The Academic Word Finder is an excellent tool for teachers to copy and paste an electronic text, choose a grade level where the text will be introduced, and then the vocabulary words will be generated and can be filtered by the following: below grade level, on grade level, or above grade level. Also included is the grade range, part of speech, meaning, and an example sentence. When an account is created in Achievethecore.org, these lists can be saved by the teacher.
I'm interested to know if the degree that this video matches your vision of blended learning? Where does the description match your thinking? Where did it not match or push your thinking?
The video does a good job introducing the basics of blended learning, including tools and potential options for implementation. The video does not address the challenges brought about by either inequality of internet access or variables of motivation among students, both of which are serious teacher considerations when planning for blended learning.
I thought it was interesting that the video included a reference to the 1940s. It is very possible that blended learning is even more key here, not just as it is defined, but because some of the resources to understand that time period are found more easily as physical artifacts and not as digital artifacts. Knowing what you are teaching and linking to the best resource is as important as selecting the instructional plan.
Actually, I said ELL, but the sites she has on here can be used by ALL! She has compiled a great list of resources with descriptions and examples, as well. Anyone using technology in their classrooms would find something useful here. :)
I like this as an alternative to Powerpoint. The students can collaborate on slides, and they can work on them from home. This has made a big difference in the quality of the presentations. They also enjoy not being restricted to the limited class time to work.