This is solely an opinion piece. After several weeks of focusing on learning opportunities for teachers in the audience I work with, and attending one of the largest innovative teaching and learning conferences in the US. I am still reeling from just thoughts and experiences and as always, love to think it out by just writing it down. So here we go.

The digital design divide. A term that is new to me, which I recently got to hear more about made an impact in my brain as it is something that we are seeing growing more and more wide as we are walking out of an era of constant new tech and into an era of redefining best instructional practices in order to use it all. As this divide is going to be a part of the OET’s new plan coming in 2024, hearing how this divide was already being combated in several large districts across the country was interesting to hear. The overall mission is to work on better learning opportunities for teachers that are more tailored to them and their needs. As so many of us know, professional development (PD) has been a one size fits all for too long. As we move into the era of professional learning (PL) more customized and varied learning opportunities are the new and better goal. Through more varied and engaging opportunities, support that is more than one-and-done, and easy-to-access resources we can make a bigger and more motivating impact on the amazing educators who are holding our educational system together.

This last week I had the amazing pleasure of attending the ISTE conference in Philadelphia. With thousands of educators attending, even my last flight into Philly was a buzz with excitement. Which leads me to ask the question, how does this conference create such excitement? How does any learning event create such an electrified atmosphere where everyone is so excited to be there and even though it is summer for most, what makes them take time out of their summer break to learn? This is more of a rhetorical question than anything else because it is hard to pinpoint one answer. For me though, it was the ability to personalize my experience. There were hundreds of sessions to choose from, playgrounds to experiment, lounges to relax and collaborate, an exhibit hall four football fields long filled with new innovations, and lots of short product-based training sessions. The sheer amount of options was definitely overwhelming, BUT it was the options that made it worthwhile. It takes some time to orientate yourself into knowing you don’t have to see everything, you don’t have to do everything, you just have to create the path that follows what is best for you.

That to me is really the key when it comes to learning. It’s your admin or professional learning coordinator’s job to create opportunities for you, but then it’s up to you to choose the best path of opportunities and what is going to motivate and excite you and make you better at what you love. You know what’s best for you.

The more flexible opportunities we can create, the more to choose from that allows the learner to find things that are going to get them excited to be there and find out more.