Blended learning is a way of incorporating digital and
web tools into your teaching instruction and student activities to enhance
student learning, which also allows for students to work at their own pace.
The document you will see below entitled “The Basics
of Blended Instruction” discusses some tips for blended instruction. Out of the
five tips that Tucker shares, I found that the one I most related to (at least
from my experience in placement) is tip #3 “technology shouldn’t be just a
frill.” Technology can replace the traditional lecture style teaching, and/or
also allows for further and more engaging ways of teaching content to your
students.
For more information on Blended Learning, and to see
which tip you think best relates to your teaching style and your classroom
situation, please visit:
Blended
Learning Models
During station 3 for our blending teaching learning
session, we watched a video which broke blended learning into 4 models. Below are
the names of each model and a brief description from the video.
|
Model
|
Description
|
|
Rotation
Model
|
Includes
4 submodules, which are station, lab, flipped and individual.
|
|
Flex
Model
|
Online
learning is the backbone of student learning that allows students to move at
an individual pace.
|
|
A
La Carte Model
|
Taking
one or more courses entirely online.
|
|
Enriched
Virtual Model
|
Students
divide their time in a school setting and online. Most began online but ended
up turning into blended learning.
|
SAMR
Model
During station 4, we moved on to the SAMR model. We learned
that the substitution and augmentation levels are for enhancement of learning,
whereas the modification and redefinition stages are for transformation of
learning. Below is the chart that I filled out during this station, with
information and examples from the video watched.
|
Level and brief description
|
Give an example of each level
|
|
Substitution
– tech acts as a direct tool substitute, with no functional change.
|
Creative
writing using the word processing program.
|
|
Augmentation
– tech acts as a direct tool substitute, with functional improvement.
|
Creative
writing using spellcheck and formatting.
|
|
Modification
– tech allows for significant task redesign.
|
Creative
writing using google docs to get real time feedback.
|
|
Redefinition
– tech allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable.
|
Transform
stories into a media video.
|
Padagogy
Wheel
When I broke down the criteria for the padagogy wheel
into the achievement chart categories, this is something I came up with for how
you can assess the students through the various stages:
Knowledge/Understanding: remembering criteria and
understanding criteria.
Thinking: Analyzing criteria and evaluating criteria.
Communication: Applying criteria.
Application: Creating criteria.
Allan Carrington. (March 13, 2013). "The Pedagogy Wheel". Retrieved from: https://www.flickr.com/photos/allanadl/8553210313/in/photolist-e2Prrk-51YEnw/
At the end of the blended teaching activity, we had an
assessment question. “You and your group will use an iPad to create two 30
second animated Tellagamis. One will summarize Blended Learning, and the other
will briefly explain the SAMR model,” (Blended Learning Worksheet).
This is a great example on how you can incorporate
technology into your student’s learning. Let your students work through a
series of task to better understand a topic, with the help of the Internet and
technology. Then, you can have your students explain their findings by using an
app like Tellagami to share their findings. This is one way to keep your
students engaged after working through a series of stations at their seats, and
a great way to wrap up after working on a worksheet. You could have your
students hook up the iPads to an HDMI cord and play their Tellagamis in front
of their classmates as a reflection and/or sharing consolidation.
Hey Jamie,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post this week. I like how you incorporated your thoughts and examples related to the SAMR model. I think by incorporating aspects of these levels into our teaching, our students will be able to learn in a more meaningful way using a variety of approaches and technology. I myself, also would like to implement an A La Carte model in my classroom that has a mixture of traditional and technological learning. I feel both will promote discussion which I believe benefits students learning. Which method does your practice of teaching reflect? Has it changed? I also like how you determined criteria for assessment using the wheel as a guide! That broke the different categories down perfectly and I really appreciate that! Great post Jamie!
Hi Jamie,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog post, it was informative & the format is easy to follow along with. Just as Jessica stated above, I really liked how you incorporated your own personal thoughts in relation to the SAMR model. I also really liked that you included the Pedagogy Wheel, I'm a visual person & find this to be a really helpful guide in how to use technology in relation to what concepts & big ideas we're trying to achieve in our classrooms. Personally, I do believe that technology has a place in our classrooms however it should supplement what we are teaching our students as opposed to be the only method that we use. I believe that there should always be back-up plans for when technology doesn't work for us, & I have had many of my own experiences where technology really didn't work. I'm curious which method you believe in & which one you'll use in our upcoming placement?
Thanks for your post! Kathlene
Hello Jamie,
ReplyDeleteI agree that tip number 3 is the best tip for new teachers to pay attention to as well. Once we master incorporating technology effectively, we can move on to other tips such as ‘weaving media together’. This way, we are constantly growing and improving our practice instead of standing still and using the same lessons over again. Your breakdown of the padagogy wheel and relation to assessment is very helpful. It makes me think that the ‘action words’ ring of the pedagogy wheel would be helpful to determine assessment for students. Further, the ‘evaluate’ section appears to have a strong Thinking basis; ‘create’ and ‘apply’ relate to Application; ‘remember/understand’ relates to Knowledge and Understanding; Communication runs throughout the whole wheel and is based on how the students use the application or technology to show their learning. It is very important for teachers to consider assessment as well. I appreciate that you took the time to make this connection in your post.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and thoughts on blending learning.
Hi Jamie,
ReplyDeleteIm so glad someone posted about tip #3! It is so crucial that we tackle that issue from day one! Technology should not be to use social media (unless otherwise stated) in the classroom. Technology is there to enhance the learning experience of our young learners. It is so important that they understand this and that they follow this! If an understanding is quickly developed between teacher and student regarding this issue, then I believe technology will ultimately be a great and effective tool to incorporate in the classroom. This doesn't mean technology has to always be so serious! This leads to the last example you included in your blog about the use of tellegami! Using tellegami with a partner was a fun and interactive way to demonstrate the knowledge we acquired during our workshop in a way that didn't feel like an assignment at all. It was fun, we laughed a lot, but we also ended up producing a final product that met the requirements stated by the teacher by summarizing everything we learned in 30 seconds. Technology isn't scary ... it is educationally fun when used right!
Thanks for a great post!
I really enjoyed your post! Very detailed and you made references to how each element is important to your practice as a teacher. It can be overwhelming to consider incorporating blended teaching into our practice as beginning teachers, but these tips are extremely helpful.
ReplyDeleteHi Jamie!
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! Thank you for ending your blog with an example of how you can use technology in the math classroom after going over the different kinds of technology you can use. That could be the problem with introducing technology in the classroom for teachers who are new to blended learning. Teachers may be overwhelmed by all the options available for technology to be used in teaching but are unaware of how to use the technology in the classroom. It is our job as new teachers to help our colleagues become introduced to blended learning. I think the best way is to start small but then later think big! Technology can be great in the classroom when used properly! Technology should not be something new and difficult to add to your plate! It should be something that makes teaching enriched and easier to access for teachers and students!