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How Can Your Students Create a Learning Legacy?

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For those teachers looking to "disrupt" learning for their students, I recommend reading "Who Owns the Learning" by Alan November (@NLearning). American socio-economic emphasis has shifted from agrarian, to industrial, to technical, to informational, to connected. Have our schools adjusted to these economic shifts? In too many cases, the answer is NO. In his book, Alan explains how teachers can provide roles for students to contribute to learning communities. He calls this the Digital Learning Farm.


Contribution roles provide students with purposeful endeavors that allow them to solve authentic problems and prepare them to participate in a globalized economy. The book provides direction and examples to help teachers develop more meaningful learning experiences for their students.

As we have discussed previously, applying a layer of technology alone does not guarantee a transformative or "disruptive" student learning experience. (1:1 is not Enough)

Many teachers, school administrators, and parents should consider shifting their thinking and their practices so that students have opportunities to become more responsible and purposeful in their learning. Two books that reinforce this pedagogical shift are; "Drive" by Daniel Pink, and "Why School?" by Will Richardson.

The video below highlights three factors of motivation - "Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose" - Daniel Pink



Here are six student roles, recommended by Alan November, that can help students contribute to learning communities and create their learning legacy.
  1. Students as Tutorial Designers
  2. Students as Classroom Scribes
  3. Students as Researchers
  4. Students as Collaboration Coordinators
  5. Students as Social Contributors
  6. Students as Curriculum Reviewers
These roles are explained with more detail in this article:  Students as Contributors - The Digital Learning Farm
In the video below, Alan November discusses the impetus, and provides a rationale for Digital Learning Farms.


Students can create a legacy and document it with their digital footprints.
Well-Googled by Graduation

How are your students building their learning legacy?  I invite you to share.

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