Blended Learning: The best of the best

Blending the best of Face to Face with the best of Online Learning

This year, our district and building tech goals revolve around the successful implementation of Blended Learning. To support this goal, upcoming tech tips will focus on various components of blended learning and how you can leverage blended learning models and tools to improve teaching and learning. This week's tip includes a few resources to refresh your memory about the definition of Blended Learning. The image below contains the definition of Blended Learning from the Christensen Institute, the leading organization researching Blended Learning. Check out their website for a wide variety of resources.

Key takeaways:

• Must have some element of face to face.
• Must have some element of digital/online.
• Students can controls some element of time, place, path and/or pace.
• Face to face and digital components must work together (be integrated).

To review the introductory videos from our District Professional Development day in August, click the links below.

• WHY Blended Learning (2:30)
• Definition (1:15)  

Leveraging Technology to Build Relationships

Leveraging Technology to Build Relationships

Here are some engaging ideas for leveraging technology to support our relationship 

building in the weeks ahead.

Padlet

Padlet is a digital bulletin board where users can add text, video, pictures and links. 

Seesaw

The new Seesaw Activities Library has great examples of using the various creation
tools for students to share about themselves. 

Schoology

"They don't care how much you know . . .until they know how much you care."
Schoology had a great newsletter article this past week about the importance of
relationship building. You can use Schoology's Media Album and Discussions to
foster relationship building. 

FlipGrid

FlipGrid is a digital video discussion board.  You can prompt staff and/or students to 
share something about themselves that everyone can then watch. 

Google Slides 

Kevin Honeycutt suggested using Slides to get to know your students. Eric Curts from
Ctrl-Alt-Achieve has a great blog post about how to use Slides for getting to know your
students names, faces and interests. 

Google Forms & Sheets

Here is a great blog post by Mari Venturino about how to use Google Forms as an
exit ticket that gathers information about how your students are feeling connected and
supported as learners and as individuals in your classroom.

Project Based Learning Step 7: Public Product

Project Based Learning Step 7: Public Product

Inspire students by having them share their work with an audience beyond the classroom.

Empower students with authentic tasks, purposes and audiences.

Authentic and Public Audience

The more public the audience, the more students will care about their work. If it's something that will just be turned in to the teacher, they student will typically not be inspired to do great work unless grades are important to them. However, if their work is shared with an audience they care about, they will create work that they are proud to share. The motivation shifts from receiving a grade to being proud of what they have created.

Audiences to Consider

There are different degrees of authentic audiences. Feel free to start with audiences that are easier to manage and coordinate and then, as you gain experience and confidence with this, expand beyond the walls of your school.

• Classmates
• Other classrooms within the school
• The whole student body
• Classrooms in another school in the district
• Parents
• The local community
• Classrooms outside of our district
• State or national contests
• The world

While there are hundreds out there, here are a couple of YouTube videos that dig into the topic of authentic audience for students.

Resources to Help Broaden Audience

• Seesaw--parents
• Schoology--classmates and parents
• Google Hangout--another classroom
• Websites--present to the world (Google Sites)
• Seesaw blog--other classrooms or the world
• Blogger
• Google Hangouts in Education (for Educators)
• Skype for Education

Additional Project Based Learning Resources

Over the past 6 weeks, we've explored the elements of Project Based Learning. These elements are important on their own, but when put together to create a project based learning environment, they can be transformational. Not only does the PBL model foster learning of our content objectives, but it also inspires and empowers students in ways not always possible with traditional instruction.

Listed below are some additional PBL materials from the Buck Institute to help you on your journey.

1. Project Design Rubric

2. Gold Standard PBL: Essential Project Design Elements

3. Template for Letter to Parents

4. Self-Reflection on Project Work

5. Project Design: Overview and Student Learning Guide

6. Essential Project Design Elements Checklist

7. Project Based Teaching Rubric

Project Based Learning Step 6: Critique, Revision and Reflection

Project Based Learning Step 6:
Critique, Revision and Reflection

Educate students by checking on their progress and providing suggestions.
Empower students with skills to critique and revise their work.

Inspire students to want to improve their work to levels of excellence.

Feedback for Critique and Revision

Projects often fail when student work is not checked during the process. When the final product is submitted, it is too late. Therefore, critique and feedback must occur at multiple points throughout the process. This feedback can come from the teacher, from peers or through self-evaluation.

When students learn to give and receive feedback (and assess their own work), they become empowered to revise their ideas/products and produce better work.

Ways to leverage technology to foster critique and revision:

• Schoology: Post rubrics or checklists in Schoology as an assignment and have partners fill it out and sign off on it before students submit it. An idea for a digital signature is to have students insert an image of themselves as the editor. This also works to facilitate self-assessment of work.
• Seesaw--Have students record their feedback about an assignment using the video recorder.
• Peergrade--You can use this website to facilitate peer evaluations. Students upload files and classmates are then assigned to evaluate a series of assignments and provide feedback. Students can review feedback given to them. Teachers can see this as well.
• Screencasting--Students can create a screencast of their critique by talking through their peer review and sharing it with their partner. Screencastify works well on Chromebooks. Seesaw can be used in grades E-2. Teachers can use Screencastify or Screencast-O-Matic.
• Kami--This is a great tool for students to annotate pdf copies of classmates' work.
• Google comments--Use the comments tools in Google to pose questions or post observations.
• Google suggesting mode--Use this mode in Google docs to show revision suggestions. Here is one English teacher's suggestion for adding revision suggestions with comments and suggesting mode.

Reflection

Students should reflect on what they are learning as well as how they are learning it. During this process, they should also reflect on their project's design and implementation. While some of the strategies above can work for this step, here are some additional strategies and resources to help you facilitate student reflection:

• BIE Reflection Form
• 40 Reflection Questions
• BIE Research Brief: What can we learn from John Hattie about Project Based Teaching? (part 3)
• BIE Research Brief: What can we learn from John Hattie about Project Based Teaching? (part 4)
• Schoology 
• Post an assignment where students write a reflection or use the audio/video tool to record their self-reflection. Teachers can assign question prompts.
• Create a Test/Quiz where students answer constructed response questions about their work or take a formative assessment on scaffolded skills needed to complete the project.
• Create a Test/Quiz where students check in by indicating their current level of performance on a learning scale.
• Seesaw
• Have students use the video tool to record self reflections about a project or activity.
• Have students use the notes tool to write a self reflection.
• Have students use the camera tool to take a picture of their work and then record a reflection. They can even annotate their work as they reflect.

Teacher Feedback

While it is very important for students to learn how to self-assess and provide feedback, teachers should also be part of this feedback loop.

• Conduct face to face student conferences. If students upload progress work to Schoology or Seesaw ahead of time, the teacher can prepare before the conference.
• Seesaw: Provide comments on student submissions.
• Schoology: Provide feedback on submitted work.
• Rubrics
• Comments
• Audio/Video feedback
• Annotations
• Feedback using Google comments and suggesting mode.
• Video of feedback options for teachers in Schoology.
• Video showing students how to see assignment feedback (old assignment version).
• Video #2 showing assignment feedback, including annotations (old format).
• Using feedback in tests and quiz checks.

Project Based Learning Step 5: Student Voice and Choice

Project Based Learning Step 5: Student Voice and Choice

Empower students by giving them voice in choice in their work.

Inspire students by giving them ownership in their work and allowing them to connect to personal interests.

Student voice and choice is critical if we want student ownership and buy-in with their learning. Of course, each learning experience is different, and as the teacher, you need to determine which elements of the project are non-negotiable and which are flexible. Whenever possible, allow students to determine the flexible parts while still ensuring that the project leads learners to a mastery of the required standards and learning targets.

Ways to provide student voice and choice

• Topics--Sometimes the topic is non-negotiable because that is the standard. However, many times, the standard is a process or strategy, and the topic is flexible. Consider allowing students to choose a topic from a list or suggesting their own. This can be very motivating for them and allow them to connect to personal interests.
• Final Products--Are their different ways students can show their learning? Can students decide how they can best show what they know? Sometimes, teachers will provide a list of options for students to choose while also allowing students to suggest their own idea not on the list.
• For students in grades 3-12, consider some of these online student creation tools.
• For students in grades E-2, consider Seesaw tools or an iPad app (E-K, 1, 2)
• Environment--Consider allowing student voice in how they learn. Can you allow them to choose to work independently or in a group? Can students choose the space in the room in which they prefer to work? Will some work be done outside of the classroom? 
• Pacing--Deadlines are important, but how can we provide structure while still allowing students to move at their own pace? Are there checkpoints with a firm, final deadline? Can students create their own plans or calendars for working up to the deadline? Are there opportunities for extension when deadlines are met?

Gradual Release of Responsibility

• You decide--The amount of voice and choice you release to students will depend on many factors, including age and experience with project based learning. You determine what is appropriate.
• Scaffolding independence--If you are able to do several project based learning activities throughout your course, consider gradually giving students more voice and choice with each subsequent project. This gradual release of responsibility can allow for greater student success and motivation, and it empowers learners with life-long skills.
• Teach management skills--Students don't automatically know how to manage their time. In teacher-centered classrooms, teachers do this for their students. However, when releasing responsibility in a student-centered classroom, we need to empower our students with these self-management skills. Talk about strategies. Get input from the students. Make a plan. Practice. Check in with students to see how it's going. Adjust as needed.

Project Based Learning Step 4: Authenticity

Project Based Learning Step 4: Authenticity

Inspire students with real-world, relevant problems.
Inspire students with problems that have personal relevance.

Empower them with the information, tools and skills to solve these problems.

Real-World Context

We've all heard students asking the question, "When am I ever going to use this?" To help students see the relevance of what they are learning, ask yourself these two questions when planning your projects and lessons:

• "How do people use this outside of a school setting?" 
• "What is the most authentic application of this content?" 

If you can pose problem-solving activities that answer these two questions, you will provide your students with realistic and motivating learning experiences.

What makes something authentic and real-world?

• That task includes processes and tools that are used used outside of a school setting.
• The task includes work that makes a real impact and addresses a real world need, not just an assignment to be graded.
• Note 1: If the task cannot actually take place beyond the school walls, a realistic simulation can get close and be an acceptable substitute.
• Note 2: Sometimes school is an appropriate, authentic audience for students. Other students, classes and buildings can be their audience.

Check out this article from Edutopia for a deeper look into what makes a project authentic.

Connect to the student

• Connect the learning experience to student concerns, interests and identities.
• Ask, "What do my students care about? How can I build that into their learning?"
• Give students voice and choice whenever possible in how they connect to the content.

A few examples

• Write and publish a book or original writing.
• Create a website to promote a product (and better yet, design and create a real product).
• Participate in a simulation of the continental congress or a legislative committee.
• Design a new feature for the school.
• Conduct an original science experiment using the scientific process to answer a driving question.
• Conduct historical research and develop a public awareness campaign.
• Create an original recipe for a new food dish.
• Create and broadcast a newscast.
• Compose, perform and record an original song.
• Build a house or another authentic product in a tech class.
• Create original art and organize a public showcase or gallery.
• Research, write and present speeches to an authentic, public audience about a topic that students feel need more attention.
• Grow plants and document the process.

As you design learning experiences, consider how technology can be used in an authentic way. How is technology used to support authentic learning outside of a classroom?

Project Based Learning: Sustained Inquiry

Project Based Learning Part 3: Sustained Inquiry

Inspire students to want to learn! 

Empower them with the skills to find the answers!

Finding Answers

In this incredible information age, our students need to be empowered with the skills to find the answers they need. It is less important for students to memorize scores of facts than it is for them to be able to find credible answers. In student-centered classrooms, students are active participants in the inquiry process, not passive recipients of content. Read more in this article (Deeper Learning: Moving Students Beyond Memorization) from neaToday.

Inquiry Skills

Do our students expect to be able to find "the right answer" on a specific page of a textbook? Do our students just "Google" to find answers? If this is the extent of their inquiry skills, these students are not prepared for future learning.

In fact, with the quantity of information exploding at exponential rates, inquiry (or research) skills are perhaps the most important skill our students can develop during their time in school.

Here are a few questions students need to be able to answer during effective inquiry:

• What information do I need to answer a question or solve a problem?
• What is the best source for finding the information I need (not just Google)?
• What are the best search terms for efficiently and effectively finding the information I am seeking?
• How do I know if the information I find is credible and valid?
• How do I sort through and synthesize the materials I find to pull out the most important information?
• How do I use what I learn to lead me to additional questions and answers?

Tip: Your building media specialist is an expert in the area of inquiry. Contact them for assistance!

Developing Mental Stamina

Our students need to go deep with their inquiry. If they can find the answer on page 36, the question is too simple. We need to provide students will open-ended, challenging questions that require them to dig deep, learn lots and synthesize that information to develop the answers they are seeking.

We need to help them sustain the inquiry process throughout a project. It is not a one and done endeavor. We can help them develop this by asking questions.

• What else do you need to know? 
• Why do you think that? 
• Where could you find that answer? 
• What key words can lead you to that answer?

Resources:

• Your building media specialist!
• Research databases like those from ELM (often linked off the media center website)
• http://webeval.easybib.com/ (for evaluating website credibility)
• How to search on Google
• Resources and Downloads to Facilitate Inquiry Based Learning (Edutopia)
• The Big 6 (Research Process)