Blended Learning

Introduction

Blended learning is an extension of learning in time and place beyond the classroom walls, giving students more control of the pace and paths to follow in their learning. Because much of learning is social in nature, effective blended learning provides ways for students to virtually connect and learn together just as they do in the physical classroom. Effective blended learning also naturally supports differentiation. Scaffolding can be built in, especially in the form of questions to guide student inquiry. As students grow more comfortable with blended learning, they take on more ownership and responsibility to be self-directed learners. Blended learning can increase understanding by freeing up more time during the school day for discussions, debates, group work and other student-centered learning activities. This approach to learning supports the development of lifelong learners who are skilled in finding, evaluating, creating, curating and communicating information.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2014 Edition lists blended and hybrid learning as definitely taking hold in our schools with full adoption within three to five years. The following is a summary of the "Increasing Use of Hybrid Learning Designs" section of the report.

"As teachers and students alike become more familiar with and adept at using the Internet, classroom-based learning increasingly includes online learning strategies, and an increased focus on collaboration within and outside the classroom. Schools that are making use of hybrid learning models are finding that using both physical and the virtual learning environments to their highest potentials allows teachers to further personalize the learning experience, engage students in a broader variety of ways, and even extend the learning day. Hybrid models, when designed and implemented effectively, enable students to use the school day for group work and project-based activities, while using the network to access readings, videos, and other learning materials on their own time, leveraging the best of both environments."

Note that there are several versions and interpretations of blended learning with some being school-based where students use computer-aided instruction with specialized software learning as a whole class, in groups and/or individually. The blended learning presented here is the blend of classroom face to face learning with students working individually and/or together outside of the class via the Internet. Here are two short videos that can help paint the picture of this combination face to face and online learning version. To learn about several other versions of blended learning, look to listen to the excellent interview of Tom Arnett of the Christenson Institute.

Definitions and Resources

There are several interpretations of blended learning which include the approach called flipped learning. A common theme is that students interact with learning materials while at home so that class time doesn't need to be used as much for direct instruction of content. Class time is spent on learning activities often involving small group work while giving the teacher time to provide individual and group support.

An important aspect of blended to full on virtual learning is giving your students access to information sources. As one teacher notes "the teacher's burden has shifted from know what to where". A great place to start is with the databases your school and/or district subscribes to. You can then move on to tutorial sites and well-known providers like Khan Academy.

You also probably have access to skill building resources like Raz Kids, DreamBox, Reflex Math and web-based creation and sharing tools like Wixie, Google Apps, Mindmeister, etc. All of these resources can be linked from your school's Learning Management System, Google Classroom, a Web Site or blog you create. Look to review the "Digital Resources" section of the PD & ICL page of this Web site for more information sources to share with your students. .

An added benefit of developing a blended learning program is that it takes you one step closer to being able to provide a virtual classroom in case your school closes for several days for whatever reason. Blended to virtual learning is a 24/7 learning operation!

The following are Web sites that provide definitions and further information:

Accredited Schools Online: This site is filled with resources and guidelines for attending full on virtual school. Definitely go to the K-12 section with guidelines for elementary, middle and high school.
Blended Learning Universe (BLU): A resource site put together by the Christensen Institute.
Blended Learning Implementation Guide: An excellent white paper that covers multiple aspects of blended learning.
Khan Academy: Mini course in blended learning.
Caitlan Tucker's Blog: Caitlan is a leader in blended learning. Her 10 Reasons for Blending is a great starting place within her blog.
Christensen Institute: 6 Variations of Blended Learning (white paper).
Edutopia: Definition and resources to get you started.
iNACOL Blog: Here is the first of a series of posts on personalized learning.
iNACOL Report: Know What You Say: Defining and Integrating Personalized, Blended and Competency Education
Lisa Nielsen's Blog: Five Reasons I Am Not Flipping Over the Flipped Classroom.
Te@chthought Blog: Definition and "related posts" at the end of the post offer additional information.
THE Journal: 5 Skills for Blended Learning Teachers
THE Journal: 6 Tips for the Successful Online Teacher

Examples

The following are a few examples of blended learning techniques. One can search lessons sites and read teacher blogs (see the PD & ICL page) and search the Web for more examples. Many blended lessons and units of study are delivered through Learning Management Systems (LMS) which are password protected by their schools which limits access. Just as in the classroom, blended learning means having students analyze information, share their ideas with each other and then communicate their understanding. Blended learning teacher designers can create their own direct instructional media using a variety of tools and/or find other teacher created online lessons found at YouTube and Vimeo. The Web is rich with primary and secondary resources for students to analyze and build understanding. The PD & ICL section of this site has a few of these resources. Students access the sites/videos connecting with each other using various collaborative tools as they respond to the assignment(s) and to teacher and student created questions. Technology continues to support the learning process with students working inside and outside of class to create learning products to make their thinking visible (see Presentation Tool Matrix).

Blended Learning- It's Not the Tech, It's How the Tech is Used: Supporting pedagogy and personalized learning.
Blogs: Giving student a voice and connection to a larger community outside of the class definitely supports blended learning. Using quotes, questions, current events and other prompts engages students' passions and curiosity as self-directed learners. Here is an example of a student blogger sharing her ideas outside the regular school day. The comment tool expands the discussion and learning.
ColonialQuest: A WebQuest for elementary students. Students worked in and outside of school on this inquiry project.
Innovative Practices Blog: Using Noodle Tools for collaboration
Innovative Practices Blog: Creating an online book for elementary students to read in and outside of school
LearningQuest: Upper elementary and Middle School Webquest
Middle Ages Quest: A full unit of study for Middle and High School students
Stories of Excellence: Exemplars of Blended Learning from Independent schools (Holton Arms is an excellent example. Holton Arms offers a blended learning conference led by Patty Carver, a leader in the field of blended learning. Look to listen to a podcast interview with Patty for her insights.)
Student Authored Web Newspaper: Students collaborate in and out of school to publish a newspaper
WWII Learning Pursuit: A full unit of study for High School students. A "learning pursuit" is not a WebQuest in that the students are not role playing or always teaming to produce a learning product. A learning pursuit is an inquiry-based project that is on the Web for easy access in and outside of school. Teachers can use their school LMS to post all the resources that go with a learning pursuit or whatever you want to call it. :)

Tools

There are dozens of Web sites including this one that provide listings of tools that support blended learning. Just a few are listed below and note that they can be overwhelming in the number of tools listed. It really only takes a couple tools (e.g., your LMS, Google apps) and online information sources (e.g, Khan Academy, Britannica) to get started. Your instructional technologist and library media specialist can be terrific partners to help you design your blended learning projects. They can provide the bridge between the learning outcomes of your lessons and the technology/information resources that help your students reach the outcomes.

Creating your own content with screencasts and online platforms can be supported on the iPad or your computer. There are many tools to choose from. Here are a few to review. For more information on screencasting, check out an excellent post by Mark Hofer.

Interactive Content Creation: Google HyperDocs | Kahoot | Study Blue | Quizlet | Socrative | VoiceThread
iPad Screencasting: Educreations | Explain Everything
Computer Screencasting: Jing | QuickTime Player | Screencastify Chrome Extension | Screencast-o-matic
Blackboard LMS: You can create instructional podcasts (audio recordings) and your students can do the same to record and share their learning to a wider audience.

An important aspect of blended learning is providing students with media for them to consume outside of class. You can draw from YouTube, Teacher Tube, TED Talks, Vimeo, etc. to annotate and scaffold just like you do with text-based content. One can download YouTube videos to edit using software like iMovie. You can use certain parts of the videos, pull clips from several videos together and add annotations. Here is a review of free apps for downloading YouTube videos to a Mac. Using the Web site PlayPostit, teachers can provide written prompts listed below the video to help students use their analysis skills to better understand the material.

Why We Blend

Image Sources: Face to Face | Links to other images no longer connect to original images

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