning. Rich has a passion for modeling and implementing innovative strategies to help learners and teachers improve every day. Rich is active on Twitter (@RACzyz) #40CF and can be reached via email at richczyz@gmail.com. 

When you walk into your school, what do you see? Are kids motivated to learn? Do you see effort and persistence? Are teachers excited about all the kids in the school? Just as the Iceberg Illusion by Sylvia Duckworth, @sylviaduckworth, shows, sometimes we only showcase success after learning has happened. This post is about creating a culture of learning that is visible in your school as learning is happening.

Why do we need to do that? The idea of school is changing. It has to now because the world has changed and keeps changing. Life for our kids is so different than it was ten or even five years ago. For learners to grow and flourish, we need to create learning environments where every child is recognized as a learner while they are learning. Some kids never get showcased or recognized. A culture that values every learner will empower them to discover the joy of learning.

“Culture has been defined as ‘the way we do things around here.”
Richard DuFour

Schools have been doing things the same way for hundreds of years. Culture change or shift is defined as lasting changes to the shared ways of thinking, beliefs, values, procedures, and relationships with the stakeholders. A school needs trust in changing beliefs, values, and relationships. Change is a difficult process. There are so many types of relationships in schools that impact how people think about school. Teachers and leaders are learners, too.

“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” John Dewey

Here are 18 ways several authors shared in their books how teachers and leaders can celebrate learning as the culture:

Recognize the joy happening right now in your school

I chose a few of Dean Shareski’s @shareski suggestions in his book, Embracing a Culture of Joy: How Educators Can Bring Joy to their Classroom Everyday, on capturing and sharing the joyful moments:

1. When the bell rings and students don’t leave because they are in the midst of an engaging conversation.
2. When students are fully attentive as the teacher reads them a story.
3. When students cheer at the success of a third try at a science experiment.
4. When a teacher asks students about their soccer game.
5. When a student solves a difficult problem.
6. When a student comes in early to work on a project.
7. When a teacher acknowledges a student as an expert.

Be the Change

According to Eric Sheninger @E_Sheninger and Tom Murray @thomascmurray in their book, Learning Transformed: 8 Keys to Designing Tomorrow’s Schools, Today, here are a few of the strategies they suggest for leaders to help colleagues begin the process of changing their professional practice: 

1. Lead by example even when (initially) it might be a lonely place. Real change comes from colleagues modeling expectations for one another.
2. Share current research and practices that support the change you are championing.
3. Encourage colleagues who might be resistant to change to attend professional learning opportunities with you. At the very least, make sure you share your experiences during a faculty meeting or in personal conversations.
4. Help others see the value of the change on their own.
5. Be patient. Like you would your students, treat your colleagues with respect and remember how satisfying and rewarding it is when you help students succeed.
6. Get your students involved. There is no better way, in our opinion, to convince educators to change than when they can see firsthand the impact it has on kids.

Begin with Reflection

I chose a few of Pernille Ripp’s @pernilleripp, suggestions in her book, Passionate Learners: How to Engage and Empower your Students, on how teachers can reflect on making learning visible:

1. Film your teaching. Are you talking more than your learners? Are they not listening or were you too focused on covering the curriculum?
2. Have students time for you. Set the timer for 10 minutes and when it goes off, stop talking. If you need more time, negotiate with your students.
3. Give them time to be experts. Find out what your learners are passionate about. Then facilitate opportunities for them to share their expertise.
4. Stop answering all of their questions (or at least some of them). Ask a question back instead of answering or refusing to answer. Ask something like “How will you find out?” and maybe keep going by asking “How else can you find out?” Also, wait and see if other students share the answer or help another student.
5. Don’t stop asking yourself the hard questions. Would you still like being a learner in your classroom? Trust in yourself and your ability to create a better environment for all the learners who are in your class. Push yourself forward so that you do not become stuck in a routine. Learners change every year and so should our approach.

I want to come back to the idea of the Iceberg Illusion from Sylvia Duckworth at the start of this post. What is the culture you see when you go to your school? What are you missing? Is it only about the successes you see or is it the learning culture that happens every day? How can you make learning visible so every child is valued?

 “If culture changes, everything changes.” Michael Fullan

Thank you, Dean Shareski, Eric Sheninger, Tom Murray and Pernille Ripp for sharing your writing and ideas with the world! I highly recommend educators and those in my PLN to read your books. Thank you, Sylvia Duckworth, for giving me permission to use your drawing in this post. For more information about her work, please go to sylviaduckworth.com.

If you have any tips, resources, or comments on creating a learning culture, I welcome you to share below.

Guest Post by Linda Ullah @linda_ullah, Online Instructor, Krause Center for Innovation, Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, California

In 1970, Neil Postman and Charles Weingartner wrote an article in The School Review (Vol. 78, No. 3 (May, 1970), pp. 429-434) entitled “Teaching as a Subversive Activity.”  They point out the best educational environments are ones that are open-ended and inspire wonderment through interesting activities. I started using the term “Teaching as a Subversive Activity” when No Child Left Behind was enacted. I just now learned where it came from. Forty-seven years later, in spite of legislation to the contrary, the best educational environments are still those that are open-ended and inspire wonderment through interesting activities that empower learners to develop agency.

My Experience to Wonder and Be Curious

Throughout my long career as an educator, I experienced several swings of the pendulum–several “reforms.”  Teaching, for me, has been a long process of learning. I’ve been fortunate to work with outstanding educators who really care about their learners. It is that caring that is the key to empowering learners to wonder, to be curious, to be excited about learning.

In the 1990s, while teaching at Edenvale School in the Oak Grove School District in San Jose, CA, my learners became interested in local history when the school was celebrating its 25th anniversary. Encouraged by my principal, Meril Smith, I wrote an Apple grant and got 8 networked computers, some software and a dial up AOL connection. The grant was based on our local history project which my learners entitled The Great Edenvale Detective Caper. This was my foray into project-based learning and into personalizing learning, although, at the time I was unaware of these pedagogies. I blundered my way into them instinctively because it seemed like the right thing to do. I still remember standing in the middle of my classroom watching every learner fully engaged in the project and not needing my help.  The project morphed and continued over the next three years.

During that time my learners, and other learners at the school, wrote, self-published and sold a book entitled The Mysterious History of Edenvale, Proceeds from the book were donated to the Adopt-a College program to help provide college scholarships for former Edenvale learners. Edenvale learners also wrote and performed in a local history play named “Edenvale 95111”, created a school-wide, local history day with games and activities for each period of history, designed and painted a local history mural on campus, worked with East Los Streetcapers to help design a piece of street art near downtown San Jose, and created a local history museum on campus. The project took on a life of its own because the learners were in charge of it. On occasion, I still hear from my former learners wanting to know if I still have copies of the book that they might borrow or purchase. I’ve managed now to save just one copy for myself.

As Edenvale school became networked, more opportunities for my learners to work with others presented themselves.  I joined some National Geographic Network science projects during which my learners worked with research scientists and learners from other schools around the U.S. and the world to do real scientific research on acid rain, recycling, water pollution.  This led my learners to become more interested in pollution, and I was fortunate to be selected and trained in Global Project Based Learning in Qiryat Shemona, Israel along with teachers from several other countries.  I was partnered with a high school in Sao Paulo, Brazil and my elementary school learners worked with high school learners on a cross-curricular project centered around water-pollution. My learners and I also participated in several Jason Project projects working with scientists and learners from around the world doing research on volcanoes, coral reefs, rainforests, etc. During this time I noticed that the more I allowed my learners to control what they wanted to learn about and how they wanted to learn it, the more excited and engaged they were.

In 1995, I took a part time position as a technology learning coordinator in my district for the Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project–a federal technology challenge grant through Joint Venture Silicon Valley involving schools in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.  I remained in the classroom part time.  As a group of educators, the TLCs (technology learning coordinators) under the direction of Michael Simkins became a powerful professional learning community as we learned from each other about project based learning, collaboration, and coaching. My learners worked with learners at Frost Elementary School and the Live from Mars Project to create shoe factories (their choice) for a Mars Colony. The following year, my learners chose to create the Mars Virtual Olympics. The teachers I coached began to do collaborative projects with other classes and schools as well.  My passion for connecting classrooms around the world began to grow.

Three Questions for Educators to Wonder

1. How do we empower our learners through wonderment and interesting open-ended educational activities when standardized testing looms like a hungry tiger looking for prey?
2. How do we assure that our learners are fully engaged critical thinkers who remain the motivated, joyful learners they were before they started school?
3. How can we as educators assure that our learners have the skills they need to live and work in a global economy and in a world where technology connects us in both positive and negative ways?

Becoming Globally Literate to Understand Diverse Cultures

Globally literate people have an understanding of diversity, culture and language that allow them to live and work in peace with each other. We live in a culturally, racially, religiously and linguistically diverse world full of wonderful opportunities. Giving our learners the chance to work with learners who live in other cultures can only strengthen global understanding and hopefully promote world peace. In our global economy it is critical that our learners develop an inherent respect for the many cultures, races, religions and languages of the world.

The rationale behind global project-based learning is to give learners the opportunity to become aware of and appreciate each other’s cultures, languages, and religions so that they will develop positive working relationships around a common goal and develop an empathy for peoples from other parts of the world. Ultimately this multicultural understanding and empathy will promote a healthier environment, better living conditions for all, and worldwide peaceful relationships. Peace and prosperity in the 21st Century depend on increasing the capacity of people to think and work on a global and multicultural basis. As technology opens borders, educational and professional exchange opens minds. (Institute of International Education)

Real Learning Provides a Sense of Wonderment

The first question I get from teachers is: “…but I have standards to “cover” before the “tests”.  This is followed by the statement: “ I have to assure my learners show …x… on the state tests.”  Since I view teaching and learning in an era of “accountability” as a subversive activity, my reply is paying homage to standards and standardized test does not mean you have to sacrifice real learning. Real learning happens when learners are empowered, excited and engaged. It is that sense of wonderment that Postman and Weingartner discussed.

Begin by finding out what excites and interests your learners.  Discover (perhaps with your learners) where those interests and the standards intersect. Think cross-curricular.  If you are at the secondary level, look for a partner teacher who teaches a different content area.  If this is new to you, look for global projects that meet your learners interests and the standards.

Global projects you can join:

• Global SchoolNet
• Global Collaborative Projects  
• ePals
• iEarn
• The Global Classroom Project
• Launching a Virtual Book Club
• Kid Link
• Skype in the Classroom
• OneWorld Classrooms
• Online Projects for Kids
• The Jason Project
• Center for Integration in Engineering and Science Education Projects
• Flat Stanley
• Connect Your Class to the Outside World
• Projects by Jen (Links to an external site.)
• Global Collaboration Day Projects

Examples of virtual field trips:

• Google Expeditions
• 10 of the Best Virtual Field Trips
• Discovery Education–Virtual Field Trips
• Virtual Field Trips Web Site
• Skype in the Classroom-Virtual Field Trips
• Virtual Field Trips–Scholastic.com
• Virtual Field Trips for the Classroom
• This is What Google Expeditions Can Do in a Classroom

Find a friend or family member who is traveling and have them blog their trip for your classroom and/or take a Flat Stanley along with them. For example, in 2006 Flat Stanley went with me to Singapore and Bangladesh for a friend’s classroom.

Finally, look for a colleague or friend who teachings in another school, another state, another country and begin to plan a project that connects both of your classrooms.  My eCoach is an excellent collaborative planning tool.

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Former President Jimmy Carter once said, “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.”  One of the best gifts we can give our learners is to help them, through their interests, develop wonderment about the world and the people who live in it.

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Linda Ullah has a M.Ed in Special Education and a M.A. in Instructional Technology. She is an online instructor for the Krause Center for Innovation at Foothill College.  She has been an elementary classroom, special ed, Title 1 and GATE teacher, a technology learning coordinator, teacher in residence at the Krause Center for Innovation , a school development coach for the New Tech Network, a coach for the Friday Institute at NC State University, and a coach for Personalize Learning, LLC.

Follow Linda on Twitter: @Linda_Ullah

Guest post by Paula Ford @prford5, Kindergarten Teacher at Manuel De Vargas Elementary School in San Jose, CA. This post is a continuation of her post on Traveling Toy Animals with her learners in California and with Ashli Engle’s class in farming country in Indiana. 

Our question: How is the city and the farm the same and different?

We have now concluded our PBL, and would like to share the rest of our adventures with our traveling toy animals. The children worked together to answer all the questions their friends posed in Ashli Engle’s Kindergarten class in Indiana.  Each child sent a letter to their Indiana friend, individually answering their questions.  In addition, our class worked together to make an iMovie about what it is like to attend school in Silicon Valley.

Some of the questions from our Indiana friends asked about what our children’s parents do for work.  To help answer that questions, some of the children took iPads home with them to spend a day at work with their parent.

The children in Indiana mailed letters back to us, answering all of the questions we had posed.

They also sent us a few videos. The first was of the children walking around the perimeter of their school (they took the mice with them). We were amazed by the all the trees and the horses right on the edge of their school site!

Here is a video of what it is like to attend school in a farming community in Indiana:

Many of our children have never seen the snow, and were excited to see that our friends in Indiana play in the snow at recess.  This video had a strong message for us: though we may look different on the outside and do different things, everyone has something in common.  For example, they had a pajama day and read books to celebrate Read Across America day just like we did.  We are not so different after all.

Our mice looking out the classroom window in Indiana

Toy horses from Indiana 

After receiving the videos and answers to our questions, we found that we still had more questions we wanted to ask. We arranged a Skype video session for our children to ask and answer follow up questions.

Following the Skype session we reflected on our learning and revisited the original Driving Question: How is the city and the farm the same and different?  We realized that now we are experts on this subject, and we shared this knowledge with our friends and family.

Our PBL Wall

Though this PBL has officially ended, it really is just beginning.  Originally, we intended to return the mice and horses back to their original owners. However, the children decided that they would like to keep the animals they received as a special memory of this PBL.  In addition, the children have requested to share their contact information with each other so that they can continue to communicate together, and include their families in this process.

Our friends in Ashli Engle’s Kindergarten class in Indiana

Mrs. Ford’s Kindergarten Class with the horses and letters from our Indiana friends

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We know there is an urgent need to change education so all of our children are prepared for their future. I embedded this amazing video below from Prince EA “I just sued the School System!” I believe teachers, administrators, parents, and kids will find that this 6 minute video will help them get the conversations going around WHY they need to change the education system. However, before you watch the video, I suggest you consider HOW you might want to change the idea of “school.”  Try what is called “active listening” while watching this video by taking notes to capture your thoughts. Consider these three ideas:

1. Most teachers learned how to teach in a 20th century system. How can teachers shift their thinking so they are future focused?
2. Technology has impacted every part of our lives. How does technology impact what kids need to learn and the teacher’s role in the future?
3. Schools continue to look and operate like they did over 120 years ago. If there was no such thing as school, how might you design learning and the learning environment?

Video “I Just Sued the School System!!!”

What did you come up with after watching this video? Go ahead and make your case on what you see needs to be changed by adding a comment below. Or use this video to start your own discussions around change.

The teaching profession was designed around a system based on teaching compliancy. For years, students have been doing what they are told to do to progress through each grade. Teachers have been mandated to follow prescriptive curriculum and pacing guides. Teaching subjects not kids and giving grades has been the norm for over 125 years. I firmly believe NOW is the time to throw out this model and design a system that encourages critical-thinking, creativity and innovation.

What about you?

The teaching profession cannot and should not be about students or teachers following orders. Our world needs citizens who can think on their own so they know right from wrong and do what is in their best interests. Too long I have heard students ask this question: “what do I need to do for an A?”

How about getting rid of grades?

Check out Starr Sackstein’s TedTalk A Recovering Perfectionist’s Journey to Give Up Grades. Teachers are overwhelmed with all the mandates, paperwork, new initiatives, etc. I’ve heard some teachers say “just give me the curriculum to teach because I have too much on my plate.”

What about taking some things off of teachers’ plates?

Teachers are working harder now than ever. Instead teachers are held accountable for test scores and grades and are the ones responsible for everything students learn. Direct instruction is what they know as students themselves and what they learned in teacher education programs. Wasn’t technology supposed to make teaching easier? They use technology for direct instruction because that is the only way they believe they can control what is being taught. Teachers are concerned about letting go, because they are not sure they can trust students to do the work. They also are concerned that there are no guarantees that students are learning.

What if there was something you could do to change this?

Pernille Ripp wrote in her book, Passionate Learners, for teachers to ask themselves “would you want to be a student in your class?” If you say no, there are two choices:

1. you can close the door and continue with the status quo, or
2. you can change how you teach transforming one lesson or project with activities at a time that will engage kids in the learning process.

Now if you say yes, then share what you do. Open your door and collaborate. When you start small and include voice and choice with engaging activities, something happens to your class and you. You never want to go back to the status quo. It is about building that trust so everyone cares and respects each other.

This is what happened to me long ago and to teachers who are challenging the status quo now. As soon as I gave up control, everything just fell in place. I had to learn to trust them. I encouraged kids to pursue their interests, gave them a voice in their learning, and had them brainstorm solutions to challenges. At first, kids were tentative. They were concerned what would happen if they made mistakes or didn’t come up with the one right answer. When they realized that there didn’t have to be one right answer, they enjoyed being part of the process and wanted more. This was the fun part; they were encouraged to keep looking for more questions and challenges that made them think deeper.

What do you do when students are concerned about changing how they “do” school?

It is a difficult but crucial decision for students to take over control of their own learning. It all starts with a plan and the conversations that build a culture of learning. Sit down with each student and listen to their concerns. Listening is an art. Teachers were taught to be the ones to lecture and do all the talking. It’s not easy to stop and listen to the kids and to each other. Especially if we believe we have to make sure they get the right answers and don’t want them to make mistakes. Believe that they can learn from mistakes. We have to let go and listen, share, and learn from each other. In fact, we can learn from play. Check out John Chase’s post Free to Learn.

So as a teacher today, you probably have some questions and concerns about all of this. That’s okay. Talk about those concerns with your colleagues. Share them with your kids. When kids know that you have concerns too, then you can have those conversations with them. It’s okay to show your vulnerability. It’s about working together to create an environment that allows risk-taking so your class becomes a caring, compassionate community of learners.

All of us were born passionate learners. We came into the world curious about everything around us. We had a strong desire to want to talk, crawl, and walk. Watch a toddler take their first step, and you see passion-based learning. Listen to a musician practice a difficult piece until they are ready to perform. Watch a skateboarder try a new trick over and over — that takes persistence and passion to not give up.

You don’t always see that same type of passion in “school.” In many cases, school has been associated with pacing guides, required curriculum, grade-level standards, bell schedules, grades, and teaching to the test. In these situations, the teacher or the administration are the ones in control. The teacher tends to become the one held accountable for the learning. Yet to really LEARN something, the learner needs to own and drive their learning.

The focus on teaching and doing work that wasn’t relevant to me changed my thinking about who I was as a learner. I learned to play the game of school and “do” school so I could get “through” school.

Why do we have to change school to focus on passion-based learning?

School changes what kids believe what they are supposed to learn. If you ask kids around 3^rd or 4^th grade what they are learning in school, you might hear answers around how to behave, be a good listener, or how to do well on a test. We learned how to be compliant and follow the rules. Is this really what we want as the focus of school?

Now it’s time to bring back creativity, joy, and focus on the power of passion for learning.

A few suggestions from some awesome educators to encourage passion-based learning in your school:

1. First few days of school.

Get to know your learners right away before you start teaching. Every teacher and learner deserves a new opportunity to achieve. Consider waiting at least two weeks before jumping into academics. If you already started teaching academics before getting to know everyone, pull back. Check out Rich Czyz’s ideas for the First few days of school 

2. Get to know your learners and their interests.

Invite your learners to share what they are interested in and their talents and aspirations. Have you ever thought of spending time one-on-one with each learner maybe schedule a lunch date? Ask them to start a journal or portfolio so they can share stories of their interests. Check out Michael Wesch’s Journey to the Joy of Learning so you too can see each learner differently.

3. Share interests.

Ask learners to do a pair/share where two share with each other what they are interested in. Invite them to ask each other:

1. What are three things you are really interested in?
2. Why did you choose each of those?
3. Which one excites you the most? Why?
   

Then have them choose one with the help of the partner to share their first choice with all learners in the class. Encourage the class to ask questions and provide feedback with these two prompts

1. I like…
2. I wonder…

4. Explore interests.

Encourage them to explore their interest and how it might have a connection to the real world. Since you are probably still a part of the current traditional system, invite your learners to connect to required standards. Have them create a mind map of their interest and ways they can connect to what they know, what they have to learn, what they would like to learn, how they could demonstrate that they learned, and what questions they might have.

5. Identify a real-world problem.

Sometimes learners cannot connect their interest with a real-world problem. You could start with a problem where they might be able to make a real difference if they could solve that problem together. Walk around your school and go outside to observe what is around you. You and your learners may find a problem or issue you never thought about before. This is called “generative curriculum” which means coming up with questions and direction for learning as you learn.

6. Plan learning.

Let them plan together or individually using the following 3 questions from George Couros that drive Passion-Based Learning from his blog, The Principal of Change

• What will I learn?
• What will I solve?
• What will I create?

7. Make learning meaningful.

Dr. Jackie Gerstein, Ed.D [https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/ ] shared experiences where she noticed that there was a problem with how she was being asked to learn. She was cramming and memorizing information, being tested for mastery prior to having enough practice time and learning facts with no context or relevance to what she needed to learn. In her post, she hit the nail on the head when you wrote, “The unintended consequences of these artificial and unnatural ways of learning include believing that learning should be difficult, painful, disciplined, and not fun. She also discussed the importance of context as relevant meaningful tasks.

“Learning can and should be natural, fun, and engaging.” @jackiegerstein.

I agree with Jackie that learning has to be meaningful and have a purpose.

[Source www.personalizelearning.com/2015/04/learning-can-and-should-be-natural-and.html]

8. Build a new culture of learning.

Give good reasons for learning. Watch this video from Dr. Tae about the culture of learning  with secondary science teachers and university professors. What is the secret to learning? Real learning is mostly self-motivated paired with the right mentor.

Read Terry Heick’s article Promoting a Culture of Learning  that walks you through using a gradual release of responsibility model:

• Show Them
• Help Them
• Let Them

9. Create a Makerspace.

Diana Rendina, Media Specialist/School Librarian at Stewart Middle Magnet School in Tampa, FL transformed her library to serve as an informal STEM learning space for her learners. Check out Renovated Learning to follow her Makerspace journey.

10. Develop Passionate Learners.

I highly recommend that you read Pernille Ripp’s book “Passionate Learners.” Pernille, a 7th grade Language Arts teacher at Oregon Middle School, Oregon, Wisconsin,being met. She then listened to their answers and tried to develop pathways writes her story how she had almost quit teaching because she didn’t like the teacher she had become. She started by asking her learners which needs they have that are not that may include their requested modifications.

Example Passion Projects

Julie Rogers Bascom, Service-Learning Coordinator for Edina Public Schools in Minnesota, shared with me how the following year-long Passion Projects engaged learners in authentic real-world activities. [Edina Service Learning http://www.edinaschools.org/domain/78]

All 680 tenth grade learners in Edina High School’s Pre AP Language Arts Class engaged in a year-long Passion Project, digging deep into their interests as a way to meet learning standards.  Each learner chose a topic of importance, researched and investigated the theme they chose and wrote a ten-page research paper. As part of this course, each learner took action for an identified problem in their area of interest. One learner who is interested in computer science held an e-waste collection, filling two semi-trucks with electronic waste, diverting the waste from the landfill. One learner, concerned about clean water for a village where her grandparents live, designed a water filter that would help filter out excess fluoride from wells in rural India.  Another learner, having been a foster child, lobbied for awareness and advocated for resources for foster families.  Following the service-learning cycle:

IPARD – Investigation > Planning > Action > Reflection > Demonstration, learners used their knowledge and experiences from their research to solve community problems by engaging in authentic service-learning. 

When you look at the bigger picture, it all comes down to one thing: passion to learn and changing the focus to learning not on teaching. This has been my mission for over 25 years. Now I’m finding more and more examples of passion-based learning. Julie’s example of service learning is more than an assignment. The learners found a problem they were passionate about and used critical thinking skills to solve it their way.

When I think of all the educators I know who stretch their thinking and go the extra mile like Diana, Julie, Rich, Jackie, Pernille, and George and others, I know that no one can transform education alone. We all need to share and learn together. I found my purpose. It is to learn all I can about learner-centered environments, connect to others who believe all learners can learn their way, and share their stories of transformation of “school” to cultures of learning. I wrote this quote over ten years ago…

“Go with your strengths and interests, find your passion and, then discover your purpose.”

I am thinking of changing that last part to “and your purpose will discover you.”
Has your purpose found you?

[This post was created for an article in the Fall OnCUE 2015 issue]

After attending conferences and reading numerous articles that focus on personalized learning, I just have to say it. We’re not there yet. Some of us are, but the focus keeps moving back to traditional teaching methods. There is also much focus on companies that boast about their technology that personalizes learning. I’m having an uneasy feeling that the rhetoric is really confusing people, and sounds too good to be true. Are these methods and programs doing what they’re supposed to be doing? Are we talking a good talk when we say all the right things but then continue with the status quo? Or are some taking a good idea and framing it one way but actually implementing personalized learning  for the wrong reasons?

Why am I saying this? Because to do it right, we have to transform the whole system. There are educators that jump in head first, take risks, turn the learning over to their kids who become expert learners responsible for their learning. Teachers share their successes. We share their stories. It’s great and the kids win. The teachers win. The school community wins. Then we hear from these same teachers stories of these kids moving to the next grade (the system may not be competency-based nor have all teachers adopting personalized learning) where they may go back to a traditional system with grades, tests, etc.

It’s just not fair to do this to our kids. We give them opportunities to celebrate their successes, let them take risks, maybe fail and learn from mistakes, unlearn and learn again. Then when they move to another teacher or grade level, we take their voice and choice all away. I hear kids say “I just do what I have to do in school so I can get out.” or this: “I just want to pass the tests.” Oh my!!!

Grant Lichtman’s article Take aim at innovation with students at the center is what made me think about all of this. He mentioned that technology is not innovation and stated, “As a group, schools are still mired in the mindset that technology is the innovation, not that it is a tool embedded in innovation.” Lichtman also says  — it’s about flipping the learning to what he calls it Flip 2.0 – turning the learning over to the kids. This is different than flipping the classroom. This got me thinking that it is not just the confusion about how to personalize learning. it is about coming up with a shared understanding of what personalized learning is.

Then there are districts that start in high school but they don’t take the time to plan or involve the kids. It’s about time to ask our kids several questions:

• What is working and what is not working for you in school?
• What advice would you give your teachers about how to teach you?
• What do you need so you can learn?
• How would you design school?

Personalizing learning means the learner owns and drives their learning. It means the teacher plays the role of facilitator and advisor. They become a partner in learning with their kids. Think about the current system. Personalizing learning turns everything upside down. Teachers don’t know how to do this. They need help. All of us need to work together on this. Actually most of us experienced learning in traditional teacher-directed classrooms. In fact, during the last 10 to 12 years, the focus has been mostly on creating prescriptive curriculum that teaches to the test. We didn’t involve the kids. We didn’t ask them what they wanted. It’s time to change that.

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Update about this site:

I’ve been focusing on making learning personal for years and am co-founder of Personalize Learning, LLC with Kathleen McClaskey since 2012. I keep this site, barbarabray.net, so I can share from my own view what is happening with learning, to learners and teachers, and how the system needs to change. Everything I do with personalizing learning now is with Kathleen. Two heads are better than one and I have learned so much from her. We co-authored Make Learning Personal, published October, 2014 by Corwin Press and, yes, I highly recommend it if you want to make learning personal. Just had to say that :o)

So why am I writing this here? It’s because I want to keep this site so I can do a little of my own ranting. I need my readers to go to our website, Personalize Learning to get the latest information and resources about personalized learning. All of the latest charts, resources, and even my services around personalized learning are on the Personalize Learning website.