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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

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
Male teacher helps a young boy with computer-based learning in a classroom setting. Child tutor providing a lesson in an elementary school, with a focus on coding and basic digital literacy.

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
Aerial view of a forest with mist, centering on a glowing 'AI' platform, symbolizing the ecological implications of advancing artificial intelligence.

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
Large group of attendees watching a presentation at the AI Summit 2023.

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
A computer-generated image of the ChatGPT logo with a 3D render of a human brain floating above it

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
Colorful vector business concept with speech bubbles on dark blue background

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
image of a white hand with a pixelated butterfly against a purple cyber-themed background

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
illustration of a man walking into a new world surrounded by purple cyber imagery

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
Digital illustration of a letter in an envelope marked with a green checkmark against a pink backdrop.

Mastering the email game: Three hacks for getting students to ACTUALLY read & reply to your emails

Discover the art of successful email communication with students. By following these three proven email hacks, you’ll stop sending emails that result in crickets and instead create authentic, engaging digital communications that foster rapport between...
  • Teaching
Illustration of woman wearing a virtual reality headset with colorful squiggles from it representing opportunity

AI’s growing role in education: Top 5 predictions from Michigan school leaders

Will AI be the key to transforming education? Explore five game-changing ways AI has the potential to reshape the classroom and enhance student learning....
  • Artificial Intelligence

Overcoming procrastination: Boost student executive function with transparent planning (+ free template!)

The transparent planning process offers strategies for combatting procrastination and strengthening students’ executive function. This process not only can improve academic outcomes but also helps instill lifelong skills in students. In this article, I dive...
  • Online Learning

Designing for the future with AI: Lessons learned in curriculum development

Michigan Virtual's educators experimented with ChatGPT to generate content for online courses, offering insights into its potential benefits and limitations in areas like content creation, individualized learning, and the 5D course design process....
  • Artificial Intelligence, Instructional Design, Online Learning

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