Blended Learning & Your School
Lauren Sinclair
Take Aways from Webinar
I chose this webinar because this coming school year our school is shifting to a blended learning environment. I wanted to see what steps will be needed in order to have a successful year in the blended learning environment. The presenter of the webinar was Tom Vander Ark. Vander Ark began the presentation by defining blended learning. According to this webinar blended learning is "a shift to online delivery for a portion of the day to make students, teachers and schools more productive." Vander Ark went on to identify ten benefits to blended learning. There were three benefits that out shined the others, in my opinion, were eager students, team-teaching, and to motivate hard to reach students. Students that are motivated and eager to learn will be much more successful. Vander Ark describes steps to take when building a blended plan. The first step is to create conditions for success. Second, plan using the five decisions: strategy, school models, platform and content, devices, staff and development. The third step is to implement. Finally, you must improve the blended plan every time it is used. There is always room for improvement. I found this webinar to be very helpful to anyone who is working towards creating a blended learning environment. The presentation was easy to follow and take notes. The webinar was around an hour. This would be a great webinar to view during a planning period or after school.
Additional Resources on Blended Learning
The authors of this site, Education Elements, supports the implementation of blended learning in the classrooms. This site defines blended learning while providing the steps needed to incorporate technology into each lesson.
12 Tools for Blended Learning-The Apple
The author of this article, Kelly Tenkley, provides a list of tools for blended learning. Descriptions of each tool along with drawbacks and the links are provided. Tenkley supports and encourages teachers to participate in blended learning.
Blended Learning: Strategies for Engagement
The website allows viewers to sort through by grade levels to explore ways to engage students during face-to-face instruction and technological instruction. This site also provides lesson ideas for blended learning.
Blended Learning- Real Teaching
The video is based on the blended learning and face-to-face instruction of Mott Hall V Middle School in New York City. The teacher in the video states she did not want to simply teach science, but she wanted to teach her students how to be better students. Students and teachers are enjoying blended learning.