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The Digital Backpack

Your resource for online learning

Your trusted source for K-12 online learning insights, teaching strategies, and success stories from Michigan’s leading virtual education provider. Join us as we explore innovative approaches to help students thrive in the digital age.

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The Digital Backpack. Your Resource for Online Learning
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Solving the Pacing Puzzle: Course Design and Technical Considerations for Pacing in K-12 Online Learning

Pacing is critical to student success in online learning, and supporting effective pacing is a team effort. This blog explores how Michigan Virtual staff leverages technology and course design principles to uplift student learning through...
  • Online Learning, Research
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A Structured Approach to AI Integration: A Roadmap for the 24-25 School Year

Integrating AI into education for the 24-25 school year requires a strategic and well-structured approach. Michigan Virtual’s AI Integration Framework provides a roadmap for schools to assess their current capacities, engage stakeholders, develop policies, explore...
  • Artificial Intelligence

Solving the Pacing Puzzle: Supporting Student Progress in K-12 Online Programs

In online learning, effective course pacing is crucial for student success. This blog explores how Michigan Virtual addresses course pacing challenges and develops effective pacing guides to support student learning....
  • Online Learning, Research
Teacher high-fiving student sitting in desk.

The Power of Pitching in EdTech

Explore key strategies and resources to refine your approach in EdTech entrepreneurship and discover how to navigate the landscape of innovation and drive transformative change in teaching and learning....
  • EdTech

Out of Order, Out of Reach: An Interview with a Researcher

In the ever-evolving landscape of education, online learning has become increasingly prevalent, offering students flexibility and accessibility to course materials. Recent research has delved into the dynamics of online coursework completion, particularly focusing on the...

  • Online Learning, Research

Solving the Pacing Puzzle: What We Know About the Importance of Student Pacing in Online Courses

One key aspect that significantly influences student success in online courses is pacing, or the way students progress through course material over time. This blog explores the crucial role of pacing and how to provide...
  • Online Learning, Research
Multiracial students painting inside art room class at school

Charting Teen Passions: A Practical Guide for Guardians and Educators

Teens are still discovering what excites them—and your support matters. This guide offers practical ways to help them explore their interests, build confidence, and stay curious. From everyday observations to thoughtful conversations, learn how to...
  • Online Learning

Using AP Exam Data to Drive Discussions about AP Courses

Michigan Virtual conducted an analysis to understand the factors influencing whether students take AP exams. They found that higher course grades and course subject were associated with exam participation. However, other factors beyond grades also...
  • Online Learning, Research
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Faster vs Better: Finding the Best Opportunities for AI in Education

Move beyond efficiency and take an intentional approach to adopting generative AI tools like ChatGPT....
  • Artificial Intelligence
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Essentialism in the Age of GenAI

The rise of GenAI, while offering immense potential for innovation and efficiency, also brings with it significant environmental costs....
  • Artificial Intelligence
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Highlights from the 2023 AI Summit

The 2023 AI Summit at Michigan State University explored the impact of AI on education, featuring presentations urging innovative thinking, emphasizing learner-centered design, and discussing personalization with AI. Attendees expressed optimism for positive change in...
  • Artificial Intelligence

AI, Learning, and Performance

Unveiling the impact of AI in education, proponents tout personalized learning, while critics caution against possible dependencies....
  • Artificial Intelligence

Creating a Culture of Continuous, Collaborative, and Personalized Professional Learning

Not only is the professional learning happening within Michigan's Grand Ledge Public Schools continuous and collaborative, it is also rooted in their strategic plan, reflective of their beliefs about student learning, and personalized to fit...
  • Online Learning, Professional Development, Research

Mapping the Mentorship Landscape: Insights on Mentoring in Different School Settings

This blog is based on a larger report from Michigan Virtual and explores the experiences of mentors working in different school settings. It additionally includes potential options for supporting mentors in their efforts to assist...
  • Mentoring, Online Learning, Research
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Supporting Schools: Maintaining an AI Tools toolkit for educators

Michigan Virtual's AI Resource Bank offers a curated compilation of websites, articles, podcasts, and tools. Engage with this evolving repository, explore emerging trends, and contribute to the conversation by sharing your own valuable resources for...
  • Artificial Intelligence

Personalizing Education: How Web3 and Digital Identity Empower Learners and Promote Equity

Welcome back to our third and final installment of this introductory series on web3. In this series we’ve explored the technology and trends shaping the next generation of the web and most importantly for this...

  • Web 3.0
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Street Data and Empathy: Revealing What Educators Truly Want from Professional Learning

What do educators actually WANT out of their professional learning experiences? This is a question my colleague Danielle, who contributed significantly to this study and the writing of these blogs, and I tackle most days....

  • Professional Development, Teaching

A Framework for Empathy: 3 steps leaders can follow to center educators’ Needs and Wants

Part 1 of this blog series digs into the results of a survey on what educators need and want from their professional learning experiences. Here in Part 2, we show you the framework we used...
  • Professional Development, Teaching
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The Web3 Revolution: 3 Critical Ways Web3 is Transforming Education and Work

Step into the web3 era with this deep dive into its groundbreaking implications for education. From blockchain-enabled credentials to learner-employment records, see how this digital revolution could redefine learning and how we can prepare students...
  • Web 3.0
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Web3 101: What educators need to know about the future of the web

Remember the days when the internet resembled a massive library, and Google was our librarian? Well, the internet has evolved a lot since then! As we transition to web3 — the 'read-write-own' era — we...
  • Web 3.0

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