In charge of your own fun

When my children were elementary age and they came to me stating they were bored, I replied, “Your in charge of your own fun.” As an instructor of technology for pre-service teachers, I apply the same sentiment; your in charge of your own learning. I explain the required competencies of the course, and allow the students their choice in how they would like to learn. They can come to each lecture and I will explain the technical procedure and open for discussion to the integration of the technology in the classroom and the remainder of the time is open lab, support if they need it, others can choose to leave and work in their own environment and pace (Course work completed by the end of the semester). Most stay, ask questions, discuss and help others, and produce amazing portfolio’s. Personal Learning Networks (PLN) appear to offer similar psychology of students in charge of their own learning. However, when looking for schools that offer an accredited high school diploma with the premise of PLN, they remain traditional in schooling with formal lesson plans, text book requirements, etc. I am searching for a school that addresses the need for benchmarks, clearly explaining what the student needs to learn and asks the student “How will you learn it?” Have you heard of it? Do you practice it in your classroom?