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In Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 of the Learning Technology grant, blended learning institutes were run for members of the consortium. The workshops were open to educators in the Sayville, South Huntington and Wyandanch school districts and their respective non-publics. Educators received CTLE hours and/or in-service credit and/or pay for attending sessions.
In Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 of the Learning Technology grant, blended learning institutes were run for members of the consortium. The workshops were open to educators in the Sayville, South Huntington and Wyandanch school districts and their respective non-publics. Educators received CTLE hours and/or in-service credit and/or pay for attending sessions.
The following artifacts were delivered for the consortium districts in order to:
The following artifacts were delivered for the consortium districts in order to:
Help district administrators and teachers understand how technology supports blended instruction models and best practices. (Year 1 / Year 2)
Strengthen teachers' understanding of blended learning and practices to support flexible learning by engaging in discussion around what effective models look like in their own classrooms and addressing the impact of hybrid and concurrent learning. (Year 2/ Year 3)
Support teachers in the use of technology to facilitate collaboration in their classrooms between students, improve communication, and provide students with flexible blended learning (*** The pandemic forced this to be a primary focus of Year 2 / Year 3.)
Assist teachers in developing lessons using technology to support student learning and provide a more personalized experience for students. (Year 2 / Year 3)
Year 1: Designing Regional Workshops
Year 1: Designing Regional Workshops
In Year 1, blended learning institutes were designed to be run for members of the consortium who were comfortable using technology. The focus in this year was making sure that educators were exposed to a variety of presentation, assessment, and reflection tools. By providing regional workshops, teachers who might not ordinarily get a chance to work and learn together received an opportunity to do so. In each subsequent year, the cohorts got more diverse and included educators that were at the varying stages of implementing blended learning.
The Christensen Institute defines blended learning as a formal education program in which a student learns:
at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace;
at least in part in a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home;
and the modalities along each student’s learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience.
Taken from: https://www.christenseninstitute.org/about/
Blended Learning Cohorts
Blended Learning Cohorts
During school year 2018-19, educators from 3 public schools and 5 non-publics were invited to participate in a series of workshops to improve their knowledge of blended learning practices and edtech tools to support students. They attended group sessions and participated in a variety of online and face-to-face activities.
Agendas
Agendas
Session 1: Introduction to Blended Learning: models, success stories, setting goals
Session 2: Tools to Support Blended Learning: NearPod, FlipGrid, EdPuzzle
Session 3: Incorporating Choice: Google Forms, HyperDocs and Choice Boards
Session 4: The Flipped Classroom: instructional video making with WeVideo and Screencastify
Session 5: Using ePortfolios to Support Blended Learning: Google Sites, Seesaw, and blogging
Highlight: Incorporating Student Voice in the Classroom
Highlight: Incorporating Student Voice in the Classroom
Incorporating student voice in the classroom as a form of reflection and assessment was an important part of Year 1's blended learning cohort. It was a strategy that helped to include ALL student voices to make learning more accessible, and to support a feeling of inclusivity and self-expression.
Year 2: Designing Regional Workshops
Year 2: Designing Regional Workshops
As part of the Learning Technology Grant for the Sayville consortium during school year 2019-20, educators from the three districts learned about strategies to create and support blended learning environments -- more important than ever in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. They were offered opportunities to attend sessions together virtually both during and after school. These sessions were run in two parts: Part I was to learn about remote learning structures and strategies and Part II allowed more flexibility so they could attend a presentation on an instructional technology tool they were interested in learning more about. Read more to see artifacts and activities included in these sessions.
Designing for Remote and Collaborative Learning
Designing for Remote and Collaborative Learning
Icebreaker activity
Remote learning structures and tips
Collaborative activity
Summary of main points
Short Presentation on: Flipgrid, Pear Deck, or Google Classroom
Time to work on "mini-lesson" across districts or individual
Strategies for co-teaching virtually
Next steps / call to action
Icebreaker Activity
Icebreaker Activity
Introduction activities such as the one listed below are used to help students:
learn to use Flipgrid (as an introduction activity)
get to know each other if they have never been together in class (good for teachers too!)
build community in a classroom (especially in remote settings)
Remote Learning Structures
Remote Learning Structures
Use a Google Site or other document / platform to clearly outline expectations
Use digital tools for entrance and exit tickets
Introduce digital tools with enough time for students to "explore" the tool and play
Provide support for those that need it using different means: video, 1:1 meetings, images, step-by-step help guides
Digital Structures
Digital Structures
Example of digital structures include having a digital platform (for example, a website (above), learning management platform, or document (to the right) - doesn't have to be elaborate) that contains important information necessary for students to have.
Collaborative Activity
Collaborative Activity
Providing time for students to digest material is important but equally important is giving them time to work on something TOGETHER.
In this example, students (teachers) built a collection of remote learning strategies together as a group and then compared their tables with other groups to add/ask questions.
Summary of Main Points
Summary of Main Points
Shared experiences help groups feel a sense of unity. Asking students to do more than just type thoughts or ideas into a document makes the experience more meaningful. Notice the checkmarks and happy faces in the document. Groups hopped in and out of other group brainstorm documents and added checkmarks to show their agreement. Some came back to their group's documents and added ideas they agreed.
Following this activity the facilitators summarized main points and shared screens to show each group's statements as an additional measure of accountability.
Mini-presentation on a tool used for remote learning
Mini-presentation on a tool used for remote learning
Following each collaborative activity, teachers were introduced to a new tool designed to support remote/hybrid learning.
After a brief overview, teachers were asked to create their own activities and share their learnings with others. This is one example of a presentation for a tool used primarily in K-2 settings and for special education.
In breakout rooms, teachers had time to explore the tool, discuss its benefits with other teachers and expand on technology's use for remote and hybrid learning.
In breakout rooms, teachers had time to explore the tool, discuss its benefits with other teachers and expand on technology's use for remote and hybrid learning.
Reflection
Reflection
Reflections are an important part of learning. Here are two examples of ways to collect exit tickets from students (and teachers)!
Google Jamboard
Google Jamboard
In this activity, groups added sticky notes to a Jamboard and spent additional time exploring a new tool to collect reflections!
Pear Deck
Pear Deck
In this activity, the presentation on PearDeck, was used to collect the exit ticket. PearDeck allows for student-directed and teacher-led instruction.
Year 3: Designing Regional Workshops
Year 3: Designing Regional Workshops
In Year 3, helping teachers to work in hybrid and concurrent classrooms was the main focus due to the pandemic. Creating a model of blended learning after students began to come back to school was a priority for all three schools in the fall of 2020 and spring of 2021. Because each district was in a different stage of readiness, instructional coaches and the technology consultants worked together to lay out a plan that consisted of:
small group and one-on-one virtual sessions to help educators create blended learning environments
self-paced modules to help teachers learn how to use technology tools to support a blended approach at their own pace
targeted professional development for remote teachers and other special area teachers (some teachers taught fully remote the entire year)
the creation of an online resource "hub" to disseminate information about instructional technology uses, updates, and lessons (if the district alreaady had one, the instructional technology professional developers added to it
targeted professional development around the use of devices to support existing curriculum and for primary/elementary students
Blended Learning Cohort
Blended Learning Cohort
During the 2020-21 school year, educators were offered Blended Learning workshop series during the summer to prepare for hybrid and remote learning in the fall. In this Blended Learning workshop series, blended and hybrid learning techniques and styles were discussed. The various blended learning models were covered, along with a variety of educational technology tools that support these activities. Participants were given the opportunity to explore ways to use discussion and collaboration tools such as Padlet, Answer Garden and Jamboard. Hands on support and instruction was provided on tools that support student voice including FlipGrid and Book Creator. Methods to support student choice were covered and participants learned to create Hyperdocs and choice boards.
Tools such as WeVideo, EdPuzzle and Screencastify were demonstrated in support of the Flipped Lesson model, building on the knowledge that educators had obtained in previous years. In addition, there was a focus on a variety of Google tools available and how these can be used with students. Participants had the opportunity to work individually and/or in small groups of their choosing to create, improve and enhance existing lessons by incorporating some of the many tools and techniques we covered in this session. They began with an existing lesson that was taught in a traditional manner and by the end, they left with a blended/hybrid lesson that had been enhanced with the integration of technology.
Guide to Blended LearningGuide to Blended Learning
Guide to Blended Learning
Padlet Introduction for All Three Districts
Padlet Introduction for All Three Districts
Blended Learning Collaboration Q&A
Blended Learning Collaboration Q&A
Additional Tools Used With Students
Additional Tools Used With Students
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