Moodle. eLearning and Moodle. Google and moodle. E-learning. Blended Learning. Strategies for Teaching Blended Learning Courses, Maybe You (and Your Students) Can Have It All. Blended learning, which combines face-to-face and online learning activities into a single course, has experienced tremendous growth during the past few years. A blended learning course (also called a hybrid course) can satisfy students’ need for flexibility, as well as alleviate overcrowded classrooms. However, the biggest benefit to a well-designed blended course could be a much improved teaching and learning experience.
It’s for this reason that blended learning, grounded in sound pedagogical theory, is creating converts among faculty and administrators alike. One such convert is Ike Shibley, associate professor of chemistry at Penn State University-Berks, who says the students in his blended courses are not only more engaged when they come to class, but are performing better on their final exams than his previous, traditional classes. 1. Start with Learning Goals: Your first thought should not be “what portions of my course can I move online?” 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Strategies for Building Blended Learning.
What is Blended Learning? — Web Learning @ Penn State. Developing A Blended Learning Strategy: Instructional Media & Pedagogical Considerations. Creating Assignments That Work for Digital Learning Environments. Assignments | Viewpoint Creating Assignments That Work for Digital Learning Environments Teachers who spend time actually thinking through assignments that align with the learning outcomes of a course are the most effective at assessing the learning that has taken place. Now, however, even the most creative teachers are being stretched like never before in regards to creating assignments that work in technology-rich learning environments. While evaluating learning in the purest sense might never really be possible given the scope of variables, new technologies are making it more achievable than ever before.
When assignments are creative and applied and, most of all, relevant, so that all learning styles and aspects of course content can be integrated, students are usually more positive about their performance. To create assignments that work the focus must be on process, not task. In order to evaluate the process, I have developed a four-step system I follow with students.
Seven Digital Learning Tips for Students. Happy Digital Learning Day! As an educator, I have definitely evolved from tech tentative to tech tenacious in a very short period of time. Because of my recently found passion for educational technology, I want to share some of the scaffolds I've developed to help my students evolve into digital learners. In order to help them prep for an eventual transition to web-facilitated (some online usage) or hybrid schooling (up to 80 percent online), I've been pulling together a list of qualities common to many successful online learners. As many of us incorporate more and more online lessons, assignments, assessments, and digital presentations into our instruction, it's important for students to understand the skills that they will need to function at their best. The good news is that succeeding in an online environment isn't so different than succeeding in a traditional classroom.
But it's good to know what you're getting into. You have to have a sense of self. Web 2.0 Tools. - Five Things Students Want Their Teachers to Know about Online Learning. 0 Comments December 19, 2011 By: Lisa Nielsen Dec 19 Written by: 12/19/2011 3:56 AM ShareThis Kids love having the opportunity to learn online but it’s not merely the medium or the technology that students enjoy. At the recent iNacol Virtual Schools Symposium I listened to high school students who have experience learning this way as well as teachers who have experience with these students, share some advice for making this type of learning even better.Here is their advice, as well as suggestions for tools that teachers can use to heed this advice. 1.
Skype or Google Video: Great for projects where students work in pairs. Students appreciate the opportunity to learn online, but want their teachers to be sure to incorporate these elements which allow them to realize the benefits of online learning while not losing what they enjoy about face-to-face interactions. Apps for Education. Flipped Classroom - my thoughts on it, some other ideas, & infographic. "Flipped Classroom" is a classroom model where the teacher works with students on projects and what would be typically homework instead of a lecture and the students get the "lecture" at home, usually through a video (like from Kahn Academy, or made by the teacher, or from Discovery Education). The proponents of this model say that it offers the teacher more time to work with students on projects and applying the knowledge, rather than spending time delivering that knowledge. The opponents say that it moves too much work to the student at home and many students don't have access to the resources, like broadband internet and a computer, to watch these videos.
In my opinion, this is nothing new. Teachers assigned reading out of the textbook for homework, and now they want to assign video lectures to watch. What's so different? Does it really improve student learning? I have students who don't have the time, computer, internet access, or ability to watch videos at home.
Related: 20 Technology Skills that Every Educator Should Have. By Laura Turner In 2005 I wrote a similar article and have had requests to write an update. Technology has changed a great deal in the last 5-6 years. Although, realistically, you would not use all of these technologies, you should be knowledgeable in what each of the following technology is and how it could be/might be used in a classroom. \ 1. Here is some detailed information about the first 5 technology skills. 1. Google for Educators Google supports teachers in their efforts to empower students and expand the frontiers of human knowledge.
. (6-12) Create an interactive online poster using images, text background audio and video. Google Get email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. Google iGooglewww.google.com/ig Personalize your Google page. 2. The Technology Integration Answer...Well Almost. Earlier this year our district adopted the TPACK model of technology integration.
What is TPACK you ask? Basically, it takes the approach that planning for technology integration shouldn't be an event. It should be something that adds to what we are already doing. Through the use of Activity Types, teachers can take the activities they are already doing and match them up with appropiate technologies that may or may not work, depending on the context of learning. You can view this presentation to learn more. According to the feedback we have gotten from the folks who have embraced it has been overwhelmingly positive.
Recently I came across something that you can also use to make technology integration easier for you and your staff. There are actually 2 that you can take a look at. The first is the original from The Florida Center For Instructional Technology at the University of South Florida. The other is an adaption from Northern Arizona University. About Steven Steven W. Hybrid Classes Prepare Students for College - Chartiers Valley, PA Patch. Less class time adds more responsibility and independence for CV students Upperclassmen at Chartiers Valley High School are learning more by attending class less with a new hybrid format. The classes only meet once a week and are offered first period in the morning, allowing students to arrive about an hour later than normal. The hybrid courses follow the same curriculum as the traditional ones, only with less class time and more online work and electronic communication. “The hybrid classes are part of an initiative started two years ago to restructure the senior year to help students be more prepared for college and beyond,” said Terri Flynn, the new director of administrative services who was instrumental in developing the program.
Similar to college, students are expected to come to class having already read the chapter and prepared with questions. If the teacher notices a student struggling or not completing work, they can require them to come in more than once a week. Virtual High School Welcomes You! WhyVHS-Home. Planning. 24 Getting Smart Blogs About Blended Learning. Being an Effective Online Student. ROCK HILL | Technology 'hooks' students at Northwestern High. ROCK HILL — South Carolina is at risk of a water shortage. With $500,000 in grants available for innovative conservation projects, it's up to the students in Bryan Coburn's introduction to engineering course at Northwestern High to devise solutions. Armed with smartphones and an array of Web tools, the teens spent much of last semester on that hypothetical assignment. By the project's end, they had created elaborate online portfolios showcasing their research, 3D designs and multimedia packages.
Students said they never felt so enthralled by school work. Some were inspired to become engineers. "It was amazing," freshman Parker Hooten said. "We didn't just sit there and learn. That's the kind of school experience that Coburn, the state's Teacher of the Year in 2009, and the founders of a national program want to replicate. Coburn is among a cadre of celebrated teachers rethinking how to prepare students to excel in an age of rapid innovation and global uncertainty. An important role.