iNACOL: Fostering Student-Centered, Personalized Learning

The International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) was launched in 2003 based on the belief that “Online teaching and learning has the potential to transform education.” Ten years later, the iNACOL mission has also incorporated the blended learning opportunity with a vision of “fostering student-centered, personalized learning that promotes student success and lifelong learning.”
As a director, I’m proud that the organization has become the leading advocate for competency-based learning environments. In addition to direct advocacy, iNACOL sponsors Competency Works, an online community sharing best practices.
The organization has three strategic priorities:

• Policy: Advocate for state and federal policy frameworks that further the development of personalized, blended/online, and competency-based pathways. (See iNACOL’s Statement of Principles for Legislation in States.)
• Quality: In partnership with leading providers of online and blended models, establish a set of outcomes-based quality assurance standards and reporting expectations designed to make it transparent when courses and content are effective in improving student outcomes. (See Measuring Quality from Inputs to Outcomes: Creating Student Learning Performance Metrics and Quality Assurance for Online Schools.)
• New Models: Knowledge-building and support for personalized, next generation learning models. Through research, knowledge-sharing and advocacy, spur development of blended, online, and competency-based models that will be effective in supporting college and career-readiness for all students. (See resources on new models.)

The iNACOL Blended and Online Learning Symposium (#inacol13) kicks off today in Orlando with a membership meeting; general sessions and workshops run Monday to Wednesday.  About 2400 educators are attending 275 concurrent sessions in 19 tracks and visiting 100 exhibitors. The Getting Smart team is leading or participating in eight sessions. We hope to see you there!