We Do This Everyday!

Hi WOL Friends!  We wish you the best as we head into the winter, holidays, and cold weather.  Your heart will be warmed listening to our conversation with our TWO Latin facilitators! Ann and Chrissy are eager to share their experiences with collaborative teaching in a virtual setting in this episode. It is great fun to hear both Ann and Chrissy talk about the transition from traditional teaching...

Greetings WOL Friends, I had the best time talking to my friend and colleague Anita Young! Most of you will recognize the name. Anita worked with the WOL Institute for the last 10 years and came with us to IU8. She was the catalyst for much of the evolution of our work. She headed off to lead in her home school district of Huntingdon, PA - and we stay in close touch.  Recently we had this conversa...

Greetings WOL Friends!  We hope that as the holiday season approaches you, like us, have much to be grateful for. At the World of Learning, we have so many amazing partners and people who we have opportunities to work and collaborate with to enhance experiences for learners. We are especially excited for you to hear some of the great work that is happening at the Greater Johnstown School District...

Greetings WOL friends and colleagues!  It’s hard to believe that it is already almost December. As we record these episodes we are so grateful to have the opportunities to learn and grow at conferences, to meet new people and to see the amazing work that is happening in Pennsylvania, around the US, and beyond. At ACTFL Lauren and Olivia showcased our new French story of Identity in what used to be...

Greetings WOL Friends, Our podcast is now on Spotify ! You can follow us there! We are grateful that you continue to read and listen to our podcast and newsletter . Just as the World of Learning has grown and expanded, so has our following and engagement. It’s always fun to get a comment or have someone in passing say how much they related to one of our conversations. If you can’t tell, we like wo...

Greetings WOL Friends, We have been taking you on the journey - our story - of the World of Learning Institute this Fall. This podcast is full of goodness from Gwen and Melissa that gives authentic insight into how our folks plan and prepare to engage and enable learners’ to become agents of their own learning. In our story - part 3 is I Can Learn Online Recently John Watson. of the Digital Learni...

Greetings friends! As the first quarter comes to a close - we are turning the corner to helping students become active in their own learning! Thanks for reading World of Learning Institute Podcast and Newsletter! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. As we pick up on the story of the WOL - from The Classes They Wouldn’t Have Taken to Welcome Home , our journey brings us to...

Greetings friends! I took the last week off to visit my new grandbaby Olive! In retrospect it was a pretty simple decision to put my grandchild and family in the forefront and the podcast and newsletter to the side.  What a joy, and a reminder about what is important. What a wonder a little baby can be. I am in awe of how curious she is at 2 months old, how when she hears her parents voice that sh...

Tom’s Newsletter Greetings Friends! Let’s bring the FUN! As we hit October it seems like there are more opportunities to take a breath and have a conversation. Even look out at the changing color of the leaves. In our last few episodes I lifted up the teamwork and collaboration that helps the World of Learning Institute to thrive. There are so many euphemisms that talk about teamwork - one I parti...

Hi WOL Friends, In our last few episodes we spoke with Courtney, Ashley , Zach , and Don Vogt , about how our learners find home in a virtual environment. From what Don calls our hands on approach to the live sessions we offer that increase engagement in the virtual setting. Courtney, Ashley and Zach each focused on the collaboration and support they get from our awesome team. Erin, Melissa, Laure...

Hi WOL Friends, I have loved talking with so many of our friends and partners. In our last episode we spoke with one of our newer district principals, Don Vogt, from Ridgedale SD in Ohio. Don highlighted his focus on providing the best experience for his students who live in rural Ohio. His hands-on approach has let him see the value of authentic , relevant and engaging instruction.   In this epis...

Hi World of Learning Friends, These are exciting times for the World of Learning, diving into who we are and how we want you, our partners,  and our team to experience learning. In our last episode we talked with two of our virtual learning specialists, Courtney and Ashley, to hear about their experience in making the virtual classroom feel like HOME. We hope they feel home at the World of Learnin...

Greetings WOL Friends, Last week we talked about the story of the World of Learning Institute (WOL) and what to expect when you can’t find a teacher for a course your students may ‘want’ or ‘need’. We followed Dorothy down the WOL road. Each chapter outlined the basic operation of the World of Learning Institute. We all know that it matters who is in that room with the students - it’s no different...

Hi WOL Friends, As we kick off our 8th year at IU8 and our 3rd podcast season, this is a good time to remind or help people to know who we are at the WOL Institute. First, we started out at IU8 with 10 World Language teachers and a lot of soul. The teachers who joined us at IU8 have built our World of Learning Institute into a place where learners interact with each other and the world around them...

There can be times in your life, or work, or career that go down as really special. Last week was one of those weeks for me in my career that really stood out. (Three weeks ago it would have been my new granddaughter, Olive, but not this week).  We had a faculty meeting with so many new folks that we revisited Who the World of Learning Institute IS , and how we want to be when we get into our clas...

Hi Folks, We started back with our first-ever full-time Virtual Learning Facilitators this week. As we welcomed these new, and new to full-time folks, we revisited a bit of who we are and what we do! Stretching your wings and trying new things - like supporting our schools and districts when they need a full-time virtual option for their learners has really helped us to revisit our mission and vis...

Greetings WOL friends! As I passed a beautiful garden on my early morning walk I commented to the gardener that her flowers were beautiful. As she was weeding she replied, ‘It can be such a pain’. I can relate. The weeds can have a way of taking over and obscuring some of the beauty. I paused a moment and said to her, ‘Nothing without good work’, she nodded in agreement.  As we take time to pause...

Hi, World of Learning Friends, I am a bit behind today as I prepare to send this out! We are in a flurry of activity - the kind that happens at the end of the school year. And, we are excited to be hosting the WOL Japanese Honor Society, one of those awesome things that happens in this flurry. This is the second year of being able to lift up our distinguished students who study Japanese. Hats off...

Greetings World of Learning Friends, Olivia and Lauren did a podcast takeover, again. And I am grateful. I love how awesome our WOL Team is! The conversation between these awesome folks is inspiring - and it is so incredible to think about the teacher and learner as we talk about designing curriculum. As I listened I got excited when I heard that our curriculum work can help… with troubleshooting...

Greetings WOL Friends! We have had the opportunity to talk with many of you recently as we are working to prepare for the 2023 - 24 school year. It is so much fun to hear about all the great things happening in your schools. Our guest on this podcast is Aliza- a 6th grader at Bedford Elementary School . She joined us with her parent to talk about her experience taking ASL in the virtual environmen...

Hi WOL Friends, In this podcast episode, I was able to interview Abby, a senior student from Turkey Foot High School - she joined me with her Latin teacher Ann Myers. It was a fun conversation. Both Abby and Ann have a passion for learning and exploring. As you listen in you will hear a few key points about what Abby likes about one of the first courses that we have put into the story format .  Fo...

Hi WOL Friends, Today, I will be flying solo and sharing my thoughts on how we can better engage and uplift student voices in education. My passion for this topic started back in 1997 when I attended my daughter's IEP meeting and was frustrated to see her potential minimized. Since then, I've made it my mission to empower students and ensure their voices are heard. My granddaughter Maizie recently...

Transcript Podcast #37 Greetings WOL Friends, Spring is almost here. By now many of you are probably considering schedules, course offerings, and what you will be doing for your summer professional learning. Our WOL Course Catalog is updated and we will continue to work to provide you with high quality offerings in World Languages, Calculus and Chemistry. This summer, through our own professional...

Transcript of Podcast Hi WOL Friends, We are thrilled to share with you our latest podcast featuring Beth Van Oss , one of our Spanish Facilitators. Beth brings a wealth of experience to the World of Learning, and we had a great time discussing her first year working in the virtual world. We also delved into how her experiences, such as l eading Outward Bound , have influenced her teaching approac...

Hi WOL Friends!  So much is happening at the World of Learning - in just TWO weeks we will kick off our Design Space - and a year of learning with Heidi Hayes Jacobs and Allison Zmuda. You can see more information and register on our website . We still have space left for our opening event - sign up now!   We are also super excited to talk with Fiona Grugan! She reached out to us about the awesome...