- The kids will be off task. If students are all working at an appropriate level and in a way that fits their individual learning styles, they are more likely to stay on task. Teachers who are facilitators have the time to re-direct and assist off-task students in a blended/personalized classroom. In my experience, those who are off task in class are usually bored (either the content is too challenging or too easy). When students are working at their individual readiness level and they have a choice in what they are doing, being bored isn't an option. Visit the Rationale page for a more detailed answer.
- I like to give them all the information myself to ensure they get it. Whoever is doing the talking is doing the thinking and the learning! Also... a little statistic I learned long ago: a person can usually pay attention one minute for every year they are old (give or take a few minutes). This means with my 8th graders, who are 13-14 years old, I can estimate that I will lose their focus after 10-15 minutes.
- I don't want to create an online class when I have them face-to-face. You're not. Some activities will be digital, but you can also use the LMS to act as a roadmap to direct students. Online activities allow for different students to do different things at the same time. With the goal of pushing all learners forward, you will need to have different activities ready to meet the needs of different learners.
- I think all kids should do this lesson/activity because it is so good. Get over it. Not everyone needs everything. Focus on the kids' learning and you will see them make connections & apply their understanding to new situations that may even surprise you!
- How do I grade this chaos? See the separate page on Grading to address this "elephant in the room."
- I don't have time to become an expert on all of these new ways of learning. You don't have to! Let the student explore, tinker... and explore, tinker with them! Let experts emerge within the class -- you may or may not be one of them and that's OK! Be there to facilitate, but also to model the process of learning along with the kiddos! It is not possible to know everything about everything anymore. We need to be OK with that so our kids are OK with that.