Blended Learning 101
Session Objectives
• Provide an opportunity to brainstorm and
share with colleagues
• Explore models and implementation
strategies
• Discuss planning considerations
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Introductions
Name
School
What do you teach?
What does blended learning mean to you?
How are you implementing it?
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Blended Learning Defined
Currently, no universal definition exists for
blended learning.
Most agree that it involves some combination of
online and face to face instruction.
Blended learning does not occur simply by adding
a few online strategies to a traditional classroom.
Successful blended learning requires an
intentional and integrated approach (Zenger
and Uehlein, 2001). The blend of methods should
depend upon the needs of the students and the
school.
Face-to-Face
Learning
Experiences
Integration
Online
Learning
Experiences
Vaughan, N. (2010). Designing for a blended community of inquiry. In Blended learning in Finland.
Retreived from http://www.helsinki.fi/valtiotieteellinen/julkaisut/blended_learning_Finland.pdf
Why Implement Blended Learning?
• Blended learning allows teachers and schools to address a variety of
learning styles with a variation of instructional methods (Wiffin,
2002).
• Blended learning practices in the K-12 environment increase
student motivation (Berson, 1996;Lipscomb, 2003; Pye & Sullivan,
2001; Scheidet, 2003; Wellman & Flores, 2002;).
• Blended learning allows for more personalized instruction.
• Blended learning provides opportunities for teachers to use online
curriculum for basic information and for extensions/review and
class time for higher order thinking activities.
• Blended learning frequently provides a higher level of
interaction than commonly experienced in face to face courses.
(Dziuban, Hartman, & Moskal, 2004; Waddoups & Howell, 2002;
Wingard, 2004).
Implementation Strategies
• There is no universal approach to implementing
blended learning.
• There are some fundamental questions that
teachers and schools need to consider in
determining the most effective approach to
implement blended learning.
• Michael Horne has identified 6 different models of
blended instruction. These help in understanding
what a blended environment may “look” like.
Six Models of Integration
1. Face-to-face Teacher Lead
Teacher lead course in a f2f environment with
supplemental online resources
> High Tech High School, San Diego, California
http://www.hightechhigh.org/schools/HTH/
2. Flex: Most of the content is online with tutoring in a f2f
classroom
> AdvancePath Academics, Williamsburg, Virginia
http://advancepath.com/academy.htm
http://www.innosightinstitute.org/innosight/wpcontent/uploads/2011/01/The-Rise-of-K-12-Blended-Learning.pdf
Six Models - continued
3. Rotation: Students rotate between f2f and online
within the same course
Rocketship Education, San Jose, California
http://www.rsed.org/
4. Self-blend: Students are online after hours on their
own initiative
> Michigan Virtual School, Lansing, Michigan
http://www.mivhs.org/
Six Models - continued
5. Online driver: The content is online, student proceed
at own pace and meet f2f occasionally with teacher
and other students
> Alburquerque Public Schools ‘eCademy
https://sites.google.com/a/aps.edu/ecademy/
6. Online lab: Students in computer lab with mentor
during school day and teacher is online
> Florida Virtual School’s Online Learning Labs, Orlando,
http://www.flvs.net/educators/Pages/Virtual-Learning-Lab
> Frederick County Night School Frederick,MD
Many Ways to Blend
Discussion
• What are some activities that might work best face to face
in the classroom?
• What are some activities that would work well online?
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Cavenaugh, C. (2009). Getting students more learning time online: distance Education in Support of Expanded
Learning Time. http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/05/distance_learning.html
Blended Options
Live face to face (formal)
Live face to face (informal)
•Instructor led classroom
•Workshops
•Labs
•Field trips
•Internships
•Coaching/mentoring
•Role modeling
•Work teams
Virtual Collaboration (synchronous)
Virtual Collaboration (asynchronous)
•Live e-learning sessions
•E-mentoring
•Video conferencing/tele-presence
•E-debates
•Email
•Announcement pages
•Assignment feedback
•Online communities
•Discussion boards
Self-paced learning
Performance Support
•Web learning modules
•Online resources
•Simulations/scenarios
•Self-assessments
•E-books/e-workbooks
•Print content aids
•Help systems
•Knowledge databases
•Supplemental resources
•Documentation/Monitoring progress
•Resubmissions
Expanding the School Day
School
Model
Adding
distance
learning
to the
school
day.
Class Types
After school online
tutoring connected to
school classes.
After school online
courses as a
supplement to or to
add to regular classes.
Infusing
Blending online
online
experiences into
education expanded school
into a
classes.
potentiall Replacing school
y longer
classes with online
school
classes.
day.
Community and Cultural
Impacts
Examples
Teachers gain access to a
local or broad scale
professional learning
community through schoolbased and online colleagues.
Teachers may transfer new
online and blended learning
techniques to their
classroom.
Teachers may have access to
a large mentoring network,
as masters or apprentices.
School-based teachers may
have opportunities to coteach courses with online
colleagues.
Florida Virtual School plans e-learning centers where
students can take online classes after school.
Kentucky Virtual School makes online and blended
courses available for blending into classroom courses.
Cincinnati Public Schools offers online courses to
students in school gifted programs.
Louisiana Virtual School partners certified online
algebra teachers, including some in high need rural
schools, with classroom students and tutors seeking to
become certified.
Chicago’s VOISE Program offers self-paced online
courses with a teacher in a lab.
Reconfiguring the School Day
School Model Community and Cultural
Impacts
Part-time
The home and community are
attendance in valued and formalized
school plus
components of the learning
online
environment.
learning.
Students have flexibility to
participate in community and
service activities.
Fluid
individualized
combination
of school-site
and online
learning.
Families and school staffs have
opportunities for flexible
scheduling and job sharing,
enabling adults to participate
more fully in professional
development and continuing
education.
Examples
Odyssey Charter School of Nevada offers online students a
weekly meeting with mentors and a learning strategies course.
The Chicago Virtual Charter School brings online students
together one day each week for instruction, remediation, clubs,
activities, and parent workshops.
The Hoosier Academy of Indiana balances online learning with
2 days in school each week.
Commonwealth Connections Academy in Pennsylvania offers
online students a drop-in center where teachers work.
Students come as needed for instruction and school activities.
Plan Your Elevator Speech
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Example of Elevator Speech
As a Spanish teacher, I have students at varying skill
levels, including both native and non-native speakers.
Blended learning allows me to teach each student
Spanish language skills at their point of entry ensuring a
rigorous program that meets all student needs.
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Planning
1. What do you want students to know when they have finished
taking your blended course?
2. As you think about learning objectives, which would be better
achieved online and which would be best achieved face to
face?
3. Blended teaching involves developing or utilizing challenging
and engaging online learning activities that compliment your
face to face activities. What types of learning activities do you
think you will be using for the online portion of your course?
4. How will the face to face time and out of class components be
integrated into your course? How will the work done in each
component feed back into and support the other?
Planning
5. Online asynchronous discussion is often an important part of blended
course. What new learning opportunities might arise as a result of
using asynchronous online discussion? How will you leverage it to
increase class engagement and participation?
6. How will you divide the time between the face to face portion and the
online portion of your course? How will you schedule the percent of
time between the face to face and online portion of your course?
7. How will you divide the course grading scheme between face to face
and online activities? What means will you use to assess student work
in each of these two components?
8. When working online, it is not uncommon for students to have
problems scheduling their work and managing their time. What do you
plan to do to help your students to address these issues?
Thank You
Questions?
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Getting Started
F2F Teacher
Blended Teacher
Teachers usually spend some time setting up and
decorating their classrooms by hanging up
posters, arranging furniture putting pictures on
their desks, etc.
A blended teacher should also spend some time setting up his or her
classroom. Teachers might set up an announcement page or a series of
announcement pages introducing themselves and their content to their
students. This might include pictures of themselves and/or their families
and some marketing of the course. What should students expect to
learn? Why will this be important to them?
Teachers usually cover the class rules and
expectations some time in the first week, whether
these are determined by the teacher, the students,
or some combination of both.
Blended teachers should also cover rules and expectations regarding
behavior specific to the online environment. Students should know
proper Internet etiquette, known as “Netiquette.”
Teachers may have the students engage in icebreaker activities to get to know one another to
establish a positive classroom climate and prepare
students for collaborative work assignments.
This should also be done in the online classroom. Blended teachers can
do live or synchronous ice-breakers virtually with students using
collaboration tools or can use the discussion area to have students get to
know one another in an asynchronous environment.
The first week of school a teacher often distributes
textbooks and other materials to students.
Some of the online content providers do have supplemental materials.
Will these be used in class or assigned to students to take home? The
teachers should make sure that students have the required materials
and explain the procedures for using them.
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Getting Started Continued
F2F Teacher
Blended Teacher
Teachers might provide students an overview of
their textbook or create a textbook scavenger
hunt.
It is important to orient your students to the online course as well. Where
will they find content? How do they submit assignments? Where will they
go to find discussions? What is the best way to navigate through the
course?
Some times a teacher will implement some type
of diagnostic assessment to help them
determine what knowledge and skills the
students have coming in to their class.
Several of the online content vendors provide diagnostic assessments. In
addition, teachers can create their own assessments in the iLearnNYC
platform. Teachers should think about how they will use this data. Will they
use it to assign content? Group students? How will this data assist in
personalizing the education of this student?
Some teachers send home an introductory letter
to parents the first week of school and may
gather contact information or other relevant
student data.
It is important for online teachers to also think about parent engagement.
Teachers should think about how they will introduce themselves to
students, how to provide an explanation of the online course, and how they
will communicate with parents throughout the student’s course experience.
It may also be helpful to provide parents with tips and strategies for
supporting their children if they are working on their online course from
home. Parents should be aware of the number of the Help Desk in case
students have difficulty working from home.
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