Blended Learning

Definition: Blended learning is when part of their content is online with the student being able to control some aspects of time, place, path or pace of learning AND part of their content is learned in a traditional classroom. (Staker, et al 2014)

Blended Learning

CONTENTS 1 Blended Learning Models 1.1 Flex Model: 1.2 Station Rotation: 1.3 Lab Rotation: 1.4 Flipped Classroom 1.5 Individual Rotation 2 Citations: Blended Learning Models Flex Model: Students work on computer at a learning lab Teachers are in the room to provide onsite support Learning is self- guided. Students move on an individual customized schedule. Content and instructions are delivered primarily via Internet. This approach is use in districts which students have social economical challenges, behavioral and academic challenges. Facts: -AdvancePath Academy, online school, 90% student entering Academies graduates high school or transfer to another school to continue his/her education. -AdvacenPath Academy blended learning school works with school districts partners to address individual students needs. - Attendance improves 3 times more often than former setting. http://www.advancepath.com/results San Francisco Flex Academy, the online-learning provider K12, Inc. delivers the curriculum and instruction, while face-to-face teachers use a data dashboard to offer targeted interventions and supplementation throughout the day for core courses. The teachers-of-record for the core courses are the face-to-face teachers. (Many of the elective courses have online K12, Inc. teachers who serve as the teachers-of-record instead of the face-to-face teachers. These elective courses are part of the Self-Blend model, which the next section of this paper discusses.) In the suburbs of Detroit, Utica Community Schools uses a rotating centers model with eSpark personalized learning in K-2 general education classrooms. Each classroom is equipped with 6 iPads which students share throughout the day while also receiving targeted teacher instruction, computer instruction, and other instruction in teacher-created centers. Picture citation https://swotsschool.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/fig-10-flex-academy.jpg?w=500&h=436 Station Rotation: -Allow teachers to work with small group of students -Schools are using this model to remediate the problem of class sizes.  -A good learning management system is needed to fit students learning and generate good report for teachers. -Students rotate based on a fix schedule. Rotate to different learning stations.  Facts: -The KIPP LA Empower Academy equips each kindergarten classroom with 15 computers. Throughout the day the teacher rotates students among online learning, small-group instruction, and individual assignments. See picture -Base on a study case, from 2012-214, UCS (Utica Community Schools) has more than double the number of k-2 students on track to attend college from 20% to 50% because the use of blended learning models using rotation station model. -Elementary school in Jacksonville, FL. Within KIPP charter school network. In the fall of 2013, K-1 students were performing in the 46th percentile in math—11 points behind their reading scores. By the following spring, students had closed the gap by growing 15 percentile points in math—ending the year in the 61st percentile for both subjects Picture citation: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/t3Ph0ngTDXM/maxresdefault.jpg Lab Rotation: -Students rotate on a fixed schedule among locations on the brick-mortar school Facts:  -At Rocketship Education, students rotate out of their classrooms to a learning lab for two hours each day to further their instruction in math and reading through online learning. Picture citation: https://sites.google.com/site/blendedlearningbu/_/rsrc/1412885127086/1st-grade/lab%20rotation.png Flipped Classroom Students rotate on a fixed schedule between face-to-face teacher guided practice during a regular day of school and online delivery of content and instruction from a remote location, usually home.  Facts: -At Stillwater Area Public Schools along the St. Croix River in Minnesota, students in grades 4–6 math classes use Internet-connected devices after school at the location of their choice to watch 10- to 15-minute asynchronous instruction videos and complete comprehension questions on Moodle. At school they practice and apply their learning with a face-to-face teacher. -Clintondale High School, Detroit. Greg Green, Principal- “ We have been able to quadruple the amount of time students spend with their own teachers” “In English, the failure rate went from 52% to 19%; in math, 44% to 13%; in science, 41% to 19%; and in social studies, 28% to 9%. In September of 2011, the entire school began using the flipped instruction model, and already the impact is significant. Picture citation: https://learningsciences.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/flippedflowmodel.png Individual Rotation -Students rotate on an individual customized fix schedule. At least one is online learning.  Facts:  -Carpe Diem Collegiate High School and Middle School assigns each student a specific schedule that rotates them between online learning in the learning center and offline learning. Each rotation lasts 35 minutes. Picture location: http://i.ytimg.com/vi/FfRJ20xadlg/maxresdefault.jpg What are the challenges to Blended Learning? Studies have shown dropout rates associated with online courses and programs ranging from 50 to 70 percent (Carr, 2000; Roblyer, 2006; Rovai & Wighting, 2005; Simpson, 2004) Some of the most consistent problems associated with online learning include: Lack of student motivation (Murphy & Rodriguez-Manzanares, 2009) Low levels of student support services (Luwig- hardman & Dunlap, 2003; Moore & Kearsley, 1996) Sense of isolation (Fulton, 2002, Rovai, 2003) Feelings of disconnectedness (Hawkins, Barbour, & Author, 2012; Vonderwell, 2003) Impersonal interaction (Frank, Reich, & Humphreys, 2003). Researchers have frequently referred to some, or all, of these problems as evidence of a low sense of community (Conrad, 2005; Luwig-hardman & Dunlap, 2003; Rovai, 2002a; Rovai, 2002b; Rovai & Jordan, 2004; Song, Singleton, Hill, & Koh, 2004). McMillan and Chavis (1986) defined sense of community as “a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together” Teachers can also experience problems with online learning (Hawkins, et al 2012) Feeling of being disconnected from students Disconnection with Traditional forms of teaching. Disconnection with fellow virtual teachers These problems can be alleviated or minimized by some of the following practices: Shepherding (Borup, et al 2014) The goal of the shepherding program was to provide each student with an anchor adult who checked in with their students on a regular basis to see how they are doing. (Borup, et al 2014) The three most prevalent roles of the shepherding program identified by MHA teachers were: building caring relationships, facilitating content interaction providing communication links. Teachers benefitted by: increased job satisfaction feelings of responsibility motivation peace of mind Students benefitted by: getting more personal attention getting more personal encouragement and motivation having a mentor getting help with technology issues Mentors Mentors can be online or offline (Zachary 2014) Mentors and Shepherds play similar roles. Forms of online communication text discussion forums blogs audio video telephone podcasting These communication types can be given by: Teachers Shepherds/Mentors fellow students Citations: By Heather Staker and Michael B. Horn (2012) http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED535180.pdf @DreamBox_Learn (2013) (blog) eSparks https://esparklearning.com/blended-learning-models/ Study Case UCS: https://esparklearning.com/results/increasing-college-readiness-with-personalized-learning-ucs-case-study.html Study Case Elementary school Jacksonville Florida. http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/321138/file-2124070165-pdf/pdf/KIPP-VOICE-Case-Study-Final-Draft.pdf?t=1416601550332 Greg Green (2012) http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/18/my-view-flipped-classrooms-give-every-student-a-chance-to-succeed/ Greg Green (2012) http://schoolsofthought.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/18/my-view-flipped-classrooms-give-every-student-a-chance-to-succeed/

My thoughts on Technology Integration

I think today's learner is already immersed in digital media, so using digital media to educate is simply to convey an idea in the culture or milieu they exist in.  It removes a "barrier to entry" in their learning.  We are speaking in their own terms.

Although the goal of integrating technology is to make it easier for the student to learn,  I'm hoping that if I do it right, it will also make it easier on me to teach.  I have found that by posting my notes, slides, videos on Blackboard students will spend more time there than on asking me the same question.  I don't know if this is realistic or not, but I'd like to minimize my role in the education process.  I'd like to give my students a challenging project, give them enough knowledge to run equipment or software and ways to find things out, then let them guide themselves through the learning process.  I feel if they can pull the knowledge they need when they need it, they control their education.  Control implies ownership, so they "own" their education.

One recent example is I challenged my students to make safety videos on the machinery we have.  Then I told them I wanted QR codes on the machines so when someone reads the QR code, their safety video comes up.   They all did and felt some personal ownership in the process.

Here's a link to my Technology Integration notes
Here's my memes:


The dark side of technology integration...

http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/009/889/Morpheus2.jpg

And the good side of technology integration!

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/172/257/uhsttemplate.PNG?1315594960

Or Technology Integration gone too far?

http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/001/582/picard-facepalm.jpg?1240934151

I don't know if this could this could be called technology integration, but it was too cute to pass up..

Benefits & Challenges of Online Learning (Mod 4)

https://satern.nasa.gov/customcontent/splash_page/

What are the benefits and pitfalls of Online Learning?

This weeks lesson was about giving a well-rounded view of  the online experience, with emphasis on the teacher's perspective.  From the many images of smiling faces you get when you google "Online learning" (see above) one could get the impression that online learning is nothing but happy teachers giving eager students the education they so earnestly desire.

Online learning does gives the teacher lots more flexibility in engaging with their students as well as creating the learning environment, with less hassles with commuting and being supervised.

And for the most part, it is a very positive experience, if flexibility and control is what the teacher desires.  Borup and Stevens (draft) noted that with their sample size the online experience was very popular among most teachers.  The key points teacher appreciated was flexibility, the ability to interact digitally with individual students and the amount of support they received from their administrators.

In contrast, Hawkins, et al (2012) in describing their Community of Inquiry (CoI) noted that for some teachers, not being in front of their students was a disconnected, therefore disquieting experience.  In fairness, these teachers did not seem to get the training or support that Borup and Stevens noted.  Together, I see that their respective papers suggest a strong correlation between admin support and realistic expectations as to whether the online experience turns out good or bad for the teacher.  What I take away from this module is that online teaching is different from regular teaching, and those that have the right expectations, temperament and technical skills ought to do well.

Finally, a link to my updated Popplet and a Tedtalk video of Daphne Koller and Coursera, which validates to me that despite the pitfalls, when online learning is done right it is an overwhelming benefit.

Who's teaching online?

Module 3 summarizes the current state of the online educational field.  The readings show that online learning is now firmly entrenched in the K-12 experience.  Archambault (2009) cites a nationwide survey by Setzer and Lewis (2005) that in 2003 over one-third of school districts has some form of online learning.  So online learning is now "mainstream".

The videos gave examples of how online learning is successfully employed and how teachers and administration have adapted to make it successful.  This coincides with the article (Borup) that emphasizes the importance of teacher engagement in establishing a successful online experience. Now that I see how far online learning is embedded in today's learning environment I feel really stupid.

In my earlier blogs I talked about how online education was up and coming, it was on its way, it was the future, etc.  After watching the videos in Mod 3's video playlist I no longer feel I'm going to be "first out at the gate" of online learning, I feel all the other horses are halfway down the track and I'm simply trying to catch up with them.

Did I say online education is maturing?  Kids, teacher, principals--entire schools are are already up and running and the technology they use has left me slack-jawed in astonishment.

I really need to catch up to my colleagues.  This module has left me overwhelmed, embarrassed--and determined to catch up. Online learning isn't the future.  It's now.

On the plus side, I see an opportunity for part time or retirement jobs.  I can work at home being an engineering teacher!  I can even teach from my room at the nursing home.  :)

I've updated my Popplet to include topics introduced in this module.  There are many videos on how to be a successful online learner, most of them are geared to becoming a successful online student.  Here's one from a teacher's perspective, which I thought quite good.  She mentions that although the data says online learners learn as much as their brick and mortar counterparts, some students felt they learned less.   Those who thought so also mentioned the lack of socialization in their learning.

Module 2 Reflections

So, now that I've read all the articles and watched all the videos, what have I learned?

1)  Online learning is much bigger than I originally thought.  Barbour (2008) says that online education has been around in North America for 20 years.  I did not know that over 1/2 the states already have a virtual state school and most states have at least some form of online education.  Online learning is estimated to be growing at around 35%/year.  Many students are now required to take at least one online class.

2) Online learning is still in a state of development.  Barbour (2009) notes that the documentation for what constitutes effective asynchronous learning is only beginning to come out.  While online learning has been around for 20 years and it has matured quite a bit, it still is not "mainstream" in the regular education community.  It has proven itself in that no one can dispute its value, yet it still maturing.  For one thing, Moore (1989) points out the online community hasn't completely defined its terms for the different type of online learning and the different styles or modes of online learning.   Granted, this was written over twenty years ago, but I am so new to the online community I don't know if these problems have settled down yet.

3) Online learning is the future of education.  With the internet and globalization, online education is the way to reach the millions of people who haven't had access to high quality and costly education before.   I believe that we are just on the cusp of online education's possibilities and it will eventually replace brick and mortar education as the mainstream in educational delivery

4)  As with most learning, the haves are getting the benefits of online learning, the have nots (those who would also be best served from online learning) are not.  Barbour (2009) points out "The majority of the literature may portray K–12 online learners as being primarily highly motivated, self-directed, self-disciplined, independent learners who read and write well, d)and who have a strong interest in or ability with technology."  Clearly, those who don't have access to online learning (those economically or socially disadvantaged) don't have access to these materials.  If good online education were available, I am sure this could help in improving their circumstances.

Here's my Popplet.

Also, since I just found out that we need to have some media input in our blogs each week, here's a picture of a satellite that we track in my classroom (that little thing that looks like a beach ball).  It operates on standard ham radio frequencies and since I have a ham license, I'm authorized to talk to it.  The satellite belongs to my friend, Ivan Galysh.  He works for the Naval Research Laboratories and he built it.  It is testing a new chemical that when a voltage is applied to it, provides thrust for the satellite.  A couple of times a week we send it commands to burn its thrusters, then telescopes in Hawaii and Germany tells us its new spin rate.  From there we can calculate how effective the thrusters are.

What does this have to do with online learning?  Well, you just learned about this online, so...that's the best I can do this week.  :)

EDIT 760 Mod 1

Hi!  Welcome to my first blog!

My name is Marty Rothwell.  I am a teacher at Chantilly High School and George Mason university.  I enjoy engineering and technology (I should, since that's what I teach at both places!).  I also enjoy astronomy and tinkering.  I recently went to a star party in West Virginia.  Here's a picture of where we were.

This is the darkest place on the Eastern side of the Mississippi, so it's a great place for star gazing at night.

My favorite place to be is in Westfield NY.  That's where I was born and where my family gets together each summer on my parent's farm.  Here's a few pictures.

Here's a picture of me while I was there.  I was in the middle of removing a large stump from the ground.

  Here's a picture of me and my wife dressed up at a formal dinner for a non-profit educational organization called FOGE (Federation of Galaxy Explorers).  FOGE ties together my three interests of engineering, education and astronomy.

My daughter Hannah is a freshman at Univ of Mary Washington.

My son Ben likes to play baseball.

As I mentioned earlier, I teach engineering at Chantilly Academy.  We are a semi-magnet school in Fairfax County.  Students from other schools come to the Academy to take specialized courses, such as engineering, then go back to their base school for regular classes.  I've been teaching engineeering for 15 years now.

I'm also an adjunct professor at George Mason University.  I teach Intro to System Eng (SYST101) and Intro to Engineering (ENGR107).  I've been teaching their for about 8 years now.