TMST: Thrively

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What would you do if you could have a window into each learner's interests?  Would you engage them differently?  Would you consider designing learning content with those interests in mind?  

What would you do if you could create projects and collaboration activities around those interests?  Would you use them?

Meet Thrively, a place for learners to explore their passions and strengths inside and outside the classroom. Check out this 3 min overview video from the creators of Thrively to get a better understanding of what it can do to enhance the design of passion driven units, Genius Hour, or projects.



I have been interested in passion driven learning since reading Angela Maiers' book, The Passion Driven Classroom several years ago.  One of my schools dived into the concept of a whole campus Genius Hour not long after doing a book study on it.  Genius Hour lets learners explore and develop talents outside of traditional core content.  It is magical what our kids can do when given the chance and time to learn based on their preferences.

Thrively was something I bookmarked, pinned and came across several times after that, but it wasn't until I began playing with it that I saw how amazing it could be.  

3 things that are AWESOME about Thrively:

  1. Learners take an online interest inventory that is more than just multiple choice questions - it can be read to them, there are pictures, there are even questions that ask you to perform a specific type of movement. 
  2. Through the Teacher Dashboard, Educators can create classes of learners and can track progress, see strengths and push out "playlists" of course material like the one shown to the right.
  3. Learning is made active in Thrively through the use of journaling, portfolio and project collaboration features.
What would DLCoachAlli use it for?  

  • Gaining insight on what my learners were interested in with the interest inventory
  • Introducing the concept of Genius Hour through the Find Your Passion course
  • Creating journal reflection opportunities that add purpose to learning experiences
  • Managing projects that multiple learners with similar interests work on and add to
  • Understanding my learners better in order to build deeper relationships

What would YOU use it for? Interested in learning more?  I'd love to collaborate!  Let me know!







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