Blended Learning

Blended Learning

Greetings, friends!

This class has definitely been effective in using the the instructional model of Blended Learning. It is great that we have had the option to meet face to face, listen to a presentation online and interact with the instructors and one another while the presentation is happening. In this class we have been able to work on our own time and get immediate feedback from Dr. Brueck and each other through our blogs. I do not believe anything has been ineffective in this class. This class has been a great way to be an engaged student and help with our professional development.

My philosophy on Blended Learning is that this is a great way to become an engaged learner. I think that this is a great way to teach students discipline by giving them the opportunity to work at their own pace but still complete their work on their own time. I see this concept model continuing to expand as time goes on.

What I really liked from Stacy's presentation was when she talked about Blended vs. Tech Rich Instruction. Here is a quote from her presentation: 

• "Blended learning is more than electronic textbooks and productivity tools. It means inventing and adopting new learning environments that work better for teachers and students. In blended learning data from the online instruction is used to inform the face-to-face instruction."

The idea of inventing and adopting new learning environments that are best for you and your students is awesome. I will definitely apply this to my future classroom. Since I will be teaching Special Education inventing new learning environments for the different severities of the students disabilities will be crucial for them to learn and engage effectively.

Having the proper amount of technology and other technological resources is important. But, here is a blog from a math teacher in Florida who is able to effectively do Blended Learning with only one iPad in her classroom! Check this out!

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blended-learning-working-one-ipad

Please, friends, let me know your thoughts and I am excited to read your blogs as well!

-Mark