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A Classroom of Dreams

4/27/2016

Being an Iowa farm girl, Field of Dreams was a magical movie that unveiled the possibilities of open land full of waving rows of corn. I still think of the whispering, “If you build it, they will come,” and smile. So many times throughout my teaching career that same whisper ran through my mind…

”If you…..they will….”

and today I heard that whisper again.

I had this amazing opportunity to bring in a set of classroom iPads with students that have very little technology in their classroom. As you can imagine, the students were so excited for ‘sandbox time.’ In my experience, allowing students to explore the possibilities of the technology on their own with few parameters allows choice, problem-solving, exploration, and so much more. I also know when I expect my students to create for a certain task, I can almost guarantee they will be more productive and on-task because there was time to explore.

For the next 45 minutes, we watched, asking a question here and there, but mostly we watched. We watched students problem solve while coding, even though they had limited experience. We watched as they collaborated and discussed. We watched as they created stories with funny voices and couldn’t wait to share with someone next to them.

When our time drew to a close, they reluctantly handed over the iPads. When asked about the experience, every hand shot into the air. We heard things like:
“I loved that I could create a story.”
“It was so fun to use my imagination.”
“I was really challenged with that coding app. It was pretty tough, but I figured it out.”
“I got to make my own movie!”

The truth is, I still hear naysayers in regards to technology in the classroom. Had any of those opponents been witness to the learning and creativity that was happening today, I believe they might have also heard the whispering….

“If you provide it, they will benefit.”

--Mindy Cairney, GWAEA Technology Consultant

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Blended Learning: What is it? & Why should I care?

4/14/2016

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What is it?

According to iNACOL (International Association of K-12 Online Learning)

Any time a student learns, at least in part, at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home and, at least in part, through online delivery with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace. The modalities along each student’s learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience.
http://www.inacol.org/news/what-is-blended-learning/

Now let's tear that definition apart a little.

Blended Learning happens inside a traditional school system - that is the 'brick-and-mortar' part of the definition. There is also a component of online learning. It is easy to read that definition and think school + online = what is happening in our classrooms. Because, there are students working on computers - right?

But just working on a computer is not enough.

Roles shift in a Blended Learning classroom. Students begin to take control of their learning through time or place or path or pace. And teacher roles shift as well! That may be harder part to implement - the shift of control from teacher to student. This is a HUGE change to the traditional model - where the textbook and the teacher determine the time, place, path and pace of the instruction. For the student to take control means a philosophical shift for teachers.

And just handing students control isn't really Blended Learning. The final sentence in the definition adds one more twist.

The modalities along each student’s learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience.

It takes all three pieces integrated together

Online Learning

Brick and Mortar

Student Choice

to make Blended Learning successful

Why Should I Care?

Tn 2012-2013 the Quaglia Institute for Student Aspirations compiled surveys of over 55,000 6-12 grade students. The data found that students who are engaged in school are 15 times more likely to be academically motivated and 40% of all those completing the survey are not engaged in their learning.
http://www.qisa.org/dmsView/US_National_ImpactIndex_2013

That is a rather staggering thought.
40% of 55,000 students in 6-12 grade are not engaged in their learning.

Teachers in Blended Learning classrooms are discovering that this pathway to personalization impacts student engagement. That is why we should care.

Where do I start?

It all seems so HUGE!!
But, the best place to start is Station Rotation.

As the drawing shows, in Station Rotation, students are broken into smaller groups and rotate around the room based on specific learning activities. The teacher is meeting with a smaller group of students- so they have the chance to focus on specific student needs. The other stations are parts of that integrated learning approach mentioned earlier.

This is a great entry level step!

What does this really look like in a typical classroom?

I observed Station Rotation in action when I spent time in a middle school Language Arts classroom in a nearby school district. The class of 7th graders were divided into 5 groups of 4-5 students each. The desks in the classroom were arranged into small groups or clusters with large signs of A-E attached to a chair.

Group A - was reviewing a class created Google Presentation of vocabulary words for a test the next day
Group B members were working alone, answering teacher posted questions on a class blog - questions of opinion based on the text they were reading
Group C was also working independently completing character, theme, and chapter summary charts on their own laptop computers
Group D - a student teacher was in charge of this group and they were discussing stereotypes found in American Born Chinese, a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang.
Group E met with the teacher for some direct instruction on reading non-fiction texts and several standards that are part of that requirement.

As I sat and observed - it was a typical middle school class. Meaning, the students were not all perfect, every student was not engaged 100% of the time. But, they were engaged most of the time.

I was especially interested in the conversation going on at the groups with the teachers. Because, by middle school we know that some students are beginning to check out. It's really hard to do that when you are sitting in a small group - and your teacher is talking directly to you.

This was especially evident in the group discussing stereotypes. Each group conversation started rather haltingly. Almost like they didn't want to admit their own stereotype beliefs to the student teacher. But, as they read together and the student teacher gently prodded - the conversations changed to why stereotypes are used in literature and if they are actually funny. And for each of the groups that I observed all the students took part in the discussion.

I walked away from these classrooms nodding my head with a smile on my face - and I know it's cheesy, but some real hope that education can change!

I observed teachers and students working together.
I observed students involved and discussing.
I believe that I observed engagement.

That is why Blended Learning matters!

~Beth Swantz, Technology Consultant @betswan

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April 11th, 2016

4/11/2016

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Here is the link to this month's update!

This update contains information about our new Digital Learning Institute, the podcast The Edtech Takeout, Think, Make, Innovate Makerspace show, the iPadU and Building Bridges conferences, as well as some opportunities to learn about coding! Please feel free to share with other educators who may be interested in the content!

Let me or one of the technology consultants know if you have any questions!

~Stacy Behmer, Coordinator of Digital Learning, Grant Wood AEA

For more posts like this, please subscribe to our blog! You can also connect with us on social media if you Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Twitter or add us to your circles on Google+. We even have our own podcast you can listen to.

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A Classroom of Dreams

Blended Learning: What is it? & Why should I care?

What is it?

It takes all three pieces integrated together

to make Blended Learning successful

Why Should I Care?

Where do I start?

What does this really look like in a typical classroom?

April 11th, 2016

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A Classroom of Dreams

Blended Learning: What is it? & Why should I care?﻿

What is it?

It takes all three pieces integrated together

to make Blended Learning successful​

Why Should I Care?

Where do I start?

What does this really look like in a typical classroom?

April 11th, 2016

Connect

Blog Feed

Like Us on Facebook

Our YouTube Show

Our Podcast

Our Tweets!

Authors

Archives

Categories

Blended Learning: What is it? & Why should I care?

to make Blended Learning successful