Week 5: Blended Learning

     This week we spent a lot of time learning about blended learning classrooms.  It hits close to home as the class that I am participating in now is an online class! We were asked to think about this class and based on what we have just learned about what a blended classroom is, evaluate the ways that this course has met the goal effectively and also ineffectively.  According to the iNACOL Blended Learning Teacher Competency Framework, the definition of blended learning is: 

 "A formal education program in which a student learned: 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."

Looking at this definition, I feel that our class that I am participating in now, is an effective example of a blended learning classroom in that we use multiple mediums to learn from such as articles, youtube videos, website exploration, and presentations.  Also, we interact with each other through twitter and blog comments as well as interacting with experts through video chats.  Lastly, it is very personalized in that we control the pace that we complete the tasks and we have control over what tools we explore and how to use them.  One way that I feel that the course has not been incredibly successful is that we have no time in a brick-and-mortar location and this could be substituted with more face-to-face interactions with the professor.




    When asked to think about my own philosophy on blended learning, I really thought back on all of the information that we had been given.  I have to admit that it seemed very intimidating to me to approach this blended learning idea but the video about was an amazingly persuasive take on how blended learning is so effectipve.  Based on the ideas in this video as well as from some other readings, I came up with a list of ideas that make up my philosophy on blended learning.

• You have to use blended learning in a way that works for the teacher as well as the classroom.  Stacy even states that you cannot effectively use this strategy if you are not comfortable with it.  The school has to have the equipment and tools available and the teacher has to be prepared.
• Blended learning is a perfect way to personalize learning for the students.  In the article When Does Blended Learning Work Best? by Tanya Roscorla, "Learning strategies and teaching strategies work best when they're aligned to the needs of the individual student."  When using blending learning, the students can choose what they would like to work on and they are in control of their pacing and their work. 
• Blended learning allows students to be more independent and learn from their mistakes.  Students have to be able to depend on themselves to complete their work because in blended learning, the teacher is not breathing down everyone's neck while walking up and down the rows of desks in the classroom.  The students can collaborate and learn how share their ideas effectively. The student are also given immediate feedback allowing them to see where they are at and how they can improve, which also adds to their independence.  
• Blended learning prepares students for the future.  My first online class was in college and it was something that I had to experiment with.  When students are exposed to the technology and expectations earlier in their schooling, it makes them better prepared for further education as well as for their career in the real world one day.
• Lastly, I think that it is great for the teacher because blended learning allows the teacher to work with smaller groups and also it makes grading much faster and more efficient.  

In conclusion, my philosophy on blended learning is that it should be utilized in every classroom to some extent. It will be different every year with every student and every classroom but the benefits far outweigh the negatives.  

      While learning about blended learning, we started with a video presentation by Stacy Hawthorne.  She explained many aspects of blended learning but one thing that was striking to me was her explanation of the various kinds of blended learning. 

The first type of blended learning which is the rotation model is something that I was surprisingly very familiar with.  It is easy to see how that is used in many classrooms.  Then moving up from flex to self-blend and enriched you get more and more involved in technology.  For me, I specialize in elementary grades where the rotation is probably most common.  I enjoyed her explanation of each model and I felt it was beneficial because it shows where I can go now.  If I start with the rotation model, how can I change and adjust my instruction to move towards the flex model and so on.  If you would like to hear more about Stacy's explanation, you can click here. 

     One thing that I would like to expand on from that presentation was something that Stacy  mentioned.  She said that when she was teaching in the blended learning format she never changed the fact that she was still teaching the same content, but what did change was the students' attitudes toward the content.  This is something that was reiterated in many of the materials that we read.  Students seem to enjoy a blended learning environment.  As a teacher, our goal should always be to meet our objectives and standards in an enjoyable way.  I don't like to hear students complain about their work and coming to school and I have the power to change that with the use of blended learning, then I want to embrace it!