It’s the start of the school year and teachers are busy preparing their classrooms – or should we say their learning environments. Technology should be part of the learning environment in today’s world, but how teachers embrace technology will differ: Will teachers use technology to embellish assignments and create fun ways for students to share new knowledge or will the technology deliver curriculum? Will teachers use technology that calendars and reminds students what is due and when, or will they build an online forum for student discussions, collaboration, assignment submission or take assessments with an embedded classroom calendar? Will teachers use technology to replace a worksheet skill based center in the classroom or will they build an online environment that takes the learning outside the classroom to a different place and time? As a profession, we – educators are all over the board, when it comes to technology use in the classroom. Some are fully embracing hardware, software, production tools, online communication venues and more. For example my daughters, one a freshman in high school, the other in 7th grade started school this week in Las Vegas and as a family have several different places to go – from online textbooks, Remind Me app, Edmodo, Schoology, teacher-made websites, to submitting assignments to teacher email accounts. Yet there was no Google for Education, however both girls have Chromebooks and are avid Google fans. Throw in our soccer team’s group texting and Team Snap app and we’re up to our ears with logins, passwords, and bookmarks. Each teacher moving in a different direction for can be overwhelming for students and parents....
Where were you in 2008? Let me remind you of a few highlights in 2008: It was a leap year. We lost Batman’s “Joker” Heath Ledger (age 28) and legendary Paul Newman (age 83). New York Giants won the Super Bowl. The Philadelphia Phillies took the World Series. Beijing held the Summer Olympics where US swimmer Michael Phelps set the record for number of gold medals. Barack Obama was elected president. Congress bailed out the three big automobile makers. OJ Simpson finally went to jail (for attempting to retrieve memorabilia at gunpoint in Las Vegas). In 2008, I was overseeing millions of dollars in grant funds as the High School Reform Coordinator, helping to build Small Learning Communities in eight of the forty-two high schools in Clark County School District, directing the District Curriculum Commission, and creating a blended learning Driver Education Teacher Certification program for the state of Nevada. It was also the year I was talked into coaching two youth soccer teams for my daughters. So much for reminiscing. This week iNACOL released a white paper titled, Blended Learning: The Evolution of Online and Face-to-Face Education from 2008-2015. It was in 2008 iNACOL fully endorsed and embraced, as the first version of iNACOL’s National Standards for Quality Online Teaching, the work of Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Standards for Quality Online Teaching and Online Teaching Evaluation for State Virtual Schools. The”Evolution” whitepaper references Clay Christensen research that formally defined blended learning and the various models learning. Then uses several Proof Points of Blended Learning in School Districts, research from Evergreen Education Group, and other implementation models across the nation...
When it comes to developing online content we need to take a lesson from the construction industry. Building online content is much like the construction field, pulling raw materials together forming a functional living space with all the necessary requirements (e.g. electricity, plumbing). For teachers who create or curate content the same basic principles apply – pulling raw materials together forming a functional learning space with all the necessary requirements (e.g. standards, assessments). Yet, all too often we see teachers think more like interior designers, who come in after the framework and essential elements are in place and attempt to make the room beautiful by selecting decorative items, such as colors, lighting, and artwork. Like the interior designer who dresses up a single room at a time, many teachers start with a single lesson, without looking at the entire online learning environment. Like the construction worker, teachers need a blueprint of the end product before picking up the hammer and nails. Starting with the end in mind, seeing the entire layout, is much like backward design – beginning with what you want the students to know and be able to do. We understand that picking out the photos and colors of a digital lesson plan are fun and interesting, but if you don’t have a foundation to hang the lesson on, it is doomed to fail – no matter how pretty it may look. Especially as students move within the online environment where the format, styles, and expectations continue to change thus creating a huge cognitive load. Digital content creation starts with the big picture, breaking this further into...
On April 16th, I had the pleasure to share with administrators across the national on a webinar hosted by District Administration and sponsored by Canvas about Blended Learning: What it Takes to Do It Right. It was a great opportunity to speak about the four key focus areas of building quality blended programs: Content Teaching Technology Operations All too often we get wrapped up in the things we can see and touch when planning for blended learning environments – like the technology, the software, and even the physical teacher. All these items are visual and can be purchased rather quickly. But it’s the unseen items that will be the undoing of blended programs. Does the content meet your district standards and benchmarks? How do you change the mindset and pedagogical practices of a 5-10-20 year veteran teacher? What are the instructional expectations of teachers who rely heavily on online content delivery? Should the student information and learning management systems integrate and roster students into online classrooms? What support services will be put in place for students who need direct instruction? What policies and procedures need documenting to ensure proper communication and deployment across classrooms or schools? These are just a few of the ‘unseen’ items that can make or break your blended learning program. Here at i3DigitalPD we have worked with many teachers and administrators to identify what it takes to do it right. Don’t get caught up in the “stuff.” Don’t be like the parent that works late, travels much and who brings home a gift for their child. Yet, the child would rather spend time together...
Welcome to i3DigitalPD. We’re very excited to be starting a professional development adventure for something that we feel so deeply and dearly about – online and blended learning. With more than 15 years in the business seeing the growth and expansion of blended learning to individualize and personalize instruction, I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities for my daughters (who love soccer) and the future of education. It was spring of 2000 when I started creating my first online course. It was for 8th grade math students who had not earned credit, thus could not be promoted into high school. Actually I was there to assist others in create courses as well – learning the tools, best practices, and creating knowledge objects and training for other teachers to perfect their craft and courses. Since the beginning, I was always looking to help others. Even today that is what we’re doing at i3DigitialPD. Starting a business, after years in education, in much like starting a new online or blended learning program in your schools. The planning process in not all that much different. You start with a goal. Why are we changing things? Why do we need to change? What do we hope to accomplish with making this change? For us the goal is to help other create quality online and blended learning programs. After working with thousands of teachers and hundreds of schools to create online and blended learning classrooms and programs, we’ve seen it all – some good, others who definitely needed more planning and preparation and lots in between. Having attended the International Association for K-12 Online...
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