Over the next decade, Digital Promise has set out to ensure 30 million systematically and historically excluded learners have sustained and meaningful experiences of Powerful Learning, putting them on a path to postsecondary completion. In 2021, Digital Promise created Powerful Learning opportunities for teachers and learners around the world.
From a rural school in Matenge Village, Botswana to an after-school community organization in the Bronx, New York, educators and students around the world overcame school lockdowns and travel restrictions to design solutions that mattered to them in the Ciena Solutions Challenge. Using the Challenge Based Learning framework, students have opportunities to connect to their learning in ways that are authentic and personal, learn through inquiry, collaborate with their community and take positive action to make a difference in their local communities.
Ciena Solutions Challenge educators are equipped with a variety of resources like live professional development webinars, an online resource library, and biweekly newsletters. These provide educators with guidance on how to facilitate the Ciena Solutions Challenge in support of their student teams’ ideas and designs.
The Challenge makes room for both educators and students to explore,discover, connect with each other, and build problem-solving and critical thinking skills to use throughout their lives.
The Edcamp Community supports educators to organize and participate in powerful professional learning designed by and for educators. Edcamps leverage the knowledge and experiences of attendees by allowing educators to collaboratively determine topics for discussion. Administrators and teachers agree that the Edcamp model is more productive and valuable than traditional, presentation-oriented professional development. Close to 97 percent of Edcampers say they developed beneficial contacts at Edcamp, making it one of the most rewarding networking events for educators out there. Digital Promise hosted the Edcamp: Design for Learning and Edcamp: Powerful Learning at Home Series to model virtual Edcamps and keep participant-driven learning and networking thriving during the pandemic and beyond.
The Maker Learning @ Home cohort directly catalyzed numerous maker learning programs that could be accessed anywhere, anytime, in multiple ways. This experience generated a toolkit to help educators in both formal K-12 and Out-of-School Time programs to design and facilitate maker learning experiences, giving more learners access to opportunities in which their agency and interests are at the center. By increasing access to maker learning opportunities, learners can tap into learning experiences and fields of study they may traditionally be excluded from.
Our HP Teaching Fellows take part in professional learning that highlights to the broader education community how powerful technology use can contribute to and make Powerful Learning experiences possible. From games-based learning to 3D design and fabrication, the educators involved in Reinvent the Classroom are tapping into student interests and the future of work, creating the conditions for learners to find their “on-ramp” for a path to success.
In 2021, the League of Innovative Schools team and 9 school districts hosted the inaugural Students for Equitable Education (SEE) Summit, a national social justice summit envisioned and led by students. The purpose of the SEE Summit is to elevate student voices, provide a platform to student leaders who may not have had previous leadership opportunities, and represent the needs and demographics of the whole student body. The League also hosts biannual meetings for members that feature school visits, guest speakers, cohort workshops focused on specific challenges, and collaborative problem-solving. League Cohorts are collaborative League learning communities focused on discussing challenges and sharing best practices and resources. They provide district leaders knowledge and tools to create conditions for success for their students.
2021 Annual Report