It Takes a Village

It Takes a Village

The traditional African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child” has been widely quoted. The basic meaning is that the upbringing of a child is a communal effort. The responsibility for raising a child is shared with the larger family – blood relatives, neighbors, and the whole community. This does not have to stop once the child is grown. Adults also need a village – a communal effort, an extended family, to continue to grow.   Educators are a close knit family, with support built into the work day. We can reach out to fellow co-workers for advice, feedback, and support. But let me ask you, “Who is part of your extended family?” When it comes to growing and supporting your thirst for building quality digital learning programs who are you allowing to fill your head with advice?   The International Association for K-12 Online Learning, known as iNACOL, has wisdom deeply rooted in digital learning. One might call iNACOL an elder of our community. iNACOL drives the transformation toward student-centered, next generation learning for K-12 education. They support innovators in online, blended, and competency education to share best practices, provide resources, connect practitioners, develop quality standards, and amplify educator voices to transform education. Through research and collaboration with other leaders in the field, iNACOL pens white papers, hosts teacher and leader webinars, and gathers the greatest thinkers in the field annually at the Blended and Online Learning Symposium.   This past week, I attended two webinars from iNACOL: Blended Learning Leaders Discuss their Roadmap for Success and Supporting and Sustaining Blended Learning Throughout the Year.  Playbacks...