Blended Learning: Strategies for Engagement There are methods and models for implementing blended learning -- from the flipped classroom, to the flex model. All of them are on the continuum of just how much time is spent online and in the online classroom. Blended Learning can provide a unique way of not only engaging students in collaborative work and projects, but also personalizing and individualizing instruction for students. However, there is still one piece that is missing from a great blended learning environment: engagement! As an experienced online teacher of both K-12 and higher education students, I am familiar with the challenges of engaging students in virtual work. #1 Leverage Virtual Class Meetings with Collaborative Work One of the most prominent features of blended learning is the virtual meeting or synchronous class meeting. #2 Create the Need to Know The key here is an engaging model of learning. #3 Reflect and Set Goals #4 Differentiate Instruction Through Online Work #5 Use Tools for Mobile Learning
Blended Learning at GrayHarriman.com What is Blended LearningWhy use Blended Learning?How does one create Blended Learning?What medium can be used in Blended Learning?What are the challenges of Blended Learning?What are the advantages of Blended Learning?Blended Learning resources. What is Blended Learning? 1. 2. Why use Blended Learning? 1. 2. 3. 4. How does one design Blended Learning? To design blended training, the instructional designers start by analyzing the training or course objectives and braking them down into the smallest possible pedagogically (for children) or andragogically (for adults) appropriate chunks (learning object). After the course or training has been chunked, the best approach to deliver each segment of instruction (learning object) is identified. The course is then aggregated by grouping the instruction logically while taking into account the medium of delivery. What medium can be used in Blended Learning? The medium is not limited to technology and can include: Blended Learning Resources:
What Will Work in New Blended Learning Experiment? Lenny Gonzales As the blended learning movement grows in the U.S., schools will need to experiment with what works best in different types of settings. There’s still a lot to learn about different types of blended learning models, and a new nonprofit called Silicon Schools will raise and invest $25 million toward that effort. With partial grants from the Bay Area’s Fisher family (owners of Gap), and the advice of board members Michael Horn from the Innosight Institute and Salman Khan of the Khan Academy, the nonprofit, which has raised $12 million so far, aims to fund new and innovative approaches in existing blended learning programs with grants to each school. The effort is led by Brian Greenberg, who chronicled the successes and challenges of piloting the Khan Academy in Oakland’s Envision Schools on the Blend My Learning blog. Giving students more responsibility for the learning process was also a significant outcome of the Envision pilot program.
Learning 3.0: Face-to-face, Online, Hybrid - New Educator - College of Education - Michigan State University In the classroom or on the screen — or both, the College of Education continues to rethink where, and how, learning occurs By Nicole Geary Have you taken a course online? The College of Education led the charge into web-based teaching more than a decade ago and currently claims nearly 900 students pursuing degrees completely online. The mission hasn’t changed, but the reach is far greater. Online programs make higher education opportunities available to more people in more places. More than ever, professors are prepared to foster learning online without sacrificing the quality of instruction that Michigan State University is known for. BUT BEING ONLINE ISN’T ENOUGH. In the MSU College of Education, the question is not how many students can be reached. “We used to ask questions like whether we should or not, and if the technology will actually work,” said Cary Roseth, assistant professor of educational psychology. The questions have become: Why synchronous? Click to enlarge Yet.
District's answer to overcrowding: Blended learning Manchester, N.H., superintendent’s plan would put students in virtual courses to overcome crowded classrooms From wire service reports Read more by staff and wire services reports November 21st, 2012 The proposals are part of an education reform agenda pushed by Mayor Ted Gatsas following an outcry over crowded classrooms. Could technology help solve the problem of crowded classrooms? The Manchester, N.H., school district is poised to find out as soon as next semester, when it plans to offer virtual classes that students at the three high schools would be able to take without physically being in the same room as a teacher. Superintendent Thomas Brennan has presented the plan to the school committee in the form of a report titled “Maximizing Educational Opportunities.” Under Brennan’s plan, students also would be able to take college-level courses through the University of New Hampshire-Manchester. Gatsas wholeheartedly agreed.
How Blogs, Social Media, and Video Games Improve Education I've just been reading this interesting publication from the Brookings institution titled How Blogs, Social Media, and Video Games Improve Education. At the beginning of the report there is a quote from Alan Daly, at the University of California at San Diego, who predicts that "Education innovation will shift away from experts and capacity building to focus on networks… We have to start thinking about the expertise that resides in the system, and we have to be connected in order to make use of it. This is a concept that is dear to my heart – the transformation of our current school system and its focus on the individual 'schoolhouse, into a networked schooling system, with its emphasis on the inherent strength of the network, on collaboration, sharing, synergy etc. Thus this monograph is less about the specific technologies and their particular uses in education, and more about their affordances as instruments of this transformation.
To Make Blended Learning Work, Teachers Try Different Tactics By now, most would agree that technology has the potential to be a useful tool for learning. Many schools have invested in some form of technology, whether it’s in computer labs, tablets, or a laptop for every student, depending on their budget. But for many schools, finding a way to integrate the use of tech in a traditional setting — teacher-centered classrooms — is proving to be a challenge. What educational software should be used? At this point, just a couple of years into the movement, there are no definitive answers yet. “It’s going to be more about teachers having nimble classrooms.” But for any of those tactics to work, educators agree that the key is to have a clear vision of what the technology is being used for, and how that will affect the teacher’s role. Catlin Tucker, an English teacher in Windsor, Calif., who integrates tech into her students’ school and homework, takes full advantage of what the technology affords her. That might be easier said than done. Related
A Comparative Study of the Effectiveness of an Online and Face-to-Face Technology Applications Course in Teacher Education 37 Blended Learning Resources You Can Use Tomorrow 37 Blended Learning Resources You Can Use Tomorrow by Dr. Justin Marquis Remixing the curriculum – compiling resources from a variety of sources such as free online texts, proprietary information from publishers, and self-created media such as podcasts – is starting to push its way into K-12 and higher education. Gathering the Ingredients Before Remixing Like any course development process, there is a good deal of research that goes into remixing the contents of a new or existing class curriculum. Consider including a small selection of remixed materials at first and expand each time you teach the class. Free Courseware Free Online Texts Video Resources Remember, as will all sources from the Internet, you will want to confirm the validity of each one that you choose to include in a class. 37 Blended Learning Resources You Can Use Tomorrow is a cross-post from onlineuniversities.com and Dr.
7 Reasons Why Blended Learning Makes Sense SMARTER SCHOOLS | by Michael Spencer Education no longer comes in rows and textbooks, but from a combination of sources. Let’s start with a definition. What exactly is blended learning? Here’s a great, generally useful definition found on the City Prep Academies website that clarifies the term: “[Blended learning] integrates face-to-face classroom time with online learning (facilitated at all times by a classroom teacher), combining the effectiveness and socialization of the classroom with technology-enhanced online materials.” What makes blended learning especially appealing is that it provides students with courses that wouldn’t otherwise be available; teachers get near-instant student assessments and the opportunity to provide their students with individualized instruction. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. If we’re excited and responsible in how we use technology for learning—then, like never before—the future of education is ours to create. Like this: Like Loading...