Personalised projects without the impossible preparation

In my previous Update, I ended with a question:

But beginning is not the same as growing. How does one visible experiment become something that others can build upon?

A visible experiment can attract attention. But attention alone does not create movement.

On the final Friday of our week in Denmark, I showed around forty education innovators a demo of the software (Leamo) we are building: Leamo. It was not yet a finished solution, but an idea taking shape.

What happened around the demo mattered just as much as what I showed. People asked questions, connected the idea to their own schools and learners, and saw possibilities we had not yet seen ourselves.

I arrived with a demo. I left with a glimpse of the community Leamo could become.

And that gave me an answer to the question I ended with.

A visible experiment begins to grow when people can do more than observe it. When they can enter, use it, question it, improve it and gradually make it their own.

Not by convincing people to adopt a finished solution, but by inviting them in.

And an invitation only becomes real when people can enter.

So today, we are opening the door.

From now on, the Leamo learner module is available free of charge at www.leamo.school.

Leamo began with a frustration I carried with me from my years at Agora. Personal project-based learning can be incredibly powerful, but doing it well is also incredibly labour-intensive.

A learner arrives with a spark: a question, an interest or something they would love to create. As educators, we then try to help them go deeper, discover perspectives they had not yet considered, create something meaningful and connect their project to curriculum standards.

All without slowly taking over the project ourselves.

Leamo is designed to help with exactly that.

A learner can begin with a question: “How does rain form?” Or simply with one word: “rain.” Leamo helps them explore possible directions, choose what they want to create, do or organise, and turn that initial spark into a meaningful project.

It then helps them create a realistic plan, breaks the project into manageable steps and connects it to relevant curriculum standards. Each step can be opened further, providing guidance, questions and practical checklists exactly when they are needed.

Leamo does not create the project for the learner.

It does not do the thinking.

It helps learners see what their idea could become, while giving educators more space to observe, ask meaningful questions and offer just-in-time support.

You can try it yourself or explore it together with a learner:

• Go to www.leamo.school.
• Sign in with your Google or Microsoft account.
• Create up to three projects completely free of charge.

Leamo is currently available in English, Dutch and Danish. Curriculum standards for learners up to the age of fifteen are already integrated for England, the Netherlands and Denmark, with more countries to follow.

You can use Leamo from anywhere in the world. If the curriculum standards for your country are not yet available, we recommend using the English version and selecting England’s curriculum standards—unless you can read Dutch or Danish. This allows you to experience how Leamo connects a personal project to relevant learning goals.

When registering, please still enter your actual country and school name. This gives us a better understanding of where Leamo is being used and which countries and learning goals we should add next.

This is still an early version. We know it will not be perfect, and that is precisely why we want you to experience it now. Use it. Challenge it. Let your students try something we have not anticipated.

If something behaves unexpectedly, or if you have feedback or an idea that could make Leamo better, click the Feedback button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Please tell us what happened, what helped, what confused you or what could be improved.

As Ron Berger shows so beautifully in Austin’s Butterfly, the first butterfly does not need to be perfect.

It needs to be visible.

LEAMO is now visible. More importantly, it is now something others can explore, question and build upon.

LEArn MOtivated,

Rob

PS:
This learner module is only the beginning. Our wider ambition is to connect people who believe in Motivation-Driven Education, support and help them share beautiful work, great ideas, experience and knowledge with one another.