Andy Shea

Outcome:  I will increase my knowledge and experience with personal learning environments and attempt to implement personal learning in my classroom this school year.  I will take what I have learned in this class, and share these ideas with my social studies department and encourage collaboration to implement personal learning environments school wide.  I will communicate with parents, fellow staff, and of course my students about the objectives I would like to meet in regards to implementing personalized learning in my classroom this school year and in the future.

Resources:  
Learner Profiles-  I would like to learn more about reaching each student and instructing them in the way that is best for them in their personal learning environment.  This will include a wide variety of research into personal learning environments and the different options available to each student.  I envision sitting down with each student to go over and agree upon a plan that is right for them.  This will also allow my students and I to be on the same page and to set clear expectations for their work.
Learner Path- Determining what is best for each student will include the amount of face to face time needed, technology needed, and what materials will be necessary for each student to be successful.  The students path to mastery will need to be re-evaluated throughout the process and amended to be sure the student is succeeding and is on track.
Competency Based Progression-  It is very important to me that each student's personal learning environment is tied closely to the standards both state and national that we are required to meet.  I envision sitting down with each student and formulating a plan forward, looking at the content that needs to be covered, and the standards that need to be met.  We will decide how best to meet those standards and I will provide them with student friendly terms so that we are both in complete understanding of the material.
Flexible Learning Environments- This aspect of planning will largely be up to me as the teacher to make good suggestions to the students and I will learn more about methods and options as I do more research into this topic.  Students will be a part of the decision into what works best for them.  One aspect of this that is very important to me is student responsibility and will require me to do many checks for understanding and to make sure the student is on task.  I want the students to take ownership, and be there to facilitate if things are not going in a positive direction.

Artifact:
I hope to at the end of this class be able to write up a draft of a possible personal learning environment plan for my classroom and for our social studies department that could be the basis for future discussion and implementation down the line.  Being able to simply introduce this and work on it with my colleagues would be very beneficial for my class and our school as a whole.

Helping all of your different stakeholder groups understand what personalized learning is and why you are doing it is essential to successful implementation. Taking the time to do this will help you move forward with it and also lead to growing it outside of your classroom.

Here are a few additional resources I found on PLE's that might be useful.
http://www.education.govt.nz/school/property/state-schools/design-standards/flexible-learning-spaces/