Welcome to week #1 and our reflections around Chapters 1-3
I am Michele Nickels and I will be your moderator for this week. I work for
Wisconsin Virtual School and am a proud member of the
Wisconsin Digital Learning Collaborative.
I am Michele Nickels and I will be your moderator for this week. I work for
Wisconsin Virtual School and am a proud member of the
Wisconsin Digital Learning Collaborative.
As you discovered there are some great next steps posed at the end of each chapter
related to questions to consider and actions that could be taken. You are more than
welcome to reflect or share out on any of those questions or actions and/or pose
your own ideas, resources to ensure you are getting what you need out of this
professional learning experience. You are also welcome to reflect
and respond to any or all of the chapter food for thought items posed below:
related to questions to consider and actions that could be taken. You are more than
welcome to reflect or share out on any of those questions or actions and/or pose
your own ideas, resources to ensure you are getting what you need out of this
professional learning experience. You are also welcome to reflect
and respond to any or all of the chapter food for thought items posed below:
Chapter 1 starts out with a quote from Clayton Christensen about 50% of all high
school coursesbeing taken online by 2019. Has that happened? In May, John Watson,
posted this blog on the Digital Learning Collaborative
“Disrupting Class got the numbers wrong, but the theory right” .
Book author Kim Loomis references her experience in seeing use of digital content
in areas of non-consumption (advanced placement, credit recovery) and how online
learning grew were options did not exist as the theory predicted. However, the growth
of fully online did not occur as fast as was thought. The book also referenced the history
and movement towards blended learning as it provided the best of both worlds and
could also provide more structure and support for some students that might need that.
What would it take to move our traditional schools to innovate more quickly? Or
better yet the educational entity you work for to innovate more quickly? What are
those perceived or real barriers that you see in your situation that tend to slow
innovation down?
school coursesbeing taken online by 2019. Has that happened? In May, John Watson,
posted this blog on the Digital Learning Collaborative
“Disrupting Class got the numbers wrong, but the theory right” .
Book author Kim Loomis references her experience in seeing use of digital content
in areas of non-consumption (advanced placement, credit recovery) and how online
learning grew were options did not exist as the theory predicted. However, the growth
of fully online did not occur as fast as was thought. The book also referenced the history
and movement towards blended learning as it provided the best of both worlds and
could also provide more structure and support for some students that might need that.
What would it take to move our traditional schools to innovate more quickly? Or
better yet the educational entity you work for to innovate more quickly? What are
those perceived or real barriers that you see in your situation that tend to slow
innovation down?
Chapter 2 talked about adopting a blended learning model or perhaps we should
consider models as the same model should not be applied to all students, learning
environments or situations. It really was trying to ground us in a common vocabulary
to begin to have conversations and planning sessions around blended learning and
the connection between the digital and offline experiences. The book did provide URLs
to take a look at different models but you also might want to check out the
Blended Learning Universe Hub created by the Christian Institute that will provide
more video examples, models in action and profile examples. In working with schools
in our State we often find that they enjoy reviewing and even taking site visits to see
various models in action.
consider models as the same model should not be applied to all students, learning
environments or situations. It really was trying to ground us in a common vocabulary
to begin to have conversations and planning sessions around blended learning and
the connection between the digital and offline experiences. The book did provide URLs
to take a look at different models but you also might want to check out the
Blended Learning Universe Hub created by the Christian Institute that will provide
more video examples, models in action and profile examples. In working with schools
in our State we often find that they enjoy reviewing and even taking site visits to see
various models in action.
Chapter two also provided an action suggestion of looking through the Evergreen
Education Group’s Planning for Quality Guide. Evergreen, by way of the
Digital Learning Collaborative, is continuing to update and produce these guides
which now include the following since the publication of the book:
Education Group’s Planning for Quality Guide. Evergreen, by way of the
Digital Learning Collaborative, is continuing to update and produce these guides
which now include the following since the publication of the book:
- .Planning for Quality: Starting and Growing a Digital Learning Program and
- Planning for Quality: A Guide for Continuous Improvement of Digital
The newest versions can be found here if you would like to explore them or share
them with others making decisions and planning for your educational opportunities:
https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/planningforquality
them with others making decisions and planning for your educational opportunities:
https://www.digitallearningcollab.com/planningforquality
Chapter 3: So are you currently or will you be deploying or developing digital content
and what are the barriers and successes you can share? This chapter really struck
home for me personally as we have a lot of conversation with districts around use of
OER, versus purchasing developed content and the cost and professional learning
to develop your own in the CIA fashion.
and what are the barriers and successes you can share? This chapter really struck
home for me personally as we have a lot of conversation with districts around use of
OER, versus purchasing developed content and the cost and professional learning
to develop your own in the CIA fashion.
Thank you ahead of time for sharing your reflections so we can learn and
grow together.
Chapter 1 gave me a lot to think about regarding the differences of online and blended learning. I have worked with models that were "free of time and place" and "...others that kept the pace with a calendar...and assignment due dates." (page 23) Both models had issues with student time management, similar to what I find in the f2f classroom. I am wondering if it is less about presentation of information and more about student engagement? Are students, especially at the Secondary level, just well versed in how to do school?
ReplyDeleteHi Elisabeth,
DeleteThanks for posing your own food for thought here for our educational colleagues to consider. I think you will find that some models like the station rotation lend themselves to more guidance and cues for when to refocus and move versus a flex model where really students are more responsible for choosing content and how they use time in that block of time. I think that there is probably a gradual development of skills that will help students be better managers of their time, some strategies we can use to support that and really build the learners agency. One would think that the more control and involvement a student has in deciding their educational goals and pathway to getting there would lead to engaging them. However, I don't think it happens overnight and there has to be a lot of support. Looking forward to hearing others thoughts to your questions too. Michele
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ReplyDeleteI had been using blended classes since 1998. I currently am looking to put three courses together using online learning.
ReplyDeleteHi Mark so when you look at the models presented in the book which models of blended learning have you used since 1998 and is there a reason why that model? What are the three courses you are working on putting together? Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteMy lab was a tech ed lab that was based on a central management system and 5 day rotations. Back then all content was stored on the 12 station computers. Fast forward to today and the sites I want to use have been blocked and the it guy can't see why a "shop"teacher even needs computers. We are a 1 to1 school using chromebooks.
DeleteMark thanks for your response and I have a small engines teacher I am working with to build content in the infrastructure we use and he has run into similar response about the need. Best wishes for working through the blocking of content and great if the content can run on chromebooks too as that should help with the infrastructure support verses just 12 station computers too. Michele
DeleteMichelle Briggs and Stratton has online courses in the power portal. Uour teacher may contact the corporation to sign up for a login powerportal.com
DeleteI've been teaching a long time and have experienced this movement first hand. Chapter 1 goes over the history of the blended classroom, how it emerged and how it has changed. Maybe my school is behind the times but while we do offer some online classes for credit recovery and some classes with a touch of blended tendencies (as well as one math teacher who teaches a completely flipped classroom) our school in no way offers 50% of the learning in a blended environment. I do see the positives of a blended environment as the chapter pointed out. But I also can see how this could go terribly wrong too as the chapter pointed out "too much student control is not good for every learner" (23). In the end, I feel the chapter and the video clip presented in it show that there is more positive to be gained from a blended classroom than negative. It's all about the implementation of it. Technology is our future. On-line learning still provides a lot of communication if done properly and gives motivated students the opportunity to have a strong hand in their learning and pace of instruction. I'm excited to incorporate some blended teaching units in my classroom this fall and eager to continue with the book to see where it takes me.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa thanks for reflecting on your schools situation and if 50% is represented there. As we enter chapter 2 and explore the models of blended learning you will discover that depending on the goal, situation, learners experience with blended some models might work better than others. There definitely is a learning curve and support that needs to be provided to help students develop agency and experience success. Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteI find accountability is the key, especially when using technology that can hinder productivity as well as help.
DeleteMark agreed accountability is key and not just using technology because it it the newest thing or the latest buzz either, but with purpose.
DeleteHi Lisa--I think we are heading in the direction of the blended classroom but we're not sure how to get there yet. That is why studies like this are good so we can explore all avenues on how to get there.
DeleteI find that kids get tired of using tech in all classes. At my school they are using it 1:1 and sometimes groan if I we using it too often in art. So in terms of blended, we still need both. My online students have all commented how they really enjoy the assignments where they get to use photography or create hands on art over just answers questions.
DeleteAfter reading chapter 2 I realize that maybe I jumped the gun when I said that few of my fellow teachers are using blended learning. And I think this is because I was referring to a very strict definition of the word. I like that this chapter lays out different models for blended learning. The video clips add a lot too. I feel like the individual rotation is what I will be going for. In my English 101 class I will be using an online component called LaunchPad for the first time this fall. My understanding of LaunchPad is that it is an online tool where students can work at their own pace through material to all reach the same level (or nearly) of understanding. A diagnostic test will start each of them at the level they are at now and they will move from there. This sounds sooo simple yet change is going to be hard and I have a lot to learn about how I can still be present in the learning to help motivate those who need extra motivation, provide individual help etc...I'm nervous about it to say the least but seeing these examples is exciting.
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa I have not used LaunchPad myself but perhaps another colleague here has and can shed some insight too. My experience has shown that when moving to a new model there may be some push back from students/parents, but a lot of this can be alleviated when explaining the why behind making the move or change too. Best wishes as you explore blended learning-Michele
DeleteLisa, I too was a bit remiss in what I thought was blended learning. When I read on page 30 that teachers who send students to the computer stations to work is not enough, that they need to be using the data gleaned from what these students are working on, I realized maybe my district is just skimming the surface. I'm hoping I can figure this out and make small changes.
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DeleteHi Lisa and Michele- I may be using Launchpad as well for my AP Psychology classes =) I've looked at it before, but haven't used it for an online management system. If I remember correctly, it has a number of features that allow for data collection using formative assessments!
DeleteLori: me too!
DeleteLinda: I just received access to the instructor side of Launchpad and it def has features that allow for data collection and individualized instruction. Now for me to figure it out lol.
I agree with the idea of introducing blended learning for the first time. With any new idea comes resistance.
DeleteI have found that after year 1 and 2, the concept is much more accepted.
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ReplyDeleteChapter One Thoughts: I appreciated the history and background provided in chapter one. I am new to the blended learning world and I am excited about the possibilities. Next school year all my history classes will be supported by an LMS making it easier to provide online content and learning activities for my students. I am on board with blended learning because as a social studies teacher I value class discussion and student engaging with one another. The discussions can still happen as students engage with material online material prior to those activities. I read a New York Times article that came out this spring that was highly critical of online programs. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/21/technology/silicon-valley-kansas-schools.html
ReplyDeleteMy concern for online learning is when it is NOT implemented in a way that will engage students and give them a quality learning experience. Students need social interaction to thrive in the world as well. That is why blended learning is appealing to me--you do not have to make an either or choice.
Hi Alison thanks for sharing the article and jogging my memory as I had seen that article. When schools move to blended a key component is explaining the Why to a variety of audiences (students, parents, community, educators etc.). We have also seen the opposite happen, where schools instead of whole school adoption did pilot blended classrooms, that by semester those not in the pilot were demanding that the other classrooms be blended. With any implementation there has to be thought put into it and a plan that considers risk of what we believe will occur if it does not and the ability to adjust quickly or fail forward so to speak. So glad that you are able to join us and really looking forward to the conversations to come-Michele
DeleteHello Allison! I enjoyed reading your response to Chapter 1. It has been my experience with students engaging and discussing online that they need a lot of modeling to what this looks like. The best discussions evolve out of teacher-led modeling to show them how to make meaningful observations and ask questions.
DeleteYou name one of my concerns, Alison. Do you think items such as skype or google hangouts can help integrate social interaction into online learning?
DeleteI agree Elisabeth that modeling is an important factor for students to interact and communicate online.
DeleteI think a blog system like this would be great for students. We are all discussing a topic and communicating with each other. Those that are slower at typing gain practice or collaboration with others who can.
DeleteI agree with Alison that students need social interaction f2f. However, this generation’s way to have social interaction is using their phones and apps.
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ReplyDeleteChapter 1. I feel fear of failure (whether it is linked to evaluation or not) is the reason many teachers do not want to innovate more quickly. Of course, if it is not linked to evaluation it helps. Time and sometime work ethic can impede the process. Also, if the administrator is not “all in” with beliefs as well as enthusiastic actions and is doing the implementation of blended because it is was expected by the state/others and trends, then the vital support system will not be there. Another reason that innovation may not move more quickly is that the implementation may be a program adopted from somewhere else which may not be motivating for the teacher’s student population. It is always good to have students involved in the adoption, implementation, and assessment processes.
ReplyDeleteChapter 2. What was the question?
Chapter 3. Since I am retired, I will answer the question regarding what I have done deploying and developing digital content. I have developed the both developed the content and used developed material for online learning. I agree with the author that developing content is time-consuming and a learning management system is the way to go, but I do not feel that purchased content can be the solution unless much time in reviewing the materials is done before parting with the school’s dollar. Some of the purchased content has incorrect information and/ or is “dry”. I know that I do not always use the same resources to teach sections of the same course during the same semester, or even Instead, I have utilized different resources to meet student’s needs and fit the standards of the day. A learning management system allows the teacher or teachers in the department/school/district to collaborate to find, share, and develop great resources, activities, projects, and other materials to motivate the students while achieving the outcomes of the course. Statewide collaboration like Utah has done with their UEN (Utah Educational Network) that was done years ago was a great way for teacher’s in a particular subject area to share ideas, activities, and resources (not only with the state, but the nation). Perhaps, more of us should follow their example. Is linking, uploading, and/or creating items for use time-consuming? Of course, it is, but if we work together to help our students, isn’t it worth it?
Hi Elizabeth and thank you for your detailed response and catching that Chapter 2 really did not pose a question but provided an updated resource to the one referenced in the book for you to look through.
DeleteOn chapter one I believe you are talking about support for learning and failing forward from administration. No doubt it is important to have all stakeholders as part of the conversation around the Why? of blended learning too.
With chapter 3 I think you hit the nail on the head as that we often do not use a text book in our face to face courses cover to cover and we supplement and the same would be true for purchased digital courses. I think the key is that perhaps national providers of content need to build in a way that provides the teacher the flexibility to use part and not all of the content and ability to easily edit quickly and/or pull in content from another source with ease to compliment the learning experience. Thanks for sharing your insights here-Michele
Thank you!
DeleteKudos to you, Michele for providing additional supportive resources as food for thought. I enjoyed them!
Something I thought was odd is that based on the title and content of the book for our study you would think that an e-book would be available. I am wondering why there is not an electronic version.
Ann Stickman
Elizabeth you are not the first one to ask that question about the e-book version. It would be a great question to pose to the author Kim Loomis at http://i3digitalpd.com/contact-us/
DeleteElizabeth I did reach out to the email link as asked this question and got this response:
DeleteQuestion: Curious as to why "Thank Outside the Box" The CIA of Blended Learning and 10+ Designs for Secondary School is not offered in a digital format? We are currently doing a book study and our educators wondered why not a digital format they could access versus having to locate and carry around a paperback copy. Thanks for an insight on that decision and/or if we missed the boat on where to purchase or obtain a digital copy letting us know that too. Michele
Response: Michele,
Thanks for reaching out. Sorry, the book is not in digital format. You did not miss it, I did as a self publisher. Sorry.
Hope you and your peers enjoy the book study.
Thanks,
Kim
Kim Loomis
Digital Learning Specialist
(702) 279-4910
i3DigitalPD.com
Thanks Michele for sharing the response on the blog!
DeleteMichele, I definitely think there is a way to network with other educators beyond the school doors. An online site hosted by a national/state professional subject matter area organization of national/state department of education would be a natural fit. It would be a perfect grant idea to benefit students and educators. We found locally that there were definitely areas where students seemed to need more support and//or help in achieving outcomes. The joy was being able to collaborate to the improvement of all of our students. If states and other professional development suppliers could build in time and professional credits for this type of activity and then host the results online, I think everyone would come out winners – students, teachers, and education in general. The discussions for curriculum development could be online and/or at schools, districts, professional organization meetings, or any other professional support system.
DeleteWhen I was at Purdue University, one of the things I did was develop an online prototype with two other people that was intended to address gaps of learning that entering accepted freshmen were experiencing. Prior to beginning their coursework, students would be test on various prior knowledge and be given options for addressing the gaps in learning before their entered their college coursework. The prototype adapted and branched based on what the gaps were and what their personal best ways of learning were. The program allowed students to work at their own pace and choose their own strategies, while addressing their learning styles and avoiding embarrassment and feelings of inadequacies before the first day of class. This is another way learning could be done outside the doors of a classroom.
Ann Stickman
I agree there is a large fear that blended learning will adversely affect a teachers evaluation. And it most likely will if the district and /or principal is not on board with it. I did experience this to some degree at first.
DeleteMy first experience with blended and authentic learning was in Morenci, AZ in 1995. I've experimented with blended learning as well as flipped classrooms. Having experience with multiple LMS platforms has also been a plus. However, the insight in the first 3 chapters has given a sense of direction and validation.
ReplyDeleteHi Erich glad that you connected with chapter 3 and in what way has it provided direction and validation? Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteThe CIA and lesson models provided are in a way a universal fit. My own ways of doing... fit this direction. The book provides a coherent explanation, when at times I was not able to articulate it.
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ReplyDeleteWeek 1-Chapters 1-3 June 24th-30th
ReplyDeleteI have many thoughts about these chapters, so I hope I don't appear to be rambling. First off, I appreciated the history of blended learning from Chapter 1, and then the different models from Chapter 2. I feel like as I read these chapters, I am looking at it not only from the view of the teacher, but the parent of 3 high school students. To begin, I teach at and my children attend a very small rural school in western Illinois. We do our best to provide the resources that we need, but I feel we fall short in the area of teachers and thus we have been pushed to utilize online learning before we probably would have chosen. I have seen years where we have a face to face teacher for certain subjects and then the following year, the teacher relocates and we can't find a teacher and turn to an online course. My children have had Spanish both online and with a face to face teacher. They have learned FAR more with a teacher than they ever did online. We are currently looking for a certified high school Math teacher and so in the mean time, I have signed my kids up for an online class at our local college. I could go on and on with numerous examples, but what it leads me to believe over and over is that the best education we can give our kids is teacher led with purposeful implementation of outside resources in a blended learning format. As a PE teacher that wants to implement technology into my day, I need to make sure that it is strategic, purposeful, and thoughtful. All three of these chapters gave me so much to think about and have provided me with some direction on where I could move to this in my PE setting.
With PE do you have a health class? you might look into video resources dealing with the hazards of vaping, marijuana, unprotected sex etc. Assign a you tube video from a critical reliable source and ask students their thoughts, what they didn't know, etc.
DeleteHi Jan,
DeleteMark gave some great suggestions for you to consider. We also have seen schools take fully developed content and utilize their own teachers to provide a blended opportunity in rural communities where often numbers of courses are restricted too. By blending and having the online content already developed it allows them to expand the course catalog, but the opportunity for that face to face interaction as/when needed and what makes sense for large group, small groups or individuals too. We also have seen some schools look a little differently at when students can take physical education and stretch that into summer and allow students who are in sports or involved in other recreation activities from kayaking to horseback riding, biking etc. to utilize that as part of fitness logs and connected to the curriculum too. There are other physical education/health teachers enrolled that no doubt will be willing to have conversations around how they are or plan to blend too. Michele
Thanks Mark and Michele-great ideas!
DeleteThanks Jan for sharing your experiences (and your children's) experiences with online learning. I have often worried that students may not be receiving the same learning opportunities offered in a traditional learning environment.
DeleteChapter 1 is certainly a great preface to the book. I am a teacher at an alternative high school and our teaching methods are in a constant state of flux as we must constantly experiment with teaching strategies and individualize content in order to meet needs for students who have not been successful in traditional learning environments. For instance, a student was having difficulty and was constantly asking to use the bathroom and then would leave the class for long periods of time. After discussing our concerns with students prolonged absence from the class, she revealed that she was experiencing extreme episodes of anxiety while sitting in the room. We suggested that she might feel better closer to the door and she agreed to try moving next to the door which eventually lessened her feeling of being "trapped" in the room. Chapter 1 also mentions that the reason some people hesitate leaving the "box" is that they fear failure. Unfortunately, I have observed during my career that when a teacher does try a different approach to teaching, there seems to be some teachers who developed the attitude " I knew it wouldn't work"if the project fails. And of course, for some, knowing that there might we those who would delight in their failure would cause many to remain in their comfort zone.
ReplyDeleteGary thanks for bring up the comfort and fear of failure. I do think it helps if teachers not only have a supportive network but also administration that support innovation and failing forward with quick adjustments or changes to support our varied learners. Michele
DeleteI agree about the teacher fear of failure, Gary. Do you think teachers have the fear because we don't want to appear as failures to our students due to the stigma attached to it at the student-level?
DeleteI think the fear of failure is a result of experiencing a project that was not well received by the students. I have had this happen a few times. Of course you are hesitant to create new projects. To overcome these anxious feelings to begin something new, I have gone back to rethink what went wrong with my past projects. I ask myself was the lesson poorly planned, was it appropriate for my students, were there students in the room who were distracting other students to participate. So for me, I think analyzing the expected outcome of each activity helps to reduce the fear of failure of future PBL lessons.
DeleteLike others who have posted on Chapter One, the definition of "blended learning" was a revelation for me. My school has been one-to-one for several years and we state that our teachers use "blended learning". However, I don't believe that one would find that there is "some element of student control over time, place, path and/or pace". I see the computers used mainly to supplement or enhance what the teacher does. Teachers have students watch a video clip and respond/react to it. They use them activities and games that reinforce vocabulary and concepts (quizlet, kahoot, quizziz). But I am really not sure about student control. I know that in my own case as a Spanish teacher I might give choice of different activities to get to the same learning, but that is really the only control I give them. I hope that I will learn more about how to help them want to learn more on their own. With beginning students, I am not sure how much control they can have. Any ideas?
ReplyDeleteHi Mary thanks for your reflection here on your belief that most teachers might have more of a technology enriched classroom versus the definition of a blended classroom as presented in our reading. Hoping others way in on your control question here, but I do believe their is a gradual release of control that needs to occur and building up expectations and understanding of agency for learners too. Some models of blended learning like the typical station rotation are still very much controlled students moving at a set time or teachers discretion. The choice might come in with what station they start at and/or a choice of how to demonstrate mastery or skill at a station. While a flex model gives students a lot more control and might be something moved into after they have experienced some of the other models of blended learning and/or assurance that supports are there and there is an ease into blended learning to build those independent learning skills too. Thanks for raising the question and looking forward to others thoughts too-Michele
DeleteChapter 1 I think a big barrier to innovation in our school is teachers doing AMAZING things in their classroom but not feeling confident enough to share them with their colleagues for fear of bragging or even backlash from some teachers. Technology is not a barrier for us, but using the technology in a meaningful way (although we've provided coaching and PD) still continues to be a struggle.
ReplyDeleteChapter 2 really helped me to identify that we are doing some sort of blended learning in other areas of school, we just call it something different. It was refreshing to know that BL isn't just one model. It looks differently depending on the barriers and the appetite for change.
Chapter 3 really got down the the nitty gritty about how important it is to marry the idea of digital curriculum and guided instruction. I loved the "depth of knowledge" concept and how this BL model really nailed home that the teacher's "humaness" is not only needed in the classroom, but imperative for this model of education to be effective. I think my teachers who are wary about this concept will really appreciate hearing that we can only get to a deeper knowledge base with a teacher connecting the digital content with instruction. Too often I think teachers believe they are being replaced by technology when it can save them time and lead their students deeper understanding. I love that someone else is saying it besides me! :)
Deidre thank you for your great reflections on chapters 1-3. I like how you say the "barriers and appetite for change" as there are some models that are more disruptive than others (enriched virtual) versus a station rotations (that supports more of the traditional classroom). I do think sometimes teachers can feel they need to use the newest tech tool or app but as you say it has to be adopted with purpose and not using it because it is the latest buzz. We work with a lot of teachers and they know how important they are in that CIA loop and building relationships that allow them to humanize the digital aspects of the content too. Many have indicated their experience teaching full online has changed what they did in their face to face classroom and now exposure to blended learning concepts has changed what they do online too to create a better learning environment for them and their students. Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteI feel like I gained a lot of information just from chapter 2 alone. Understanding the different models and seeing the videos of other schools using them was extremely helpful. Working in a district of 430 students K-12 I am finding it difficult seeing how I will even be able to get buy-in from my staff. But, I think it's worth looking into this and taking it to my administration in order to see how this could be used.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have the resources to purchase software or online programs to facilitate much of what is discussed in this book but perhaps we can at least use the few resources we do have in order to get better at looking at data from the students and using it to steer our instruction in the correct direction. Honestly, I think our elementary teachers do this the best. I know many of them use the Station Rotation and the students use iPad programs for certain instruction. The teachers do study the data from those programs and are able to then adjust their instruction.
At this point in the game, I think our district could work in the Station/Lab Rotation or Flipped Classroom models but on a limited basis. The whole school won't flip at once because that would probably cause some of the teachers to flip!
Hi Lori thanks for your reflection here. Chapter 2 does a great job of providing that definition of blended and the models to have a discussion around so everyone is talking the same talk. When it comes to buy in you really have to focus on the Why would you make the change. Is it the offer more opportunities, is it to provide AP courses you have never been able to offer, is it to facilitate students making up credits etc. We also find that schools need to really communicate with teachers, students, parents and the community. Often they will not move district wide but start with those early adopters and expand as interest grows and students are successful in that environment too. Our experience too is that those elementary teachers got that station rotation down and adding in a station that uses digital content is often something that can easily be done. But like you said only if there is data and that data is being used to guide that experience. You have a lot of colleagues here to have some great conversations with and we are glad you could join us-Michele
DeleteLori,
DeleteElementary teachers do tend to have more "training" in centers/stations. There are many "baby steps" to blended learning and especially if one-to-one technology is not an option. There are many free "skills practice" sites that provide the lower level of knowledge practice. It is an exciting new adventure into the digital age of learning/engagement.
Natasha
I agree!
DeleteWith regards to trying new programs, comes the cost of technology. Our district has always done a nice job of continuously delegating money to implement new programs by purchasing new technologies.
Chapter 1 gave me a bit more insight on what exactly blended learning is. I feel I do a bit of this in my classroom, but I am eager to do more. I have quite a variety of levels in my room (as I'm sure we all do), and I love letting the higher kids "go" while I work one-on-one with my lower ones. It is so much easier with online content. I teach in a rural school, and I feel that a lot of times we are kind of left behind in the aspect of technology. Our particular school is very luck to have a wonderful Academic Foundation who supports us monetarily with grants that aid us with blended learning, however, I feel that there are some faculty members that either resist the change, or are not comfortable or even uncertain about adding online instruction into their rooms. I feel that more training and instruction for these teachers is imperative to get them over that hump. I also feel that if these apprehensive teachers knew the benefits and inevitability of such change, they would be more apt to accept and implement.
ReplyDeleteJen we see a lot of teachers want to move to blended learning for the reason you mentioned-to meet the needs of all learners. Change can be scary, especially if there is not support to fail, adjust and learn and grow along the way when innovating. I like that you mentioned professional learning as educators do need to have some comfort and skill but too often we see educators receiving professional learning in a sit and get mode. What if professional learning modeled blended learning that met each teacher where they were at too instead of one size fits all? We are beginning to see schools model what they would like to see in their professional learning and that is exciting to us.
DeleteAfter reading chapter 2, I found that the flipped classroom and individual rotation rotational models would work best for me. In the past, after a lesson and when I noticed students having a difficult time during guided practice, I've made videos for them to watch and posted them on Google Classroom. I felt that teaching them in a different way helped them understand certain concepts. I would love to try out a flipped classroom. I was pleased to see that the video answered my question: "what if the students do not have internet access at home?" A flipped classroom would allow me to work longer with the students on their practice, and would also almost eliminate students cheating on their homework, which gives me false data. A flipped classroom in conjunction with an individual rotation would be an interesting concept, however, it would certainly take a great amount of planning; although, I would much rather plan than grade papers. ;)
ReplyDeleteJen interesting reflection on the fact that perhaps Academic Integrity is better achieved when students are completing assignments and assessments in a school setting versus at home or outside the school day. Blended really does provide that opportunity for authentic assessments. Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteHi Jen!
DeleteI enjoyed reading your reflections about Chapter 2 and the individual rotation model. This is something that I would really love to incorporate into my f2f classes since we have limited technology available. Your comments about students with limited, or no internet access, really would help. Most people assume that all students have equal access to technology at home, something we know that is not true.
I enjoyed reading your comments as well. Yes, I agree on the planning part. To get started, a lot of time will be needed. But then file it away and it can be used again as needed.
DeleteChapter 3
ReplyDeleteWhat did I get out of this chapter?
Change is scary and exciting....for me at least--start slowly. I appreciate the statement, "Developing online lessons is time consuming and very different from deploying pre-made content"(46). I confess that I will be using pre-made content (or a bundle of it I put together) to start. I think/hope that if I peruse the digital lessons and assessments I can build something better than what I am doing now. I can start to blend my classroom. This led me to another topic the chapter brought up---I need to see LaunchPad. I just received this new textbook in late May and while I've had time to investigate it, I have not had access to LaunchPad. And before I can go any further, I need to spend time with this digital companion. I'm excited to try the flexible model in my classroom.
Another statement that jumped out to me is, "One thing digital curriculum cannot do is establish a relationship with students" (49). I feel this is a very important component to being an effective teacher no matter how your classroom is set up.
I like your thoughts LIsa, slow and steady is the name of the game. It seems that implementing a blended learning approach to courses would take a lot of collaborative work even before the course begins I don't think that a "figure it out as it goes" approach is wise!
DeleteLisa thanks for commenting on the importance of a teacher and building those relationships. Building your community of learners is key to keeping the lines of communication and support open and to have some real conversations about growth. Michele
DeleteThe one thing that stands out to me as I read these chapters is that many teachers have been leading student centered classroom or designing lessons that put the learning in the hands of the students. I have always worked to do that, but admit that, although I have facilitated the class, I have been a little on the outside of the learning that happens. The chapter reminds me that my task is not only to design but to go back to look at the data and analyze it and follow up/make adjustments with my students. I view this as two parts planning....planning on the front end and planning on the back end getting ready for the next day!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the reviewing the data and then designing curriculum just-in-time for the next encounter with the students is important. It can be stressful and puts a "time crunch" in your life because of the fast turn around time. Something that I was fortunate to experience was a scheduled time at least once a month to review with all the teachers teaching course and looking at individual/team data to collaborate about what curriculum we could design to better meet individual needs for the objectives, what had been done by individual teachers ,and then what worked and what did not. By the next semester when we all were teaching to achieve the standards we had lots of ideas of how to better meet our students' needs. We also had some strategies for better meeting needs in upcoming lessons. The problem was that the courses where there was only one teacher of a course, there was never time to talk with others about those courses except when seeking out my colleagues.
DeleteAnn Stickman
Ann do you think if educators are using the same developed digital content there might be a way to network with other educators beyond your school doors? I know in our state some of what we do is try to connect X teacher to a group of teachers using the same digital curriculum to have those conversations. Now they have different students, but often they can identify gaps, areas where students commonly seem to struggle and collaborate on how they are enhancing that content etc. Just a thought and thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteMy big take-away for the first three chapters is ensuring the use of data for blended learning. In the previous blended learning I implemented, I used more anecdotal data from chatting with my students . . . .what questions do they have; can they explain the concept in their own words, etc. What I haven't done as much is to use the data from the formative assessments my students have taken to dictate future teaching and activities. I am looking forward to using this approach more often as I have new resources to use thanks to the College Board. A new set of materials as well as formative assessments for AP Psychology will be released in August!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda thanks for sharing your reflection about the importance of data and ways you might use data you have differently. No doubt if you are using an LMS it is capturing a lot of data around the difficulty and discrimination of the questions asked even and this is data that national providers look at to change/update questions too. Another simple piece of data that is used is looking at the time spend on the non-graded items versus the actual graded content. This really helps to know if intervention is needed and presenting the content in a different way versus encouragement to just complete the digital content for learning before completion of the assessments etc. Awesome that you will have some new resources to supplement the learning experience for your students too. Thanks again for reflecting on data you have at your fingertips and the best way to use that data too-Michele
DeleteAh! Time spent on non-graded items (data) = fabulous idea. Thanks Michele!
DeleteJohn Watson has a point. In theory, blending learning is the best of both worlds when it comes to education. However, convincing parents fostered by traditional education that blended learning works a roadblock that many districts will have find a way to get through. This is the biggest barrier my school district has as we move toward teachers utilizing some model of blending learning. In my community many parents view blended learning as the teacher being lazy. I sat in on a parent meeting during accreditation this spring, and the most common complaint expressed was "all these teachers are using this Schoology system and expecting the kids to learn without a teacher." It is easy to see why parents might see blended or online learning through this lens. As educators, it seems the biggest hurdle might be persuading parents that blended model is a more evolved method of learning. The bottom line is the teacher has the challenge of ensuring students thrive in a blended learning environment, and then most of the parents will buy into it. On that note, for me, blended learning takes a lot of time on the front end. It requires some trial and error in the curriculum as well as training the students to be independent learners, especially when a teacher is in close proximity.
ReplyDeleteHi Lori thanks for your thoughtful response here. Would love to hear your suggestions or best practices you have found to facilitate helping students to become independent learners. In the districts we work with parents and the larger community can push back at first. I believe most have found success in keeping those communication lines open. Creating some videos of staff and students talking about the benefits, how it works etc. They also have invited the community and parents into the classroom beyond just open house and parent teacher conferences and utilize the students to show them where they access digital content and to explain how it all works. In addition, some have found the push back is really because the parents are not familiar and do not know how to support the students with the LMS or other technology so having drop in sessions just for them to ask questions has been key too. Again, explaining the Why is so important and as you say trial and error but celebrating those successes too and keeping the lines of communication open. Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteLori - You make excellent points in your post! One thing I adore about blended learning is the planning/front end. You're right - it's time intensive and yet I love the planning and finding new ways of sharing information with the students. The one on one attention we then have time for is priceless. Hope your parents see the value as time goes on.
DeleteMichelle, You nailed it. I will say that communication with parents is the reason I have been able to have a successful blending classroom. I also only teach dual enrollment courses, so communication with parents is a two way process. Gaining the trust of students and parents is also imperative. Students have to know how to manage the LMS and know due dates are set in stone as an expectation. Change is hard for student and parents, but once both know that there is no hand holding at the college level, I get a much better response.
DeleteLinda,
DeleteI am not quite as enthusiastic as you about the front loaded work for blended learning. I dread it, but I know the reward for time down the road is so worth it.
I really appreciated the insight on blended learning and the history behind online education. When the idea of blended learning was first discussed at the high school that I taught for, there was mixed feelings and emotions on the overall benefits to students, as well as what this would require from teachers. Some teachers felt as though this was going to place an extra stress on their day to day. I am from a micro-generation that was not raised with technology, but has been thrown into a continually changing digital world. I have embraced the challenge to teach in such a virtual setting. Currently courses that I teach are primarily for credit recovery or for students that may benefit from an online learning platform. The curriculum is already developed, so there is no actual "teaching" that takes place from day to day. So, I agree with the statement that the role in this setting is "from a distance." One of my strongest assets in the face to face model has been to establish strong rapport with my students, allowing me to make personal connections. It will be interesting for me to see what challenges I might face as I pursue this next chapter in my teaching practice.
ReplyDeleteDeveloping a rapport from a distance can be a challenge, but I have found that I sometimes get to know more about my online students than the face to face students. It really is about taking and making the time and having your presence in the digital space known, but you can have great report and develop a great community of online learners. Best wishes as you pursue this next chapter and perhaps blending will provide the best of both world for you too.
DeleteI think in an online or preset curriculum model we do ourselves a disservice when we say that there is no actual "teaching" in the day-to-day. There are lots of things that we can do as distance teachers to help instill strong learning skills, ethics, academic integrity, and to build a strong rapport with them. I view that as teaching just as much as I view delivering the curriculum either face-to-face or at a distance!
DeleteChapter 1
ReplyDeleteI would say that I do not believe 50% of all high school classes are being taken online. I believe that there are a variety of reasons that traditional schools haven’t flocked to online education in the way Mr. Christensen believed that they would. The main two items (at least in my humble opinion) that traditional schools (including my own) will need to ascend into blended learning are money and a growth mindset for its teachers. As a member of my school’s tech team, I can say one of the things we are constantly talking about as a district is student-to-device ratio and the increased costs of maintaining lower and lower ratios. With more and more inexpensive devices (like Chromebooks) have become available and integrated into the classroom, the number of devices that need replacing increase rapidly (which in my district is required every 5 years). The problem is frequently these new devices are bought with grants and haven’t been taken into account for the district budget previously, so suddenly the district has to find more funds to provide the devices alone, let alone the curriculum! So money is the first obstacle…The next is the fixed mindset many teachers have in regards to technology integration into education. I realize it sounds odd saying this in today’s day and age of technology where people’s phones are practically surgically attached to their hands (including many of those teachers), but although teachers (as a species) are flexible within the classroom and can shift in the moment fluidly, long-term change is trickier. Heck, even changing the class we teach from year to year causes some teachers a panic attack. I think I have more of growth than a fixed mindset, yet as I read about many of the models in Chapter 2, I myself balked at the idea of some of them. It’s not entirely our species’ fault, however, as how many education trends have we seen rise and fall over the course of a career. Why invest now in something new? So if we could get teachers ready for the long-term change, then maybe blended learning can start to take root.
Chapter 3
I am not and (as far as I know), will not be developing or deploying digital content (at least one the scale of truly blended learning). I utilize Google Classroom in my F2F classroom and obviously in my online positions, but I am not a part of the content development teams.
Hi Lindsay thanks for sharing your reflection and great that you brought up mindset. There is a lot of talk about growth mindset for students, but we need to remember that includes us as adult learners too. We are also starting to see things pop up around an organizational growth mindset too around the following:
DeleteNot being helpless
Being passionate
Taking action
Going the extra mile
Expecting results
Being Flexible
Not Complaining when things don’t go your way
Chapter 1
ReplyDeleteI have had the the opportunity go be able to be one of the LEG's at out school district for the past seven years. Through this experience I have gotten to see many different levels of online education. The student I see range from credit recovery to AP just as Kim Loomis stated. However, in the past few years I have noticed a trend of students seeking different electives that they use to push themselves or see if that is the field they want to go into. I find this wonderful. Our district has been 1-2-1 for two years now and I have seen the students using more Google classroom. It is a nice addition in the fact that students can't say they don't have an assignment that they need to finish.
With that being said, I have experienced angry teachers that find out that a student is taking an online class rather than take it in house. I think that this may be one of the areas that is holding some of the progress back. I also think that parents need to be made more aware of what classes are being offered through online learning.
Interesting that you mention that parents needing to be aware. We too sometimes see a communication chain lacking in awareness of options, but even sometimes that a student is enrolled in an online course too. We definitely can understand that teachers would want student to take an elective with them if their district offered that same elective. However, we can see the side of the student where the online option might provide the flexibility and meet there schedule conflict for taking it onsite too and/or perhaps the online version is not offered locally or has a slightly different focus. Our suggestion to districts is to look for ways to allow the local teacher to be the teacher for that online content. So perhaps they teach sports entertainment face to face to 12 students, but they have 5 assigned to them as that section class load taking it online. Using a local district teacher also means that if a face to face meeting or support is needed it often can happen a little easier too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here-Michele
DeleteAs I began reading the assigned chapters I started thinking about the evolution of blended/online learning. For the past 16 years, I have been in part using some type of blending learning model with students. Over the past three years, my co-workers and myself have taken strides to move much of our curriculum into the LMS we selected at my school. We hired an online coordinator and now offer a variety of subjects as both blended (f2f) and online to students in our community. This past year we begin building and offering CTE courses for several neighboring schools. We have discovered some of the challenges of not only delivering online courses, but building courses as well. Probably the biggest challenge our teachers face is having the time to really build (quality) courses within our daily schedules. All of our teachers work full-time and have a number of courses they are teaching in a f2f/blending environment. Regardless of how a course is delivered, it is still vital that the instructor builds an environment that supports healthy and supportive relationships with their students. In reviewing Kim's CIA elements in Chapter 3, it really made me think about the design of online courses. I am looking forward to delving deeper to build and deliver courses that not only support curriculum requirements, but provide a high level of guided instruction with authentic assessment for every student enrolled in a course.
ReplyDeletePatti thank you for sharing your thoughts here. Thanks too for mentioning the word quality as well. Currently, how do you measure for quality? I ask as Quality Matters has assurance standards related to digital content and course design and a process too for a stamp of approval. I know many utilize the rubric when designing and reviewing digital content at the local level for quality: https://www.qualitymatters.org/qa-resources/rubric-standards/k-12-secondary-rubric There are also national standards for quality online learning specific to online teaching, online programs and online courses that might be of interest to you and your district too: https://www.nsqol.org/. Sounds like you have a great team who is continuing to grow your blended options in areas of non-consumption. Best wishes for continued success and being a part of the those leading the way-Michele
DeleteHi Michele, we have had many discussions regarding how to best design (high-quality courses). As a team we developed a peer review rubric that we used this past year. Thank you for sharing some excellent resources, we will definitely take a look at these tools.
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ReplyDeleteI was surprised when I read the quote about 50% of high schools taking online courses. My youngest son is currently in high school, until last year I did not realize how many classes he could take online. He sometimes works much better on his own than in a large group situation. This is a great benefit for him but I do believe he is missing some of the interactions that come with being in a classroom. My son is more like, Jacob (page 18) he doesn’t know how to just “sit in class, smile, and play the game.”
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of the middle school that I teach in, I feel that we have only made baby steps to a blended model learning. However, with all the different models that were listed I can see myself making some changes. I have had my students work on notes at home so that when they come to class they will know what we are talking about and some of the vocabulary won’t be new. I have had days where they practice or work with a peer on the concept but I’ve used paper and pencil. I teach math and I had to go away from even just assigning practice problems through even Google Classroom because they would just use the computer to find the answer. Even when I had them show work they would just copy the work from the site they used. Has anyone been successful doing practice on the computer for math? If so, what have you done. I appreciate any ideas that I can try & implement.
I’m looking forward to reading more to see how I can change my current classroom schedule around!
Thanks for your reflection K Green. I think many parents are often surprised and just not fully aware of all the educational options out there to meet student learning needs. Thanks for sharing how the flexibility of working alone that in a large group situation. No doubt working online could seem lonely, but many online teachers do a fantastic job of trying to build in learner to teacher and learner to learner interactions to help with that social aspect. Collaborative projects are a great example. We also have seen some teachers create clubs or offer optional field trips whether in person or digital, guest speakers etc. to help with that connections and social aspect too. These days it is pretty easy to google any answer. I am hoping that some of your math colleagues way in on your specific question around practice on the computer for math. What we are finding is that a lot of our teachers are really looking at those assessments and reworking them so they are more application of knowledge and skills that can't easily be searched. Thanks for posing your question and eager to discover your math colleagues thoughts too.
DeleteTo follow up on Michelle's comment, I teach fully online math courses and encounter issues with academic integrity and plagiarism. My courses are from vendors but we have the ability to modify. I have modified questions to provide students opportunities to explain and apply the skills and concepts. There is a place for quick check for understandings to provide students formative feedback. My course design includes discussion-based assessments with students in which I to speak with them one-on-one to access their learning and provide constructive feedback to move them forward. I believe when you have certain structures in place in which students are held accountable and the focus is on their learning, they realize it does not benefit them to just "Google" every assignment answer. It is a continual work in progress as I still have students who try to take the short cut, but unfortunately the result is they are not successful in earning their math credit.
DeleteThanks Brook for your input. I think I need to make sure I add more questions on my assessments where they need to be able to explain to me what they are doing so that I can see if they are really understanding the problems/ideas.
DeleteAs a first grade teacher in a small Catholic school, my classroom is in constant rotation of small groups. Not only does this keep us on a schedule, but also helps to keep specific learners together. I am able to access their needs better. Digital learning is a MUST! This not only teaches students technology skills, but I am able to collect data on each child's progress. My student thinks he/she is playing a game and does not realized that they are being challenged academically.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how chapter 2 zoned in on these rotation models for primary grade teachers.
Although my students are too young for the Enriched Virtual Models, Flex Models work great with math lessons.
Thanks for sharing how you are using the rotation model but also where you see you could incorporate a flex model. Do you think that rotation model is a stepping stone to help building some of those skills of agency that allow a student to be successful in a flex model? I ask as it seems there perhaps is a little more choice and ownership in the flex verses some of the rotation models where really you are moving students at a fixed time or at the teacher's discretion. Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteAs someone who has taught both online and in person as well as through a hybrid model, these questions are particularly interesting from the first chapter’s perspective. The idea of moving a traditional school to a move innovative blended model is interesting, if not slow to come about. I don’t believe that the motivation isn’t there, but having seen tech levy after tech levy fail in our and surrounding districts, it’s easy to see why after a while the drive loses steam. It would seem that most schools are ready and willing to move toward a new model but they’re just not able to given all of the funding constrictions. Past that, it can be difficult to convince some old-school teachers, administrators, and even parents of the efficacy of a more blended model when all we see most days are kids during passing period (and even in class) with their heads buried in their screens. From that perspective it’s not difficult to understand the perception of teachers not necessarily teaching and becoming more like facilitators. In our school it is also interesting to see that the online classes are generally designated for those who are unable to make it in a traditional classroom for whatever reason, which makes it more difficult to show the efficacy of these types of classes due to the students assigned to them. Finally, when it comes to these types of courses, some subjects are certainly better suited than others for it. In my field (world language) we balk at the idea of online language classes knowing that they are nowhere near as effective as face-to-face instruction.
ReplyDeleteAdam thanks for your reflection. No doubt as districts begin to blend there has to be a lot of communication around the Why with educators, students, parents and the community at large. Screen time can be a concern but we do need to remember that not all things are done online and the amount of screen time (TV, iphone, computer etc.) that occurs outside of the school day too. As was mentioned in the book a lot of schools start in areas of non-consumption to provide opportunities such as at-risk students. Sometimes the assumption is that if at-risk students can be successful others can too. We have seen the opposite as some of those high achieving students may really trhive off visual cues and assurances from their face to face teacher and without those struggle in online environment. The blended approach does seem to provide the best of both worlds so to speak. Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteTaking a look at Chapter 1, I remember when the rumors began to spread through the education community that teachers would be replaced by computers and online courses. Though there was concern about this possibility, I recognized that my population of students, special education students in an inclusive Biology class, could possibly struggle in that kind of environment. Granted some students would be able to thrive, but many of my students need the guidance to complete material and to comprehend the content. In my classroom, I feel that the quote, "When schools manage pace, students are much more successful." (Pg 23) is one of my main tasks when working with students.
ReplyDeleteAs computers became more readily available in our classrooms and eventually our district moved to a 1-to1 approach, I felt that many teachers began to experiment in an effort to include technology into the lessons and modes of delivery. Many of our younger teachers led the way, largely in part to their familiarity with management systems such as Blackboard and Google Classroom. As we began to experiment, teachers tended to gravitate toward a flipped classroom approach using online media to help deliver content. At the time, we did not know we were using a form of blended teaching, we were simply trying to teach in a way that made sense when working with students who were “digital natives”. There was no instruction or guidance from our district or our administration; it was truly a “trial and error” approach.
My district has begun the process of starting blended classes as part of the high school curriculum, but I have many concerns as I am reading this book. I have a very suspicious feeling that the move or push for blended learning is primarily an attempt to free up available classroom space as we begin to see yet another growth to our population. I am also seeing that administration is looking at blended classes as a “cure all” for an increasing achievement gap between white, Hispanic, and African-American students; therefore, if the data shows this trend there will be a greater push to move to blended learning formats. I currently do not see a specific plan in place other than volunteers learning about blended classes through a “train the trainer” model. I very much want to learn more about blended learning, but want to make sure that when I create my content and curriculum, I have a solid plan in place that will allow me to collect data to drive student learning.
Tony thanks for your reflection. Also, it is great to see special education teachers thinking through the blended space and use of digital content with special education students. We have seen in our state great results when the classroom teachers, IEP team etc. work together to analyze the data to create the blended plans. Sometimes the LMS is able to allow all to be in monitor, grading and giving feedback as the support team for success. Curious as your district moves to blended are they providing professional learning? If yes are they offering that professional learning in a blended format to allow you as educators to move at your pace and to meet your needs as no doubt everyone is at a little different of a spot. Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteChapter 3: CIA of Blended Learning provided a wonderful foundation of terms and concepts to frame both the updated development of the WVS/Quality Matters Course Set Up Tracker & Crosscheck and the deployment of digital content to the WVS Teachers. At the upcoming 2019-20 WVS Fall Training WVS has re-developed the WVS/Quality Matter Course Set Up Tracker & Crosscheck procedure. After several years of performing WVS/Quality Matters Course Set Up Crosschecks patterns of anecdotal course set-up patterns emerged. Paired with reflection how to minimize the course set-up issues that emerged over the years, WVS explored learning management tools to tweak the digital development of the WVS Fall Training to then streamline the deployment of the WVS/Quality Matters Course Set Up Tracker & Crosscheck. The objective for these modifications to both the digital curriculum development and deployment is:
ReplyDelete+Maximize the 2 day PD of blended learning Guided Instruction for WVS Teacher colleagues
+Enable collegial interaction in small groups as well as one-on-one or small-group intervention
+Be active performers with the acquired knowledge for WVS/Quality Matter Course Set Up Tracker & Crosscheck (i.e., authentic assessment).
The digital curriculum development for the blended WVS Fall Training and WVS/Quality Matters Course Set Up Tracker & Crosscheck enable WVS Teachers to function at DoK 1 (Knowledge acquisition) and DoK 2 (Knowledge application). Based on the blended WVS Fall Training schedule of events the Guided Instruction portions of the schedule will allow for WVS collegial small group and one-on-one collaboration to complete individual course set up according to the WVS/Quality Matters Course Set Up Tracker & Crosscheck standards (DoK4: knowledge augmentation).
For example, the development of the digital content was built to provide multiple strategies to accomplish the standard of a Teacher Introduction and Teacher Expectations. Within the digital content is a templated Google Doc Teacher Introductions and Teacher Expectations that require minimal WVS Teacher modification. In addition are other sample WVS Teacher Introductions and Teacher Expectations that feature digital tools such as Powtoons, Animaker, Voki, and H5P. The guided instruction portion will allow WVS veterans to share best-practices with WVS colleagues. I am really excited to see this WVS collegial interaction occur because WVS Teachers only gather face-to-face once a year. One example of feedback I receive is that most WVS Teachers tend to seek more time to interact with their colleagues within the content of course set-up with other WVS Teachers. Thus, the modification to the blended WVS Fall Training course development and deployment for this upcoming WVS Fall Training.
My hunch is that the deployment adjustments to the 2019-20 WVS Fall Training blended learning course will facilitate stretched course set-up learning. Stretched course set-up learning will be evidenced on the authentic assessment real-world application to complete - the WVS/Quality Matters Course Set Up Tracker & Crosscheck.
Jon it is great to have you on the planning team for the professional learning. We are really excited that we are continuing to reflect and tweak our professional learning to be in a blended format to meet the need of our adult learners. We also continue to model blended learning and best practices that educators can easily implement themselves too. Appreciate the details share out and reflection-Michele
DeleteCh1-3: I realized a lot of what we are doing in my school is tech-rich not blended with a few exceptions. I feel that the obstacles for my school would be bumping against change, managing the change, and the buying or developing of content for blended learning.
ReplyDeleteI am so grateful for the book and all your comments, however, because of all the options presented that resemble how my class time (and week) are already set up for writing workshop, etc. I guess I see that it could be managed.
Thanks for all the info.
So glad that you see it being managed and the key I think is it will not all happen at once and to gradually build those options, opportunities and resources. Michele
DeleteSo far I have been using technology as supplemental materials, extra practice for the content being taught in class. I teach a foreign language, so I often send students to www.conjuguemos.com for grammar, vocabulary, and listening practice. My district is in the process of implementing a mastery learning model, and I believe the individual rotation model mentioned in chapter 2 describes what my district is trying to accomplish. Letting students move at their own pace and giving them the opportunity to dig deeper with the content rather than having a superficial level of knowledge. Having around 140 students makes it seems impossible to let them move at their own pace in the traditional system, but I think with the proper implementation of technology it would be possible.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do find that when I allow my students time to study on their own, or research something that interests them, they are very easily distracted by other things on the internet, social media, videos, games, so I am constantly babysitting them rather than facilitating their learning.
Your last comment is what concerns me the most about a blended learning environment. As a high school teacher, I feel that many students are battling a "technology addiction" and are not fully able to put things on pause. I also worry about the quality of work as I feel that some students (that are accustomed to a reward type system) would rush through work or just do the bare minimum in order to finish so they could "reward" themselves with free internet time. I guess this is where the idea of creative and innovative lessons come from where students are motivated to do more because they are invested in the learning.
DeleteI have to agree with this as well. Even with my district's set up of jr high study hall time. They should be using any technology to be working on the things that have been assigned but I find that I have to constantly police what they are doing. Even phones are an issue. When I don't have enough computers they say they can just use their phones to do the work and I can't trust that my 12-14 year olds are going to really be using their phones to do their homework.
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ReplyDeleteI, like others here, didn’t really know what blended learning looked like. There are a few teachers in my district who do blended learning. However, I don't feel that you would find "some element of student control over time, place, path and/or pace.” It would be more like what I thought before…incorporating some video or online activity and calling it blended learning.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the model of blended learning that stuck out to me was the flipped classroom. I like the idea of students taking more charge of their learning and then practicing and answering questions with them in the classroom. I feel a little overwhelmed as I contemplate changing some of what I do with my students. The author reminds me “that change is a process, not an event.” I realize that it isn’t all or nothing, I can try a flipped lesson and then try a flipped unit.
I think the author did a great job reiterating the idea that the whole idea of blended learning is a process and that it takes several months to create a semester course (by one person without a teaching load.) As you mentioned, experimenting would help to think of solutions for any hiccups that may occur and potentially spark ideas for future lessons/units.
DeleteYes, it's good to remember that. I seem to always feel that I need to do it asap. :)
DeleteLike stated in the original post, and as others have posted, chapter one of the book began with a great introduction to the definition of blended learning and its evolution in the educational system (as we know it). I think the strength of chapter one really was the refining of the term. I think a lot of people initially believe that blended learning is a fully immersive computer driven course. As was discussed in chapter two, blended learning is truly that; a blending of technology integration with teacher guidance. Chapter three did a great job of helping me to visualize the various components to effective unit planning within the construct of blended learning.
ReplyDeleteI think the major takeaway from chapters one through three is that technology must not be viewed as the "saving grace" of education, but rather that it is a tool that should be utilized to assist learners in cooperation with teacher guidance and authentic learning experiences (assessment). Personally, I feel that there is a lot of fear, from teachers, about relinquishing control of the classroom and putting the learning in the learner's hands. Sadly, the state and districts' fixation on performance data has placed a fear of failure when trying something new. In my opinion, this is where blended learning hits its first roadblock. Certainly not all, but some teachers are in districts that are not "forgiving" of failure.
Hi Josh I agree a tool to be used but with purpose and not just because it is the latest craze or buzz. Teachers play an important role in providing those authentic learning experiences and assessments as you mention. Like how you put the "forgiving" of failure. It certainly helps to have the support of the admin, colleagues, parents, students, community to fail forward and to learn and adjust quickly as needed. Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteJosh,
DeleteI also liked that technology was mentioned as a tool, not the tool. I'm glad blended learning was defined, I remember when the University of Phoenix first did it's online classes and essentially took the f2f course and dumped it online as evidenced by having 4 people write one paper (needless to say that was not very successful).
Natasha
So many of you have already hit on many of the things that I have taken away from Chapters 1-3. The definition and examples of blended learning were a great help to me. I have seen several of the examples of what blended learning is not in my f2f school. Teachers will direct students to websites for extra help or bring in laptops to work reinforce material. I am guilty of these too. I believe that they have helped some students. I really like the idea of using technology to lay foundations for the material. Introducing the new ideas and vocabulary to the students and then building upon that in the classroom. A blended model is really where I am headed for my AP Statistics and Honors Geometry classes. I'm just not sure what that looks like or how it is going to work. Chapters 2 and 3 have definitely given me insight as to where I want to go and want to do. I am concerned about students that do not have the technology at home to access when it is needed. At my brick and mortar school I have seen students that are failing classes because the vast majority of the work must be done using technology. I certainly do not want to put any students at a disadvantage.
ReplyDeleteKathleen thanks for your reflection and for thinking through a real concern on access. We have found if schools/districts take an organizational mindset and don't allow barriers to get in the way, but move forward with supports/alternatives etc. it can make all the difference. It can be helpful to take site visits and/or to view other videos of different models and situations in action. The blended learning universe might provide some of that insight for you as well: https://www.blendedlearning.org/basics/ Thanks again for sharing-Michele
DeleteCurrently, in my primary classroom we use technology stations and on-line programs to reinforce the skills that have been taught in our daily rotations. I am unfamiliair with the differnet types of classrooms and models. I really enjoyed Chapter 2 that touched on all of the different models. The flipped classroom I found to be the most interesting for me. The flipped classroom (school) in Detroit gave me lots of insights. I can see lots of benefits for my student to watch videos of the lessons. I thought it was a great point made on the video when the principal said that the students could watch them as many times as needed until they understood and felt comfortable. The school also allowed time for kids who didn't have technology at home to use the lab at school or stay after school. At my parent/teacher conferences my students parents sit down and say can you show me how you are teaching this … I just don't understand. How great would it be to have lessons on video so that both the student and parent could watch and learn. I do appreciate the section in the model about the teacher and the guided instruction in Chapter 3. . In the primary grades, the teacher piece is so important and the use of technology is a great addition. I would like to implement more project based learning for my students in this upcoming school year.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris we too have experienced student and parent appreciation for the ability to review concepts via video more than once and/or as much needed with some supplementary resources maybe even presenting the concept in a slightly different way. Using technology and digital content can support project based learning and allow for variety and portfolios of learning too. Best wishes as you grow your blended best practices-Michele
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ReplyDeleteCh 1:What would it take to move our traditional schools to innovate more quickly? Or
ReplyDeletebetter yet the educational entity you work for to innovate more quickly? What are
those perceived or real barriers that you see in your situation that tend to slow
innovation down?
Technology fascinates and motivates students, but just sitting in front of a computer day after day needs more innovation to keep students motivated. To make this strategy for learning be successful, I think a school district needs to work on this from every angle. Is there a district technology committee represented by administrators, teachers, parents and students to help make these decisions? If you are planning your own curriculum, what will be the procedure for getting obtaining money for the license to use specific software, such as Gizmos (Explore Leaning) in science? Are those stumbling blocks?
Along with well-structured courses that align with standards, teachers need to have ongoing professional development. Too many times we assume that f2f teachers have the skills to teach online without providing the training. If the school district is committed to online learning, there will be money for training. There needs to be more time provided for collaboration among team members (if your school has teams), or within schools with teachers that have similar classes. Time to plan their blended learning strategies and learn to use new software is essential.
The schools also need to provide the devices to use for accessing the online courses which will need a tech staff and software updates (very costly). There also needs to be WiFi which allows students to have good connections. As computers began to be used in classrooms, there might be one computer for students, which I am sure led to the rotation model. Flash to now and many schools have a 1:1 policy or are striving to have that ratio. Again that is a huge monetary investment in devices and supportive software. How is the budget adjusting? If the school district commits to blended learning, then their support has to be there.
Hi Jo thank you for your reflection here. Support as you say is key and also I love the idea of having that support from a planning committee too made up of a wide range of representation too. What we have found even more successful for professional learning is to offer that in a blended formats too to model what is being asked of the educations. Really put them in the shoes of a learner to experience those models before implementation themselves. Having some infrastructure does make blending a little easier and there is no doubt there are investments and funding can be a big question. In one district we worked with they moved to no or very minimal printing (cost saved on printers/copiers/paper) and no new textbook purchases but using licensed digital content that could be downloaded to a flash drive for offline viewing etc. So really it was a different use of funds to facilitate moving forward. Michele
DeleteCh 2 and 3
ReplyDeleteMany teachers are now making their own videos to help explain a new concept. Sometimes videos can be found online that can be shared. Several science teachers in our school started using Moodle, since it was free and accessible. Moodle is a lot like Blackboard in the layout. We first started entering our tests online. That worked fairly well with a few hiccups, but students could get immediate feedback. It took a bit of extra time for the essay questions, but it did make grading faster. Then we migrated to putting assignments online and discussions. This was especially helpful when students missed class or were going to be away for an extended period of time. I personally still did labs in class, unless the labs were designed to collect data over weeks or months and then we entered data online to analyze. So the change was gradual and I worked with other teachers in our department as we learned the mechanics of creating the course. I kept a flexible schedule of when work needed to be completed within the unit. One of our teachers was really great with creating reviews and you could see students on their cell phones accessing them at school (in appropriate places!). I don’t know if he gave extra credit for submitting them within a specific time or not, but they had a challenge and they were trying to get it all done. Now that I am retired from f2f classes and teach for IDLA, I use online tools that can help students in real time. I have students who have a specific time during their school day for class, take the class after their school day ends, or are home schooled. They have made a choice to enroll in the course which is a great first step!
Have you used Moodle? I haven't and was just curious what it was like to use.
DeleteHi Josh thanks for the question with regards to Moodle and Jo who is currently using can answer some more specifics, but I did use it in the past. Most LMS (D2L, Moodle, Buzz, Blackboard, Angel) have similar features and it is a matter of where you manage/use/apply those features. There will be a few items that perhaps make one stand out over the other and the key is really thinking through what you need, student experience (how easy/intuitive is it to navigate), teacher experiences (how easy is it to create/edit) etc. We have also found that a full LMS may not be needed if there is another software/infrastructure that can provide the data needed. Most schools that move to a full LMS are just scratching the surface in using the detailed data provided. So Moodle is a free open source LMS but does take some IT support locally for set up, maintenance, updates and professional learning support. Same goes for Google classrooms and again it really is about weighing the why of use and what that infrastructure can do to ensure it will help meet goals. Thanks for asking the question. Michele
DeleteYes, Josh, it worked well. But as Michele was mentioning, you need IT support. I also suggest that you have administrative rights to make changes more easily. Perhaps you could be the IT support for your school.
DeleteWe started with uploading tests and then started adding other assignments, discussions, and such. As in anything new, there is a learning curve. Students like taking tests online to be able to get feedback right away. If you add short answers/essays, you will have to grade those yourself. It is worth trying.
I found the first three chapters to be very informative and motivating. I can see many of the ways that I use blended learning mostly through the roatation model, Lab rotations. I have never tried the method of a flipped classroom but have had several colleagues use it with great success (mostly with the lower level learning classrooms).
ReplyDeleteMy two biggest fears or things that hold me back from completely diving in is a) support from my administration (can the budget support it) b) having adaquate time to properly put together lessons (making the flipped classroom). Chapter 3 discussed the many venders that provide packages for curriculum and resouces. What is the cost of these programs and are they a one time cost or is it a yearly fee to have usage? And if it doesnt fit in my budget Perhaps small steps to build my digital classroom would be the best for me. A few chapters or lessons at a time before I find what is right for my classroom.
I do love the idea of it being student drivendts and my students respond positively as well. I use this often with projects. Students know the parameters and the due date but they select the method of completing the parameters.
Hi Shannon I think you hit the nail on the head when you are thinking small steps. That makes it seem more manageable and not so overwhelming. That also provides the opportunity to learn/grow/change when not everything is build on X. It is okay that not every aspect is blended. I often found in teaching Biology that students struggle the most with genetics. So perhaps that would be a unit where I needed to blend to allow those high flyers to go and those that needed other supports and resources that help. I also know that some of our math teachers really utilize students to locate and submit videos or other resources they found that helped them where they struggled and provide the opportunity for them to demonstrate skills by producing videos other learners could view too. So we all are apart of the support team for each other. Great question related to costs of digital content. There are some great free open sources of content and other content you can purchase outright (and with options for updates) and others may only be offered in a yearly fee. These are great questions including if you purchase text books that may come with presentations, videos and other digital supplements if they can be used in a blended option such as A La Carte or Enriched Virtual as they may have some limitations on use. Thanks for posing such great questions for you and your educational team to consider too. Michele
DeleteI found the second chapter to be enlightening as I was not aware that there were so many different methods of blended learning. In my school district, there seems to be teachers trying new and different ideas and techniques, but was not aware that they all fell under the umbrella of blended learning. Some honors teachers within the science department incorporated a flipped classroom method so that students could work at their own pace and have access to the teacher for questions and concerns with course work or lab activities. Our technology and businesses classes often times employ modules or rotations. Our district also has a program for at-risk students that follows the flex model so as to help them get back on track with recovering lost credits so as to graduate on time.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found to be the most interesting is that our school district has teachers using blended learning techniques and strategies, but they do not seem to be recognized as blended learning. When asked about blended classes in our district you will hear students, teachers, and administrators alike describe it as a classroom that follows the normal face to face curriculum, but allows the students to work outside of the four walls of the classroom and move into the learning spaces of school building. This appears to be the A La Carte model. When talking to teachers and students the main appeal of the class appears to be that the students will move at their own pace; for teachers there is the appeal is that instruction is done through recorded presentation or YouTube videos students can come to them when they have questions about the materials. Teachers are then working with small groups of students who come in for help or a small group of students who are not meeting grade expectations and are required to be in the classroom so the teacher can help with pacing and keeping students on task. For the students, the appeal is they do not have to sit within the walls of a classroom, there is a perception that the workload (homework and activities) are less than a face to face class, and as long as they maintain a 70% in the class, they are allowed to use the learning spaces for course work, relaxing, socializing, catching up in other classes, or being on their phones.
I have not “jumped on board” the official blended learning model as I personally do not feel that it is being utilized the way it should be, but also do not have a framework or current model to base my curriculum off of. Working in what is known as a Co-taught/Supported classroom (I work with a co-teacher/special ed teacher while a second Biology classroom is being taught simultaneously with another teacher and a paraprofessional), I feel that the best method my students would be a combination of Flipped Classroom and A La Carte. I am already familiar with Flipped Classroom as I have used some of the techniques in my classroom in the past. As I was reading this chapter, two themes seemed to keep returning; resources and data. I am hoping that as I progress through this book I will be able to find a treasure trove of OER’s or get better at finding them. (Teachers are the greatest thieves) The second theme and the one I know I will have to work the most on and will provide me the most difficulties is the data. I teach “from the gut” and can read a room rather well to determine if most of the students are getting the material. In the blended classroom, it is not good enough that “most” are getting it, but all should get it. I am hoping to learn about tools and programs that will allow me to capture this data, effectively use this data to teach the students, and allow the data to show student growth as they progress through the curriculum.
Hi Tony thanks for bringing up one of the misconceptions of most students that the online version will be easier. Often it can be more rigorous as I know in the traditional classroom rarely did I make it cover to cover through the whole text. Based on students some chapters may have been skipped or not gotten too. However, in the digital space that equivalent whole digital text, assessments, assignments is presented and more content actually can be covered in the semester. We do see schools set different expectations related to amount of digital content that has to be completed and passing score for students to get grade and credit and perhaps even work outside of school. If students drop below X grade or get behind pace they may be required to report for support.
DeleteSo is Science OER content your focus? Your colleagues may have some great suggestions for you and can weight in here.
Merlot: www.merlot.org
OER Commons: www.oercommons.org
Curriki http://www.curriki.org/ (sign up for a free account)
Humboldt State University Search for OER:
http://libguides.humboldt.edu/openedu
Courses/Lessons/Playlists
Hippocampus http://www.hippocampus.org/
PBS Learning Media: https://wpt.pbslearningmedia.org/
Crash Course Playlists: https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse/playlists?disable_polymer=1
Assessment Materials
OpenEd https://www.opened.com/search (wide range of assessments and lots of Math)
PHET http://phet.colorado.edu/ PhET provides fun, free, interactive, research-based science and mathematics simulations. The simulations are written in Java, Flash or HTML5, and can be run online or downloaded to your computer.
OpenStax https://openstax.org/ Free peer-reviewed open textbooks for the highest-enrolled college courses. Books available in multiple formats.
Open Textbook Library https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/ The Open Textbook Library provides a growing catalog of free, peer-reviewed, and openly-licensed textbooks for college level.
BCcampus https://open.bccampus.ca/ Top 40 subject areas in British Columbia (BC), reviewed and vetted by BC post-secondary faculty.
Saylor https://www.saylor.org/books/ Over 100 free openly licensed college level textbooks that have been peer reviewed. Many are available in PDF, Word, and HTML formats.
Boundless https://www.boundless.com/ Open textbooks and courses for top 25 college disciplines. Available in multiple formats.
CollegeOpenTextbooks http://www.collegeopentextbooks.org/ A listing of nearly 800 open textbooks focused on the first two years of college. Peer and accessibility reviews available for some of the collection.
Factile https://www.playfactile.com/ Create Jeopardy style quiz games for students.
Creative Commons Search https://search.creativecommons.org/ Search for open license media to be used in teaching.
Librivox https://librivox.org/ Free public domain audiobooks. Read by volunteers from around the world.
Project Gutenberg https://www.gutenberg.org/ Project Gutenberg offers over 54,000 free eBooks: Choose among free epub books, free kindle books, download them or read them online.
Pixabay https://pixabay.com/ Over 1 million free images and videos shared by a community of artists.
Open Clip Art https://openclipart.org/ The clip-art at Openclipart is public domain. Meaning you can use it for just about anything.
This is a ton of information. Thank you so much for putting that list together. It may take me the rest of the summer to look through and evaluate all these websites.
DeleteHi Tony,
DeleteI can vouch for the Phet virtual science labs. They are free and easy to use and many teachers have posted labs and lessons they use. I have used this resource for years and have found them very helpful and useful.
Chapter 3 was pretty straight forward and also a reminder to continue to teach even though you may be having students learn through digital content. I think it is too easy for teachers to let the technology do all the work. I did appreciate the templates and the example schedules to see how a week in the different models could look. I do realize that my department will need to work on creating more authentic assessments. This may be a bit difficult as we must all use the same common assessments and we are all at different places when it comes to technology and blended learning techniques. I found that there are three models that are appealing to me: rotation models, lab rotations, and flipped classroom. Should you try to hold yourself to one primary model? Is it acceptable to flip between two or three models based on content and activities? The article/paper from the NEA on the Four C’s was also very informative and good reminder of what we should be striving for in a blended learning environment. As our district moved into aligning our curriculum to NGSS and creating common assessments, I am afraid we have moved away from the collaboration and creativity components. They are there, but not emphasized as much as they once were.
ReplyDeleteTony great question about mixing it up or sticking to one model. Often we see schools perhaps introduce blended learning with a station rotation model or flipped classroom. Why? There is a lot more control with movement based on teacher discretion or fixed time. In some of the other models like flex and individual rotation it is helpful if students have had coaching sessions and built their own learning goals and have developed some time management skills and identifying where they believe they need supports too. So many classrooms and schools do very the model being used based on readiness of students, goals and even the learning environment/situation. We have seen in schools we work with that students do like the variety. If everyone just did a flipped classroom it may be too much of the same thing. Michele
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ReplyDeleteMarva thanks for the update. That is the beauty here too of the blog and use of the digital space. You can review the comments now and when your book arrives read and catch up as your schedule allows. Looking forward to the conversations to come. Michele
DeleteMy students taught me about Lateral Thinking. Before each Environmental Science class I would read to the class a science article regarding the environment. One day I read an article regarding White Nose Syndrome which is decimating the North American Bat population. After the article was read, one student (the class clown) spoke out and said, "Gee Mr. Norris, that was really interesting...NOT." I replied to him that we were starting a science club which would meet tonight at 6:00 and I was making him president of the club. Of course he said he would see me then. I should mention at our alternative high school we did not offer any extracurricular activities. The next morning two students came in to my room and asked me where I was last night and I asked them what they were talking about. Their reply was we were here for the environmental club meeting. At that moment, I realized I needed to do something but wasn't really sure what. I decided to quiz the students as to what we could we do to help bats and it was suggested that we make bat houses. Money for this project came after our students made a presentation to a local environmental club which gave us a grant for materials to complete our project. That year, we sold 70 bat houses which were constructed in a small room in our building. A local newspaper wrote an article about our bat project and the piece was picked up by API and went nation wide and even to Europe. Next, students were invited to speak on a community radio show. One of the listeners was a member of a woodworking club and they offered to cut the bat houses to size and donated the materials to do so. The program has grown exponentially in the last five years. Our kids came up with a name for the club witch is Alternatives for a Better Environment or ABE. We have broadened our focus to include such projects such as hydroponics, bee keeping and pollinator friendly gardening. The positive changes I have witnessed in students as a result of their participation in ABE are amazing and I have grown as a teacher watching it all happen. But what is really amazing is that the whole process began by two students asking me, "Where were you Mr. Norris?"
ReplyDeleteNow, this is what teaching is supposed to be about. I think teachers and administration get so caught up in the tests and data that we forget that we are supposed to be tapping into student interest and potential. I feel too often I am teaching to a test and trying to stay on pace with others in my department. I am hoping that using blended learning techniques will give me the freedom and opportunity to do what you did with your students.
DeleteGary thank you so much for sharing your real life story here. It also sounds like the students get to drive a lot of the learning here with your guidance and support. What a great community connection to local environment efforts and concerns too and building of those citizen science skills and involvement too. In the past I have had the pleasure to work with students and our forest service and the department of natural resources on projects that support citizen science and lateral thinking too. It really is great too to see students who have graduated to continue their relationships and partnerships with some of those organizations through volunteer efforts now as adults. Michele
DeleteGary, same! As a math teacher I feel like we are running a race to try to force feed all he information the students are going to need to have to do well on a particular test and it is exhausting! It seems there is no time to really delve into a cool or interesting concept because if we slow down the students will not have what they need to score high on tests. Also we are on a trimester system and students may have 3 different math teachers throughout the year so we have to stick to a specified schedule so that all the students have covered x amount of concepts by the end of the trimester.
DeleteIn order to innovate quickly, staff buy-in is a must. This is the truth with any change and they also have to see it working quickly. Teachers return to the tried and true methods if they feel like what is new is not working.
ReplyDeleteThe barriers to digital distribution is the cost (if there is one associated with it) and finding a platform that people will actually use. I have found that if it too difficult to begin that teachers will not even attempt it. So you have to have a clear plan and organization. Teachers will buy and try new things if they see the benefits to students. I have taught credit recovery online for some time and some teachers have felt that it is just a place to put students but those students need support. There are reasons students did not pass the first time and without support they will not make progress online either, especially since it requires a large amount of independent work.
Heidi,
DeleteI would add to your conversation surrounding cost to train staff as another road block to implementing digital opportunities for student education. It was not until I wrote a small grant to acquire an IPad Pro that the district agreed to help purchase a five more for my classroom. I fight an uphill battle though to receive anymore technical support as the rest of the school is PC friendly not Mac.
Hi Heidi there certainly is risk in trying new things as you are dealing with student development and it can provide a sense of relief if others have demonstrated success too. Yes to a having a plan and one that you have a wide variety of voices involved in creating (students, parents, educators, community etc.) and communicating the plan and the why broadly. Thinking about the platform or infrastructure from the student experience and the teacher experience is key for success. Do you think everyone has to be using the same platform. Are there benefits and perhaps barriers to using the same one? Thanks for sharing. Michele
DeleteChapter 1 reflection:
ReplyDeleteThe prediction in Chapter 1 where Christensen and Horn stated that 50% of all high school courses would be taken online was a hopeful outlook. I believe was probably based upon the expectation that all teachers would be willing to continually train themselves with current technology. Many school districts do not have the budget to purchase new technology let alone provide adequate training to employees how to utilize it. Schools could innovate more quickly if they would provide training as well as support for administration and school board members as to the benefits technology could provide to the schools population. After all, the school board ultimately makes the budgeting decisions that teachers will have to work with in their classrooms. This is the barrier- no funding for support!
I thought the videos of the ‘ideal’ blended schools to be pretty ‘staged’ and I realize they are promotional and does not truly reflect our every day struggle to encourage students to focus on a computer to learn.
Chapter 2:
As I watched the videos about the different schools, I felt the one that appeared the most encouraging as far as our school situation is concerned was the Teach to One New Classroom software. This program provided many instructional choices for students as far as the best way for them to learn the content. The different models this chapter presented gave me an overview of how to examine types of learning software. Our school this past year adopted Acellus which after some research I discovered is a favorite among homeschoolers. There seemed to be a few reviews questioning its accreditation standards. I see this program as fitting the ‘a la carte’ model discussed on pages 35-37. I believe this due to the option the students have to do the work at home or school or ‘self-blend’. This may work for some but for others they were not always motivated to work on the course at home. In the selection paragraph surrounding the recommendation to have different courseware from separate vendors was good advice as I see many students become bored with online work on a daily basis.
Chapter 3
This chapter did a through job of explaining the basics of CIA and what DoK1, DoK2, DoK3 as well as DoK4 can be implemented into you lessons. The templates provided on pages 54-55 helped me visualize how I could practically use CIA to blend learning.
As an Art teacher (online and brick/mortar), the models presented are exactly what I try to use each week in my teaching. I present to the whole class the topic we will be working on for a particular unit but I do need to adjust this for each class depending on the attendance that Monday. I have been considering videoing my introduction and having students watch it when they do arrive back in school. It would be another way to digitally present material in a one-to-one manner.
Vivian S.
Vivian thanks for your reflection here. I truly enjoyed the opportunity a few years back to make visits to various schools at different age groups, focus, models of blended being implemented and spaces used too. Seeing it first hand made me a believer that it does exist on a day in and a day out basis. Many of the places I visited did start our as new school locations so they had some of the flexibility of existing practices and rules, but a clean slate. In others they often started with pilot classes or classrooms and as success was seen and students and parents experienced a different learning they pressured others in some cases to move and yet other teachers saw the benefits and chose to offer something different too. In all cases though there was very supportive leadership, support and a clear plan developed by a diverse team. Variety of content providers, variety of digital tools and infrastructures used can facilitate boredom but more importantly are we using tools and infrastructure with purpose. Thanks again for sharing-Michele
ReplyDeleteI feel that in order to blend technology and the classroom that teachers need more training on how to do this. I also feel that administration needs to be more understanding that it is going to take time for all to buy in/understand the change in teaching. A big problem in my school is students have full access to everything while teachers are blocked. This causes a problem with letting students choose their own pace because they play too much instead of participating in what they are supposed to do.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 2 when looking at the different models, how do you get other to understand what you are doing? If administration does not see what we are trying to do they make it harder for us. If students are not the ones guiding discussions then they feel that we are not doing our jobs. How do we get past this? How do we get them to see that the changes we are trying to do are what the students need.
I am very interested in continuing to read and find out more about developing all of this in the classroom.
I liked the quote on pg 7 "students taking ownership of their own learning and teachers spending time with the students who need them most", as a focal point to blended learning. What an awesome tool to have in your toolbox. We want our students to be able to move forward when they are ready and offer support when needed, but they take the initiative - which is success in life. I also noted the idea that students are more successful when the pace is managed by the system. We need to teach them (most student and some adults) about time management. I was glad to see that technology was referenced as a tool, one of many, and not the ultimate tool. I also liked how it mentioned that you should have different LMS for grade bands - not the same one for K-12. I experienced that on a small scale when the middle school piloted i-Ready math. My middle schoolers were not into the cutesy helpers or amount of talking it did. I look forward to learning more and hope to see "screen time" addressed as well.
ReplyDeleteNatasha
Natasha,
DeleteI really loved that quote too! We have adopted a completely new approach to language teaching to reflect current methodology and it is centered around that idea. I'm not spending my time with students who have low grades because of missing work but get it but with students who truly don't understand the concept. Additionally, time management is HUGE. I'm seeing a lot of issues with this in my high schoolers. Most of the time, the parents manage their children's time but are not actually teaching them any skills to manage their own. It really does follow them into adulthood!
Stephanie
What are those perceived or real barriers that you see in your situation that tend to slow innovation down?
ReplyDeleteHaving transitioned from teaching in Wisconsin (Janesville woo!) to Montana, undoubtedly a more rural setting, I realized that I needed to adapt a lot of what I've read and experienced in professional development literature/workshops. What is recommended as simple or easy innovations are not possible in our incredibly large state with the highest number of one room school houses in the nation. This is especially true when it comes to technology, blended learning, etc. Access to language studies is a great example. While ideally, the students that I teach online across the state would have a teacher in their school to provide face to face instruction or even a blended model. But the truth is that the majority of these students go to schools that struggle to attract teachers for the core subjects let alone languages. And even if there was a language teacher, the access to high speed internet/phone service varies greatly across our state as well both at home and even at school. It has taken me years to really wrap my brain around what it means to be a teacher here.
These very real barriers truly do slow this kind of innovation down here in the mountains. It is one of those things that no level of professional development or even money could truly fix. It is up to us as their online teachers to adapt to fit their needs as best we can while attempting to innovate along the way. We just might have to work a little bit differently than our colleagues in more populated states!
Hi Stephanie thanks for sharing your reflection here. I too enjoyed Montana when I had the opportunity to explore the state about 3 years ago. Wisconsin has some rural areas in are state (further north for example) but as you say not quite as sparse statewide. Many of the Wisconsin rural schools in Norther Wisconsin we work with would also echo what you have said. Fully online asynchronous courses may be the only way a student can access a world language which is not the idea environment for all. Our teachers do use synchronous conferencing tools to try to provide that real time connection. However, away from school and even sometimes in school finding a device or connection can be challenging. Some districts have even begun to provide routers for wireless on school buses-especially when students have an hour ride either way to provide support that way and also strategically park buses to provide access. So many are moving to blended options and really are having to think through those barriers too. Michele
DeleteChapter 1's analogy of students and customers really resonated with me. The book stated, "As advancements in technology have led other industries to make changes for the good of the customer, safety in cars and conveniences in refrigerators, why is it that our customers, our students are stuck in many of the same old factory, unappealing classrooms of yesteryear?" (p. 18). This statement helps teachers better understand how they need to meet the individual needs of each and every student especially during blended learning. Within the realm of blended learning, I am preparing to rearrange some of my tech tools to better help each student thrive at his/her own level; therefore, I found it very interesting that when "schools manage pace, students are much more successful" (p. 23). As I have been preparing for the new school year, I have put much focus into designing a self-paced learning environment for my prealgebra class. I will definitely be keeping this comment in the forefront of my mind as I continue to plunge forward through my course redesign.
ReplyDeleteIn terms of the questions posed for chapter 1, I feel many, quality professional development opportunities along with practice, practice, practice will help our traditional schools begin to innovate more quickly. Visualizing the plan, discussing with multiple educators, listening to the students, and revising as necessary is key to successful implementation of blended learning. My school is currently 1:1 and I feel the district does an excellent job in providing its educators with professional development to help all its educators learn to ride the technology wave. The biggest inhibitor of this innovation would be the families with little to no internet access. Fortunately, our district works closely with the local internet providers to ensure families in need can obtain success as well.
Chapter 2 was enlightening in the fact that I had no idea how many different types of blended learning were out there. I think it provided us all with some great strategies to try out for the coming school year.
Chapter 3 was my favorite read thus far. I loved the diagram at the beginning about current state vs. transition phase vs. future model. I think this picture truly depicts how educators should go about getting started. When I began my flipped classroom in 2017, I had no idea what I was doing - but I kept going, and that's why I will always view the 17-18 school year as a transitional period from traditional to blended learning for my classroom. I created all of my own content such as videos, outlines, presentations, assignments, assessments, etc., in order to have materials to give my students as we do not have textbooks we pass out, but I used a textbook for the actual content material - which was extremely helpful and less stressful as I definitely would NOT have had the time to design and implement an entire course all on my own. Therefore, I really liked appreciated the statement on page 49 regarding the timeline of such an undertaking. "Even with the help of additional subject matter experts (e.g. teachers in the classroom) and college interns, it takes six to twelve months to create a high-quality semester (sixty of hours of instruction) course." As my district continues to implement and upgrade, the middle school math team has been looking at OpenUp resource, which is an OER, and I think these types of resources are fabulous for anyone looking for a curriculum to make their own. OERs save time, provide reassurance, as well as are cost effective. As I stated earlier, I am currently revamping my preagebra course for this upcoming school year, and I can't wait to see the end result of my new digital content for my students.
Lexi, I am curious about your flipped model. How do you ensure that the students watch the material at home? I have had problems when I tried to do this. It is no different than getting them to do homework. They have to do it! What did you do?
DeleteHi Mary,
DeleteStudents have to take notes on an outline that follows the video. The outline is for a completion grade and the completion grades add up over time! The 7th grade team and I have a missing assignment sheet and if students are on it for over a week with the same assignment, they serve a lunch detention - 3 lunch detentions = them calling their parents to explain the consequence of their choice to not complete their homework. It truly works SO well! Let me know if you have other questions! I am happy to help!
Chapter 1: What would it take to move our traditional schools to innovate more quickly?
ReplyDeleteI’m not sure how to move our traditional schools to innovate more quickly. Don’t you think it’s hard to move big entities to change quickly for anything? I live in Central Illinois and there are several smaller school districts around me. I am a retired teacher, but I think teachers teach like they were taught. I think this goes for school administrations too. So, if lectures and textbooks were good enough for them, then it’s good enough for the current student population. I know, this is sad.
I know a few of the schools around me will not let students take on-line classes IF they teach that class at their school. I don’t know if that is F2F teacher security or just not knowing about all the choices and possibilities. I often think students going to the computer lab is time off for the teacher.
I think we all can see the advantages of on-line learning. I think the reading touched on it….schools don’t know where to start, how to start, when to start. I love all the choices the reading offered. Use blended learning that works for your school, and you do not have to develop it from scratch.
To answer the question asked…keep educating, keep giving choices, keep sending teams of teachers to do research.
I used to tell my students that their children would probably go to neighborhood learning centers and do all their schooling on line. This might happen, but I don’t think it will happen as soon as I thought.
Chapter 2: I liked Chapter 2 with all the options and choices. I think we just don’t think of this when we hear of on-line classes or blended learning. I like hearing about the advice of not purchasing K-12 packages, get something a little more grown-up for 6-12. But once again, without educating administration, a K-12 package sounds simple and consistent.
Chapter 3: The first statement of chapter 3 should be remembered: Blended leaning will not occur overnight, it is a process, not an event. That should be true with any sort of education and learning whether F2F or on-line.
Hi Marva thanks for sharing your reflection and expression about pace of change too. Also highlighting that change is a process (in this case ongoing process constantly being reflected upon and tweaked) and not a one time event or yearly event that is looked at just once. Sometimes I think it is hard for decision makers to wrap their heads around what blended looks like or feels like since they have not experienced it. Some of the successful schools/districts we work with started out with the adult learners (including school boards) by modeling blended learning for meetings, in-service time, professional learning etc. They also moved towards flexibility in pace and that not all were doing the same thing. Yes everyone might have to do X safety training update, but them where is the flexibility to meet our adult learners needs/goals too. Have a great week-Michele
DeleteThis is a good idea to start Schools Boards and Administrators out with blended learning. I think this would put a light bulb above their heads. I think it would help it change did start at the top and go down.
DeleteIn my experience there has to be trust to innovate. That trust may come from teachers with students, teacher to teacher, admin to teacher and vise-versa. You have to have the planning and structures in place to make changes happen, communication, staff buy in and too often there are pieces that are forgotten or stakeholders left out. In my experiences, I have seen technology forced and unused, as well as teachers when given the freedom, training, and support are innovating, flipping and transforming the traditional classroom environment. The barriers seem to come from the administrative support, that it is alright to be different. As well the need for more training and creative planning time on how to accomplish this.
ReplyDeleteWe currently have some pockets of digital content in schools but we also have a larger amount of our curriculum moving to a digital format. While this helps to pull many into an online environment, it is used mostly at a substitution level. One barrier I see is a tendency to try to make the technology fit old practices vs thinking about the classroom in a new way.
As a side note, I love the videos of the schools that are engaging students in these different styles. Teacher I work with who are interested in blended learning are often unsure what it would look like and this will be very helpful to be able to show how this could be implemented.
Ari thanks for your thoughts here. Glad you are looking to share those video examples. It helps to see it in action and if you ever have the opportunity to do site visits I encourage it. A short video is one thing but seeing it in full motion for a day can really be enlightening and provide the opportunity to talk to educators and even students. In schools where we see success you are correct their is that thoughtful plan in place, great communication of the why and also that support for learning together and growing and knowing their may be a few growing pains, but the support is there. Michele
DeleteSome of the barriers that I think tend to slow down innovation include limited student access, lack of funding, and little time. Variation in student access, some students have a device and internet access 24/7 but other students may not have a device or may not have internet access outside of school. Lack of funding for devices, programs, and tech support within the school or district. With all the demands on educators there is little time left for teachers to learn how to use new devices and/or programs and also find ways to best incorporate those into their curriculum. I have been teaching for over 20 years and had little to no technology in the beginning of my career but now I do use graphing calculators (and graphing calculator apps) , google classroom, PowerPoint and Prezi, Socrative, Kahoots, Quizlet, and Kahn Academy as well as other technology but it takes time to learn, time to develop, and time determine how to utilize it so that it works well for all students. Sometimes it is much quicker and easier to use a worksheet or activity that I have used several times in the past rather than trying to create something new and innovative.
ReplyDeleteMiesha thanks for mentioning that it can be easy to fall into old habits. I think adult learners and students can fall into that category. I also hear you saying you really are reflective and using technology with purpose too and not because it is the latest greatest tool being talked about too. One thing we do see growth mindset organizations do is to still move forward-slowly and not let those barriers stop them but really focus on solutions and in some cases could be alternatives too. Having students take some ownership for I don't have access to internet or device means while at school I print off X or take notes on X so that I can do X offline or via something saved to a devices/flash drive or offline google docs (that can sync when back online). Really learning how to prepare for the learning that occurs outside of the school walls and having them be a part of that process. Have a great week-Michele
DeleteAfter our last school year and the weather we encountered, the idea of the asynchronous learning day has come to the forefront. Some schools have implemented them in Wisconsin to provide alternatives to have snow days or having to make up time at the end of the school year. Similar barriers as you mentioned come up and halt the innovation that would be possible to continue learning outside the classroom. My district has yet to push forward with this, but I see potential there as long as there is a clear vision, planning and professional development to allow for quality online learning.
DeleteBrook, that is a great idea for making up missed school days due to weather. We have had years where we have missed multiple days due to weather (or illness) and the teachers just ended up cutting down (or cutting out) things from their lesson plans while trying to still hit the core standards. I agree that there are ways to work around those barriers but often it is easier to use those barriers as an excuse to keep doing what we are doing.
DeleteMichelle, helping students learn to prepare for learning outside school walls and having students be part of that process is a great idea. How do you get the community to back a school on that or buy into that when a lot of "research" is convincing people that homework (work outside of school time) is unnecessary and even unhealthy?
Brook we also had a terrible January with 10 snow days and we talked about more online learning. One problem in my rural school district is that not everyone has internet at home.
DeleteAs I read through the first 3 chapters, I felt somewhat overwhelmed. My real struggle comes with the concept that I would really love to incorporate more digital learning in my classroom, but I struggle to see how to make it happen in a sixth grade classroom when my district is set in its ways (and is limited on finances). Over the past few years, we have taken big steps to incorporate technology for our students. We are a small rural community school district, so it hasn't been easy to make the transitions financially. Our high school and junior high students are currently 1 to 1 with Chromebooks and the elementary (me) is working it's way towards it. I do have full access to devices for my students for the day (although we're not technically 1 to 1 yet in sixth grade).
ReplyDeleteI can absolutely say that my students LOVE to use devices and are really engaged when they are given assignments on Chromebooks (usually teacher-created and put into Google Classroom). Many of them are accustomed to using technology and would love the opportunity to work more independently...dare I say, they may prefer it to whole group instruction on occasion.
The benefits of digital learning can be so significant. In reading through Chapter 2, I appreciated the way that each model was explained. This is helpful in making me think more about what I can possibly incorporate in my own room. As I stated earlier, some students may prefer a digital model as opposed to a traditional classroom. My son took 4 semesters of math courses "A La Carte Model" (p. 35) during his sophomore and junior years of high school. He was a student that was "good" at math, but his teachers never quite knew what to do with him. His way of processing and performing mathematical tasks didn't line up with the traditional way of thinking...the way that the teachers were teaching him in the classroom. We decided to try a different approach with him at that point. He took his first course online (completely independent, but checking in with an on-campus teacher a few times per week) and was a huge success. He was able to move at his own pace and work through each topic without a teacher "telling" him how to do the work. He did so well, in fact, that he got the Mathematics Departmental Award for progress that year. Moving into his junior year, he decided to take 2 dual credit college math courses (College Algebra & College Trig). The teacher proctor monitored progress weekly, but again he was on his own to go at the pace he preferred. He completed each semester 3 weeks ahead of time and with A+ grades on each of the courses. This style of learning was the best approach for him...he blew us away with his success!
I would love the opportunity to offer these styles for my sixth grade students. I believe that many of them would benefit, just as my son did.
Mrs. W thanks for the reflection and sharing of your personal story/experience here with your son. You also touched on a skill that is often needed and some students need support to develop to be successful in fully online asynchronous courses too and some of the blended models (Enriched Virtual, A La Carte) and that is independent learner, good at time management etc. Great to hear that you are moving to 1:1 but it does sound like you have access to devices and a rotation model might be able to be accomplished with those devices now. I know I have encouraged other teachers to reflect on where they might start first and have the most impact perhaps. Is there X topic that most students struggle with and/or one where you tend to see the widest variety of support needed for varying levels. That may be the unit/topic to start with. Try and reflect about what you might do differently and then think what is next. You also mentioned your students like google classrooms. Many teachers create playlists of URLs of resources for students to use to guide them in this type of learning. Some which may be choice and some where you group students and those URL to what you believe meets that groups needs. There are a lot of Open Education Resources that are free that may be able to help. One thing I encourage all teachers to do is to reach out to others teaching similar topics as the may already have that great OER list ready. Others yet use their students to recommend or share OER or other URLs too to help build that up. They let them be a part of that support team. Looking forward to the continued conversations-Michele
DeleteI apologize I am a bit behind on my post for the first three chapters as my book was just delivered in the middle of the week.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to Chapter 1: My current district has been "piloting" 1:1 technology for about 4 years now. This coming year most classrooms will be 1:1, with possibly a few that choose to push off one more year (not sure why you would want to, but to each their own). In reading more about what blended and online learning consist of, I find a couple of barriers in my current district: time and socioeconomic status of the families we serve. Though we are given 1:1 technology, most of the training occurs on your own time and unpaid. I find myself pretty skilled at using technology - definitely higher than a beginner, but certainly not an expert. I really don't know HOW to use a lot that is out there, and unless I look into it on my own time outside of school, I don't really know what's out there or how to use it. So, I stick with what I know - Google Classroom, docs, slides... putting links into my "webpage" for kids. As far as socioeconomic status goes, my district is approximately 80% low income, we are a Title I school. We are encouraged not to assign anything that requires the use of the internet from home as there may be students in our classrooms without access to the internet. I struggle with this idea in that we are holding back students that DO have access when we operate like this, but also understand equitable expectations.
Chapter 2 - I find myself using mostly a rotation model currently. I would like to explore further into the idea of flipped classroom going forward. There is a building in my district using the flipped instructional approach for staff meetings, which I think is brilliant!
Chapter 3 - I find myself being the teacher that uses the data driven online instruction sources my district has purchased by assigning my students to completing them for X amount of lessons or minutes per day (as required by the district), but not having the time to look at or use any data to my advantage or to my students' advantage. It becomes more like busy work, and then what's the point? Because this is used in addition to all the other things that are required and done, rather than replacing anything, it would require me to find the time to learn how to get the results, analyze the results, and then figure out what to do with that information. Instead of many districts looking at a situation like this being fixed and reworked from the top down, the bulk of the issue tends to be put on us teachers in a way that makes it seem we are being resistant or unwilling to change, when really it is just having our plates overfull already and these things end up being one more thing.
Andrea -- Interesting point about a building in your district using the flipped model for staff meetings. I certainly like that approach, as it would allow for more flexibility for staff members. I would also like to use the flipped model more in my face-to-face classes, but I do worry about internet access at home, and of course I also worry about students coming back prepared. Thanks for sharing, Travis
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ReplyDeleteI have been using the LMS Buzz for 5 years to blend my classroom. During that time I have tried to get several teachers to try out the system and they seem very reluctant. I'm not sure why, whether it's the scare of the unknown, not being able to see it without examples or the thought of the time commitment to putting the curriculum online. Over time, some have moved to Google Classroom, and although I have never used it so I'm not sure of its capabilities, I don't think it has the data capabilities that Buzz has. I am blessed to have a ton of technology at my fingertips in our school; whiteboards, 1 to 1 chromebooks, iPads, etc; so cost and availability are not the issue, however it is a real concern in many schools and I think its a real and huge hurdle to overcome.
I'm sure that I am influence as a science teacher makes me feel this way, but I think of the teaching career as an evolutionary process. You should be constantly changing and adapting by learning new techniques and changing as a teacher, the blended model is no different. When I first learned about blending, I went all out and somehow got all four of my courses uploaded in a summer. However, the questions that went with the material where not high quality or data driven. So during the year and the following summer I updated the content with specific questions that were data driven, so I thought. However, it I realized over the next year or so that it became very repetitive for the students and easy to cheat. So once again I have changed my view. Currently, I'm working on two things, 1 is updating objectivities to each assignment, and assessment to allow for formative assessment of objectives and remediation activities, and to create rich content that the kids are forced to interact with. I have moved from having them watch videos or reading materials and answering questions to have them read or watch the same content but create material of their own, using other online resources such as canva or H5P.
Chapter 3 was interesting to be but seemed more like a Utopia of an educational process than reality in many areas. I currently, and always have worked in a rural area in Michigan, Illinois and Idaho, so I have never started a job where there's a curriculum director that hands me a curriculum. I have been given books but they are generally older and honestly science is constantly changing so moving to an online forum makes lots of sense. I honestly thought at one point that it must be nice to be a math teacher, who normally do have a curriculum given to them, and in one of the largest districts to have or be a part of a curriculum team. I feel like most of us are not as lucky and part of the blending process is getting all of our curriculum online without the use of all the resources that she was given or had access to. However, I do find it amazing how open blending LMS's can be to be able to take your curriculum and move it to an online system. It took some creativity and rethinking initially to see how it could be uploaded and used, but after doing this for 5 years it comes naturally and much more easily. In addition, as technology grows and changes there are so many more resources to use to help guide students through their learning process.
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DeleteThanks for sharing your reflection here. It can be scary to venture into new realms and also finding that time. Glad that you jumped in and interesting connection to your field as the science field is always changing and testing hypothesis etc. So experimenting might be more of the norm and even using data. We have found in working with educators that seeing examples whether it is the digital content or the specific tool-LMS or actual classroom setting etc. can be helpful. The model used the digital content used will always be a revolving door to keep updated and also to meet the needs of the specific learners you are working with too. That can seem overwhelming as we all know we spent a lot of time creating/modifying content and using hard copies of texts for X years. The digital space does make it easier in some ways to access the content, but it perhaps shifts us from being creators of that content too to reviewing existing content (there is a lot out there that is open and free) for quality content. I noticed you mentioned quality what do you use? Quality Matters has a rubric and process in place for quality digital content: https://www.qualitymatters.org/qa-resources/rubric-standards/k-12-secondary-rubric There are also National Standards for Online Learning related to teaching, programs and courses that have newly been revised too that could potentially help: https://www.nsqol.org/ Have a great week-Michele
DeleteThanks for sharing your reflection here. It can be scary to venture into new realms and also finding that time. Glad that you jumped in and interesting connection to your field as the science field is always changing and testing hypothesis etc. So experimenting might be more of the norm and even using data. We have found in working with educators that seeing examples whether it is the digital content or the specific tool-LMS or actual classroom setting etc. can be helpful. The model used the digital content used will always be a revolving door to keep updated and also to meet the needs of the specific learners you are working with too. That can seem overwhelming as we all know we spent a lot of time creating/modifying content and using hard copies of texts for X years. The digital space does make it easier in some ways to access the content, but it perhaps shifts us from being creators of that content too to reviewing existing content (there is a lot out there that is open and free) for quality content. I noticed you mentioned quality what do you use? Quality Matters has a rubric and process in place for quality digital content: https://www.qualitymatters.org/qa-resources/rubric-standards/k-12-secondary-rubric There are also National Standards for Online Learning related to teaching, programs and courses that have newly been revised too that could potentially help: https://www.nsqol.org/ Have a great week-Michele
DeleteChapter 1: In our school, the biggest thing keeping our school from innovating/adding in more elements of blended learning is that many (most?) teachers aren't familiar with what resources are available and, even more, how to implement them. Finding the time to revamp so much about the way curriculum is presented is overwhelming when you're also trying to manage the day to day instruction and issues that happen. Our district's PD emphasis over the past year and moving forward currently has been on more effectively using digital materials and resources both for instruction and for student response/assessment.
ReplyDeleteI found the chapter 2 overview of different ways to incorporate blended learning very helpful, and the videos were key in helping me to see how these methods actually worked in a school and in individual classrooms.
Currently I use a rotation system in my classroom, but at this point it has been practicing skills students have already learned rather than introducing skills and providing instruction. Some of the resources move students through a progression of skills depending on student progress, while others are teacher-assigned practice opportunities. With my first-graders, one stumbling block with digital practice is that they are often very quick to just click on answers and move on without really regarding whether their response was correct or not. Another issue, like for any other independent work, is the need for close monitoring to make sure they're on task.
One of my goals for this summer is to begin to find ways to provide some instruction via digital materials as well as to create a few project based learning assignments to use for assessments.
Hi Kate thanks for sharing your rotation model now and also some ways you hope to tweak it to be more project based and provide that connected learning experience too. One trick I have heard others mention that they use with students they too feel that are just going through the motions of click and submit without reflecting on the answers is to use programs where you can select not to show the correct answer. Then they ask students to talk through perhaps with them in meetings at this age why the answer was wrong and why might one of the other options be the correct answer. Not all the time, but spot check to help build that reflection piece or expectation in. Again, building new skills. Hope you have a great week-Michele
DeleteHello --
ReplyDeleteMy online teaching has become more and more of an influence on my face-to-face teaching, and each year I have added more blended opportunities for students. I found this opening passage to be rather interesting: “I believe the power of technology lies in digital curriculum” (14). I look forward to hearing the rest of this argument, but I also will mentally be defending the role of a charismatic teacher who helps incentivize the curriculum (hence the blended nature of the classroom).
Love the point of using technology to empower “students to take ownership in their own learning” (14). I've seen this in my own son, who will be a fourth grader next year. His classroom used the rotation models (30), and he certainly found value in this. Sometimes the technology was used as a reward, but not always. It certainly allowed him flexibility and control, which did indeed empower him. I also saw this payoff in him wanting to do supplemental digital assignments at home.
“Digital content development is not an easy road to travel” (49). This is such a powerful point. Classroom teachers often use a great deal of their planning period to grade, so teachers must often find additional time to develop digital content. This is obviously not always easy to do during a busy school year.
Thanks for reading, Travis
Travis I would say many of our online teachers, including myself, would say that online teaching has influenced what I did in the face to face classroom. Many of us were the first to begin to blend the learning experiences too. No doubt whether 100% online, any model of blended the teacher and their passion can make a difference to student learning. No all digital curriculum is created the same and often districts work to define what quality will look like too. There are national standards standards out there for teaching, programs and courses that many look to as well: https://NSqol.org Thanks to or sharing your personal story of your son. Hope your week is off to a great start-Michele
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ReplyDeleteThe part about blended learning on pg. 26 that struck me was that schools integrate technology but don't change instructional methods. "Moving worksheets" is not blended learning, and teaching with worksheets isn't teaching. I have found that not much has changed in the f2f environment regarding the traditional instructional model. This is sad because the majority of American school function using a 20th century factory model, right down to the bells ringing. In my dissertation study, I interviewed teacher stakeholders who were both advocates of online learning and/or didn't feel efficacious using digital forums. The teachers who claim to be digital teachers don't really infuse the blended part either, actually by stripping away the f2f direct instruction. I go far beyond Loomis in that the shift involves instructional planning. Based on my data and research over three years, the shift is in teacher professional identity, a construct that was part of my conceptual framework and dissertation inquiry. Teachers have to see themselves as online teachers, have to value it, and have to change internally before any kind of planning shifts are going to occur. Sadly, there is TONS of pushback and not enough funding. When the top-down management doesn't push for changing the status quo, we continue running the factory as it's always been.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your reflection. Are you willing to share your dissertation study-really sounds interesting. This past year we hosted a webinar facilitated by Heather Staker, Ready to Blend and led by Thomas Arnett-Senior Research Fellow, Education, Clayton Christensen Institute. The webinar focused on why teachers “hire” an instructional practice to help them get their jobs done and
Deletefour jobs that cause teachers to be motivated to innovate. This was based on the research paper "The Teacher's Quest for Progress-How School Leaders can Motivate Instructional Motivation" Here is a link to that document in case you want to take a look: https://www.christenseninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/JTBD.pdf or you can try goo.gl/EcL2fX
Hope your week is off to a great start,
Michele
Truer words were never spoken: "Teachers have to see themselves as online teachers, have to value it, and have to change internally before any kind of planning shifts are going to occur. " I am always amazed by how skeptical teachers can be of online schooling. Even hiring committees have been know to undervalue online degrees. Too often, school as a culture is F.A.R. from being an "out of the box" thinking entity.
DeleteI also apologize for my tardiness in posting. As with my student online learners, I am noticing that for me the materials, technology & schedule all take some time to get up and running! I appreciated the background information and terminology as well as the video links provided in Chapters 1-3. One of the biggest reliefs that I discovered was that the new program that we are going to be offering at our high school (and which I am in charge of) actually fits really well under the “A La Carte Model” described on page 35. In particular, the quote that most resonated with me from that section was, “The ability to self-blend or choose when and what online courses a student might like to pursue, rather than sitting in a face-to-face classroom each and every day is [the] backbone of the a la carte model.” This describes exactly what we are beginning to do with and for our students in Hudson and I am very excited to be part of this shift in allowing this much choice in student’s schedules. I think the biggest barrier so far is time. Though it has been the time-consuming process, it has also been rewarding to start something brand new. For each student who is seeking a blended schedule, we are having a face-to-face meeting that takes about 45 minutes and includes the student, at least one parent/guardian, the high school counselor, and myself. We review the students’ current academic progress, interests, post-secondary goals, strengths, areas that might be in need of support, etc. to identify courses that might be good online options for the student. This enables us to personalize the students’ schedule and plan for their day in terms of whether he/she will work on the online course(s) in the school building where we will have dedicated, supervised work areas with support available or from home.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, we are offering our online courses through Wisconsin Virtual School and are not creating/instructing our own courses. The District does envision creating our own Hudson School District courses to align with our priority standards/curriculum and to eventually have Hudson teachers as instructors, but I really appreciated the author’s strong recommendation to have teachers deploy content rather than develop content for online courses (page 46). It was my experience as a Social Studies online instructor for Minnesota Connections Academy for two years that online teaching takes a lot of time with developing student relationships, making accommodations/modifications, delivering live lessons, grading projects, meeting with PLC’s, etc. that there definitely would not have been time to build entire courses as well as teach them simultaneously. I agree with the author that there needs to be a dedicated person/team of people to create high-quality semester courses if that is the route that my district decides to go in the future. For now, I am very excited to be able to focus on the coach/administrator role as we get our “A La Carte Model” up and running!
Sarah sounds like you are having a great team meeting to ensure that everyone is on the same page about expectations and also to ensure some choice and collaborating to provide that flexibility in schedule to make the A La Carte model of blended a reality. The Wisconsin Digital Learning Collaborative (WDLC) has some case studies and resources (including a student guide, parent guide etc.) that could be used/modified in meeting with students/parents too. This is the specific link to some of those: https://www.wiwdlc.org/case-studies You can also subscribe to receive updates for new content and opportunities at the bottom of the home page. There are a lot of people to lean on and bounce ideas and questions off of as you get started and begin to look at what next too. Have a great fourth of July holiday with family and friends-Michele
DeleteHello Everyone!
ReplyDeleteApologies for the late response for week 1. I had minor tech difficulties (on my end).
After reviewing the chapter readings, comments, and replies, it makes me reflect on my experience with online learning, blended learning, and interaction on numerous facets with students.
I do agree with the chapter readings with regards to the effectiveness of online learning when used in the appropriate environment, and distributed in the most efficient way.
One challenging factor in online learning has always been the "art" of discussion boards. The challenge for myself as an instructor has been to get appropriate participation with regards to rigorous and effective dialogue. Once this has been achieved, the course seems to run more efficiently.
Finally, to touch base on blended learning. Our district has implemented in blended learning for the past 10 years, but is currently revamping the way of training teachers to make it more effective. I do believe that when this balance is met, progess will be achieved.
Jeremy we are glad that you were able to join us. Thank you for demonstrating one of the iNACOL framework for blended teaching competencies with sticking with it and collaborating to resolve your technology too. You mention your district is revamping your professional learning to make blended more effective. What does that look like? Discussion boards can be powerful, but you are correct about having those expectations set and to ensure that it is not just busy work posting, but that students are truly engaging and not just saying I agree to a classmate, but expanding on why and even posing a question for them to consider too. Thanks for sharing and looking forward to the continued conversations via this blog-Michele
DeleteMy chapter 3 reflection is late, but this chapter really got me thinking. I am eager to initiate blended learning, however, I know my very rural and extremely small school cannot afford a ready-made course for such. My idea is to begin creating my own coursework and curriculum and doing so slowly throughout the years, possibly planning one or two blended "units" per class (I teach English I, English II, English IV, and a reading state prep class). I have a feeling I will be over my head with this, and I am not a patient person, so I will need to focus on quality over quantity. Another part of the chapter that made me think was the part on project-based learning. I employ much more project-based learning that I ever have in the past, and I find it to be not only enjoyable for my students, but for myself as well. I want as much bang for my buck, for lack of better terminology, when I assign a project. I try to hit as many standards as I can, but only focus on one or two for mastery purposes. However, I often get caught up in the overwhelming amount of standards we have (New Illinois Learning Standards -- AKA: Common Core) and feel as if I am not having students master enough of them in a given school year. Is it possible to assign the same general project and use individual student data to adjust what actually will be assessed based on what particular standards certain students need to master? Am I thinking way over my head? I want desperately to tailor my teaching and guidance to each individual student, but with 2 about 90 students each day, is this practical? I guess I have many questions about the feasibility of analyzing data for that many students and planning for such. We currently use MAP testing which I love (I am a data geek), but will the actual planning of the blended coursework dig me into an early grave? I do like the step-by-step planning template in chapter 3, as well as the example. Also, the different rotation models have my cogs turning. I do, however, feel that my hands are somewhat tied because I know we will not be able to adopt any type of coursework. Oh, the woes of wanting to do so much with so little!
ReplyDeleteJen yes, yes and yes. Absolutely you are on the right path by thinking small and slower here. There are a lot of open education resources that you could use for your blended options like NROC Hippocampus resources: https://www.hippocampus.org/ They even have some playlists and lots there for English. NROC also has there English projecthttps://nroc.org/what-we-offer/nroc-english/ and the cost is reasonable, but you might want to check with Illinois Virtual to see if they already have access to these resources. There are a few states like Wisconsin and Montana for example that purchase this for students they partner with at no cost to the local district to use. Some teachers when starting small really need to use data and reflect on where students struggle the most or where perhaps they see the widest gaps so they are able to really lean on the digital content to meet students where they are at. Your idea too that perhaps the same project but focus in on demonstration of different skills and concepts to meet students where they are at in mastering standards is awesome and a great example of how blended can support that type of learning environment with digital content. Sounds like you have some great ideas and starting slowly to allow you to implement and adjust quickly might work as long as we remember deep breaths and patience. Thanks for your thoughtful reflection here-Michele
Delete1. My f2f career was in a university laboratory school. We began teaching English in a computer lab back in 1985, and we were a 1:1 school before the turn of the century. Like Chapter 1 explains, the path to School 2.0 is not always smooth. Teachers have to move from being the "sage on the stage" to the "guide on the side" and resistance (though futile) is to be expected. It is disruptive (in the best sense of the word) and progress is uneven. There has to be teacher training, and there must be room for failure.
ReplyDelete2. *I wish the text was more specific about the data collection and analysis component.
3. The blended models showcased in Chapter 2 strike me as reflective of the piecemeal approach to change happening across the country. The student experience varies, depending on where s/he goes to school.
Thanks for your reflection. I think at times it is vague here at the start as it is big picture and broad terms. In order to provide specifics there has to be specific goals and objectives and thinking through the data that helps you know yes they mastered that. Also, are there technology infrastructures that can help you easily gather and access that data. A good example of that for me is in the LMS we use if a student does poorly on a graded assignment I can toggle on some data. A couple data points I toggle on is looking at how much time they spent on that assignment/assessment in the LMS and also how much time they spend on the digital content to support that assignment and assessment. So if a student did poorly overall on a quiz and it seems like they spent a lot of time on the assessment and in viewing the digital content and activities prior perhaps they need the content presented in a different way. However, if they were jumping through the assessment or did not even bother to look at all the digital content or activities that support that learning it is redirecting back to that and perhaps a retry option for an assessment etc. We also have the ability to look at the difficulty and discrimination data too to help us determine if perhaps there is an issue with a question and how it is written too. These are just some quick examples that are very specific to what I use to support how best to give feedback and intervene with students on where to go next. Thanks for your thoughts-Michele
DeleteI apologize for posting so late--my book just arrived. I have used blended learning for the past 6 years with a few of my classes (I am a high school electives teacher and teach approximately 7 different subjects/courses during a school year). I love it! It does take a lot of time, however, to build--thus the reason all of my classes are not yet in a blended format. As I read through the first few chapters, I kept thinking about how much time and effort it does take to build a comprehensive blended curriculum. I often worry that some educators think that putting an old worksheet online constitutes a blended activity.
ReplyDeleteLastly, I'd just share some of my most positive experiences with blended learning. I LOVE the discussion board capabilities and the idea that "everyone" in the class becomes involved, has a voice, and is required to use critical thinking, resources, and opinions to support his/her voice.
Stefani thanks for sharing your thoughts and agree blended means more than using the digital space as a filing cabinet for your worksheets and other content used traditionally when teaching face to face. Not just digitizing your old stuff. Discussions boards can be very powerful in allowing time for students to formulate their thoughts and a great way to ensure everyone's voice is heard as you say. It takes time to set up those expectations and to help build student skills too where they are posing questions and instead of saying why or why not the agree or disagree and did you consider.....Thanks for sharing-Michele
DeleteI have use blended learning for about 6 years now. The reasons I started using blended learning in my f2f classroom is because I found the counselors were putting 2 to 4 different classes in one hour. It became impossible for me to teach the different classes effectively. By having most of the content online if enabled me to spend time teaching the individual classes the concepts that they had the most difficult time with. It also enabled the students that did not need as much help to work ahead of everyone else.
ReplyDeleteSome of the biggest issues I found at the start was the administration. They were not familiar with blended or online learning and wanted it to look more like a traditional classroom with the same objective for every student every day. I had to keep reminding them that I had different classes in the same room and with technology all student were not going to be in the same place. Some stude3nt come into class with more knowledge that other and would be really board going over concepts that they already knew.
It took a lot of time but I have created may classes online for my students. For example I have create 2 years of Accounting, Computer applications 1, and introduction to business. Try teaching 3 different years of accounting with 3 different levels of Computer applications at the same time…
Chapter 1-- I am lucky to be working in a school district that likes to be first, stay ahead of other districts. They have no problem with innovative learning and for their teachers to find ways to guide our students to be successful while learning. As for blending in a f2f school, I feel it should be just that- blending traditional teaching/learning with tech and innovation. To do things in different ways does not mean it has to be all online or all tech involved. I think the hardest sell is to parents and grandparents. They think school should be the way it was when they went to school. With online involvement, we have the world at our fingertips and can take our students anywhere in the world to enhance engagement.
ReplyDeleteChapter 2:
In my f2f classroom, I have used something to similiar to rotations. My older students are in a modified choice class structure. They have a set of art standards are given mini lesson individually as they follow as plan of their choice throughout a term. They have the choice of hands on art or technology for various standards. There have been times when I have a tech assignment that they could work on alone or with a friends as a supplement or extra learning to a standard. However, being an art class, they are not pulled out to this, it is an option for a 4 rating or to bring up a rating to a 3 or higher.
I do use flip classrooms with all grades. Nothing premade, I find videos or use past students examples and have the kids discuss what they thing we are going to make and what steps we will do to create our example of the art standards. It becomes a discovery format. I like to do this with artist styles or new skill techniques. I don't use the flex model unless it is the term for choice within the art class. I think the a la carte model is a awesome idea. I would have liked that in school. I think my school tries something like this-- they call it Summit. But I don't think it is an option of choosing to do it or not. Or is our Summit more like the enriched virtual model. I am not at the high school, so I really don't know the difference.
My favorite quote from Chapter 1-- "The online classroom also gives every student a front row seat."
You are lucky your district is on board with blended learning. It has been a challenge for me the first few years. At least as of last year they have started to be on board with blended learning in my district. I do think it may have been easier for me to incorporate blended learning for my class because of the subject I teach. I tech computers and business educations.
DeleteMichele - Thanks for the website. I will be investigating it!
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ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderfully proud moment to be reading through the first chapter to discover my home state, Idaho, among leaders in the online classroom! It was surprising, however, to notice how the same states are mentioned over and over and I wonder why not more are? Is the online classroom not as prevalent in the majority of American school districts?
I feel so fortunate to be teaching in an area where blended learning with online institutions has become the norm. More and more students are using the online classroom to not only reclaim lost credit, but to also enrich their high school experience. However, despite the acceptance and embrace of online education, I can't help but wonder where the embrace of technology in the classroom is? In my f2f school, technology is used as enrichment, and not the norm. More education and emphasis on blended learning in the f2f classroom is needed for teachers to succeed in this implementation. The f2f classroom is stuck between hard cellphone policies and a desire to integrate technology and there appears to be a clash between the two. "...online and face-to-face instruction requires a shift in teachers instruction planning." (pg. 26). I believe it's also important to acknowledge that a shift in technology acceptance in schools should be addressed, as well.
Hi Kelly thanks for your reflection and also your question. Some of the programs mentioned in the book are those states that had supplemental online programs and/or were the first to jump into the area of fully online asynchronous courses and openly shared a lot. I know I attended a number of iNACOL (International Association of K12 Online Learning) conferences and they were often active presenters and participants too. Some of them are also members of the Virtual Learning Leadership Alliance (VLLA https://www.virtuallearningalliance.org/) and "VLLA is an association of the chiefs of virtual programs that provides collegial support and collaborative opportunities to the individual members and member organizations to share resources, services, and expertise". So again, really they shared lessons learned, best practices and were open to collaboration and sometimes hard conversations too. In working with online educators many have said that teaching fully online has changed what they did in their face to face classrooms and many of them are now leaders in blended learning in their districts. They have had time to develop their mindset and shift their instructional practice with support. Thanks for sharing-Michele
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ReplyDeleteAs a question was not posted, here are my thoughts:
I enjoyed the author's integration of the idea that change should be made with the varying tolerances of the school/classroom in mind. Starting an honest discussion about how change and the level of implementation will be different for everyone is so important as it creates a more comfortable starting point.
I also found it interesting how the author addresses that true "blended [learning comes from] combining face-to-face and digital learning modalities, not having two separate learning techniques standing side-by-side." (pg. 30). I wonder if starting this important instructional education has started being implemented into the university curriculum for future teachers?
Kelly thanks for the great question here with regards to the prep programs that our educators experience. In Wisconsin we have found that some universities might offer one semester course with regards to digital learning. The shift to providing our adult learners a blended experiencing to help them to build knowledge and skills as a blended learner are not wide spread from what we are seeing. I think perhaps higher ed struggles with some of the same barriers, time, money, professional learning, access to the infrastructure/technology, teams to develop content for the digital space etc. We always welcome those conversations and the ability to support them. Thanks for sharing-Michele
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ReplyDeleteThis chapter also hit home for me as I have been on a foreign language curriculum development committee for the last two years. When the author mentioned that it is "time consuming" I related to nothing more than I did to that comment! It is a tedious process that has taken countless hours of dedication by a hand-full of full time teachers. As much as I would like to say this work and dedication has created a masterpiece, I cannot. As the author stated, a team of professional course developers whose sole job is to develop the curriculum is the most beneficial. I also hate to wonder how long our new curriculum will even be in use as it does not support a blended model of instruction? I believe our biggest obstacle is the clash I mentioned before of the 'new' (blended) versus 'old' (traditional) instructional standards. My f2f teaching community wants so desperately to be part of an advanced/newer instructional design that integrates technology, but I often feel that this advancement is hindered by things such as adopting an already outdated curriculum (by "outdated" I am referring to the adoption of a teacher-created curriculum unsupportive of a blended model).
Where do the first steps towards integrating digital content in this type of f2f classroom? One that no longer uses text books (therefore no online instructional support)? In an effort to be non-reliant on textbooks for instruction, have we taken a huge step backwards in the possibility of ever becoming blended?
Hi Kelly you pose some great points and I know a lot of our World Language educators tackle these questions at their yearly conference. Many of our fully online educators are open to those difficult conversations as they have lived fully online and face to face, but can see that benefit of the blend of those worlds. We have often found that many districts are willing to look at not eliminating textbooks but moving towards digital versions that get updates on the fly or a least yearly versus until the next hard copy is purchased. That has helped them with items being up to date and to more easily be able to move or modify things. I know our world language teachers love how technology can provide the opportunity for students to record their voices speaking and also to connect them real time to native speakers or students from that native speaking culture for an exchange too. Appreciate you sharing your thoughts and hope your week is off to a great start-Michele
DeleteIn Chapters 1-3, i agree with the the author that it's not the devices in the classroom, but how we use them that matters. My school district is behind, we are not 1 t0 1 and the internet would not be able to handle 1 t o 1. We are working on a fiber optical cable, but rocks such as limestone is delaying the effort. I am very curious and about blended learning and realize that our school district would need a lot of professional development. My school district could be consider just beginning this process.
ReplyDeleteI can see how the teacher could set the pace and path specific to each student, which would be helpful for the students who learn at different paces.
This past January, the weather was terrible, 10 snow days. As a staff we were trying to do some online learning, but not every student had access the the internet at home. Another reason, I am very interested in how blended learning can work in my district.
A lot of districts in our state too had a larger amount of weather days this year. This has not only brought up the idea of digital days as alternatives for all sorts of bad weather but the idea too that perhaps teachers should have some flexibility in professional learning days as well. Why do all have to report to the school/district on X day. Could they have flexibility, pace and some choice control if more was in a digital format? Our state modeled some work North Carolina was doing with Virtual Learning days and had a webinar this May with those who planned such days in our state to really share their voices from the field and the planning process too.
DeleteThis is the slide deck and it links out to some resources:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dmV1JQavovvyhI3xZb8I96dAi9BtQj98SjLCRKmyTu4/edit?usp=sharing Our Department of Public Instruction should be posting the recording and other resources in the upcoming weeks too. Thanks for sharing-Michele