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more about assessing blended learning

This page has a link to a compilation of articles on different types of blended models, including blended teacher PD. That article is particularly interesting, because it discusses modeling for teachers what they should be doing in classrooms. You can download the entire digital edition by hitting the link. Otherwise, you cannot access individual articles because there is a fee.

Related to our design exercise from section this week--check out what new blended learning models caught the eye of the Gates Foundation. "Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC), an initiative dedicated to improving college readiness and completion, today announced grants totaling $5.4 million for 13 new models of personalized, blended learning at the secondary and postsecondary levels."

Michael Horn on barriers to blended learning

interesting list of benefits college students can obtain from blended learning

Some of the city's "turnaround" schools, including the one where this teacher works, are listing knowledge or willingness to learn about using a blended learning instructional models as a criterion for hiring teachers. An interesting and entertaining blig post about implementation & buy-in of blended learning in NYC schools.

used iLearn http://www.ilearn.com/web/AboutGains.asp

Blended learning got the vote of Brian Greenberg, the former leader of Oakland's Envision Schools and the Fisher Family Foundation to spend on transitioning from the current instructional model of 25 Bay Area Schools.

As blended learning continues to expand across the K-12 sector, definitions are important to help people talk about the new phenomena. This white paper refines our previous work in helping to create a shared language for the emerging field so that innovators can build upon each other's ideas, rather than talk past each other.

Insider's view blog about Rocketship Education's technical infrastructure that supports their blended learning model.

more on blended learning, professional development

Business Schools are using blended learning for MBA programmes around the world.

Alex Hernandez from the Charter Growth Fund highlights some key topics in blended learning, one of which is 'Can we increase the velocity of learning and create more space for such things as projects, the arts and deep thinking?' While so much emphasis is placed in STEM education, the idea of also utilizing blended learning environments to foster creativity and engage students in artistic processes is one we should also consider.

Interesting conversation with the CEO of Rocketship, a blended-learning-focused charter school organization. "We should all focus on personalized learning and obsessing daily with how we ensure our students are spending large chunks of their day (80%+) in their optimal zone of learning-meaning exactly at their level. I would bet that students in countries that lead the world in achievement spend maybe 25-40% of their time in these optimal zones. Technology is an incredible tool in this work as there are online programs that immediately allow a student to access content in their optimal zone. Again-technology is not the complete answer, but it is definitely part of the solution."

Ed Murphy, vice president of business development at Learn360. "The recent adoption of both sets of new Standards affords Learn360 boundless opportunities to provide even more resources and tools to help students think critically, make informed decisions and ultimately make larger social contributions in a heavily wired world." Additionally, the 21st Century Learning Skills focus on helping students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the future by blending specific skills, content-knowledge, expertise and literacy with innovative support systems"

In US alone, 4 million K-12 students are enrolled online. Annual conference on online (and blended) learning in Indianapolis on November 9-11, by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL). Online learning is seen as the solution to allowing greater access to diverse resources curriculum, especially when many schools face serious financial crisis. Expect to hear from experts and educators, such as, such as Gene Wilhoit, Executive Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers; Paul Peterson of Harvard University; Michael Horn, author of Disrupting Class; Steve Midgley of the U.S. Department of Education; and iNACOL president Susan Patrick. Full program details are available at www.virtualschoolsymposium.org.

This is a great post on the importance of digital citizenship lessons in blended classrooms.

Thanks for posting this, Hessa. I would add a few reasons to the list, most pressingly: the lack of research/proven results that districts considering blended learning can cite to justify their transition, and school cultures, which are very difficult to change!

Blended learning as a solution to overcrowding and inaccessibility.

Designing a blended learning classroom/school "More significant than the shift from print to digital will be the shift from cohort matriculation to individual progress. Personalized digital learning will increasingly enable competency-based progress-advancement based on demonstrated mastery."

From Michael Horn at the Innosight Institute