Aspects Of Blended Learning : Technology Supports Diverse Classrooms

When the author of this paper began teaching seven years ago, there was a huge push for technology integration into schools. Educators were slowly weaning off of overheads and transparencies as a means to deliver content to their students. Now, many of these “old school” tools have been replaced with interactive whiteboards, one-to-one devices and computers. With the adoption of this technological push, educators are now open to a wider range of educational resources and tools used to educate their students.

Schwartz (2013) discusses how blended learning can be a mix of online and in-person instruction or hybrid class. Blended learning is a combination of the physical and digital tools, which integrate face-to-face pedagogical methods with a mixture of in class instruction, online work, and peer collaboration all intertwined with choices, creativity, and differentiated instruction that keeps student’s engaged as they learn. Blackboard, Ramport, and Banner allows faculty and staff members’ access to university data that is need to track the student’s VA benefits.

Blended learning is a combination of multiple approaches for teaching. It is where a mix of different learning methods that together in learning and teaching (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008). The methods are the traditional learning method and online learning. Traditional learning is face to face teaching. This type of method is where the students will listen to the instructor through visual, whiteboard, case studies and etc. It is an immediate interaction as the students have a chance to ask question or doubts to the teacher right there and then. By doing this, they get to participate more actively in class and they also will have an opportunity for them to learn something new from their fellow classmates. Online learning is a method of learning that an individual learns outside of the classroom and classified as distance learning.

Instructional technology: instructional guidelines and training materials for technologies such as hardware devices and software applications (Blau & Peled, 2012).

In today’s day and age, it is very easy to locate anyone, from ages 4-24, plugged into technology at any given moment. Although the increased usage of digital media and information had forever positively influenced our society, it is important to remember our foundation and to develop ourselves and the future generation with a different, more traditional perspective of life. Prior to deciding to convert a school’s curriculum to a more blended learning environment, realizing the possible detrimental factors that using technology to facilitate learning could cause is high significant.

This session focuses on the critical importance of ongoing professional learning for a successful blended learning transition. Participants will examine the core competencies of blended teaching as they think about the professional learning content that needs to be addressed. Participants will also discuss the core principles of effective professional learning, as they explore and plan models aligned to these principles with approaches that are ongoing, job-embedded, personalized, collaborative and connected to content. An important focus of this session is the key role of the principal in leading

The key components of disruptive blended learning model is giving students some control over the time, place, path and the pace of their learning. The students’ ability to learn according to their style will help accelerate their learning potential. Instead of teaching to the middle, the students have their own personalize education that helps reach for their potential and still meet the standard of the state’s education. Another key components of disruptive blended learning model are that part of learning happens in supervising, brick-and-mortar location. The technology does not replace the teacher, the teachers are there to help mentor and guide the students on their correct path. By having students been at the location, the teachers can

I am looking forward to find a way to get my students involves with technology from home and to come more prepared for in-depth learning instead of just basic knowledge. Currently, I am just taking this blended class to see what it is like to teach a blended classroom.

Technology has become a major part of daily living. Serving as a source of entertainment for many years, it has evolved into a dynamic source for enriching a student’s educational experience. Many educators and educational institutions have begun to incorporate course management systems, Web 2.0 tools, virtual classrooms and stimulations into their course work in an effort to enhance the learning experiences for their students and staff. Technology has become a method of reaching the new digital generation. The use of technology in the classroom provides an enhanced learning solution that engages each user visually, audibly and intellectually. With the recent advent of wireless broadband Internet access and mobile communications devices provide remarkable opportunities for 21st century blended learning models – simultaneous online and face-to-face – and seriously called into question the industrial-age traditional “egg crate classroom” model of teaching and learning. (Fisher, 2010)

Blended learning refers to any time a student in a traditional, brick and mortar school accesses learning through an online delivery. Considered a disruptive innovation, blended learning transforms the traditional factory like school into a personalized learning experience for students. By 2019, more than fifty percent of high school courses will be delivered online (Christensen, 2011). Therefore, there is a need for schools to investigate the options that best fit their vision, mission and community. In a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Arne Duncan who has been the U.S. Secretary of Education since 2009 described the “new normal” of education and explained that schools will be required to do more with less (Duncan, 2010). Ultimately blended learning is a way to decrease spending, address teacher shortages and differentiate instruction in the classroom.

These trends of technology, collaboration, and blended learning should be celebrated and supported by the education community and the students within it. As technology advances and curriculums become more diverse, schools need to evolve with the changing society. If that means adding more group projects or leaving the pen and paper behind, so be it because “learning is not a spectator sport” (D. Blocher). Everyone must be engaged in the education and supportive of its changes. I fully expect my future classes at Bridgewater College to include and celebrate the teachers who “think outside the

What is blended learning? According to Glossary of Education Reform (2013), “the term blended learning is generally applied to the practice of using both online and in-person learning experiences when teaching students” (The Glossary of Education Reform, 2013, “Blended Learning Definition,” para. 1). The practice of combing instructor led classes with new and innovative technology is not new and has been a part of educational history for over four decades. Over the years, technology continues to change at a rapid rate and educational institutions have to continue to follow the technology trends in order to stay current and technologically on par with their students. “Blended learning comprises a hybrid mix of traditional face-to-face (f2f)

Blended learning is one of the fastest growing movements in education (Yapici & Akbayin, 2012). Through blended learning the ability to personalize instruction is made available while the positive social aspects of face-to-face learning are not completely lost (Corry & Carlson-Bancroft). However, most of the research on blended learning is based on models implemented at higher education institutions and even this data is limited or mixed (Barbour & Siko, 2012; Bissell, 2012; Corry & Carlson-Bancroft, 2014; Flumerfelt & Green, 2013; Headden, 2013; Wang et al., 2015). The outcry from researchers is for more data on the effectiveness of blended learning, best practices in implementation of the blended model, the proper mix of online vs. face-to-face instruction, the best tools to utilize when using a blended model, how to properly prepare teachers for the online instructional element of blended learning, and how to scale blended learning up to the institutional level, particularly in systems outside of higher education (Barbour & Siko, 2012; Bissell, 2012; Corry & Carlson-Bancroft, 2014, Florian & Zimmerman, 2015; Mirriahi et al., 2015; Picciano, 2011; Tsai, 2012; Wang et al., 2015). Shifting to a blended learning model is not an easy process and needs to be done well to ensure effectiveness and sustainability (Flumerfelt & Green, 2013). At this point research data in very limited on the process of effectively redesigning a public high school from the traditional model of

Alonso, López, Manrique, and Viñes (2005) concluded that a blended approach that combines self-paced learning, live e-learning, and face-to-face classroom learning is one of the most efficient teaching models. With integrating the web into the education system, centralized classroom-based education has shifted towards distributed e-learning classes in which learning is being facilitated anytime and anywhere. Williams (2002) defined that a blended approach is face to face and online learning combined. Vaughan (2007) suggested that a blended approach provides an opportunity to combine traditional teaching approaches and learning technologies, virtual and physical instruction, and face-to-face learning activities. A blended approach is also called a hybrid model that allows for a significant amount of learning activities to be online, reduces face to face learning time, and promotes self-directed learning for students (Garrison, Kanuka, &Hawes, 2002; Vaughan, 2007). A blended approach involves redesigning extensive courses to include some traditional aspects, and offer an amount of distance education.

The guide will help integrate technology into this multimedia project that will provide students with fresh ways to learn and opportunities to apply knowledge to new situations, thus encouraging problem-solving and thinking skills. The instructional plans used in the multimedia project will make sure that students have access to technology that enhances learning. Students will learn to use technology in conducting research and in presenting what they have learned. Students will also apply productivity/multimedia products to support personal productivity, group collaboration and learning throughout the curriculum as well as use technology to design, develop, publish and present products related to classroom content. The purpose of this guide is to help teachers deepen students' learning and to challenge teachers and students to set learning goals that go far beyond the classroom (Tanner, Bottoms, Feagin, Bearman, 2003).