Blended Learning: Resource Roundup

What Is Blended Learning?

• Blended Learning: Making it Work in Your Classroom (2014)

  At P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, integrating digital content with face-to-face learning has led to impressive gains in student achievement.

• A Working Model for Blended Learning in an Urban School, by Nicholas Donohue (2014)

  After two years of blended learning, a low-performing high school became one of the country's best. Read about how they shifted the learning, teaching, and culture.

• Virtual Schooling: Where Are We Now? Where Are We Headed? by Andrew Miller (2013)

  Miller discusses the current state of blended learning in schools and challenges to implementation that remain.

• Sal Khan Maps Out Blended Learning (2012)

  In this video, Sal Khan discusses blended learning and how virtual learning can increase opportunities for open-ended and creative learning experiences in the physical classroom.

• Want to know more about the flipped-classroom model, a popular form of blended learning where traditional lecture and homework elements are reversed? Access additional resources on Edutopia's Flipped Classroom page; the "Flipped-Learning Toolkit" is a good place to start.

Getting Started With Blended Learning

• Blended Learning in the Mix: The Proactive Teacher, by Megan Kinsey (2014)

  Teachers in blended learning programs should take the opportunity to learn and lead -- your ideas and observations are worth hearing and acting upon.

• 4 Tips for Getting to Know the Blended Instructional Model, by Victor Small, Jr. (2014)

  Small, Jr. offers four practical tips for getting comfortable with blended learning: don't assume every kid is a tech wiz, be wary of online textbooks, use PowerPoint sparingly, and encourage student-to-student communication.

• Blended Learning: Behind the Scenes, by Heather Wolpert-Gawron (2012)

  Middle school teacher Wolpert-Gawron discusses what it takes to become a blended-learning teacher.

• Blended Learning: Combining Face-to-Face and Online Education, by Heather Wolpert-Gawron (2011)

  Wolpert-Gawron discusses the necessity of protecting face-to-face (F2F) and real-time teacher interaction while conducting online programs and presents five necessary components for creating blended-learning models.

• Blended Learning: We Are All New Teachers, by Lisa Michelle Dabbs (2012)

  Dabbs discusses a variety of resources available to teachers just getting started with blended learning.

Tools and Strategies

• Five Minute Film Festival: Video Boot Camp, by Bill Selak (2015)

  Have you thought about using video in your teaching, but don't know where to start? Video enthusiast Bill Selak has some tips and tricks for creating new videos and curating existing ones for the classroom.

• Blended Learning: Working With One iPad, by Kristin Weller (2014)

  Learn how one educator has found a way to put a single iPad to use so the whole class benefits.

• Modifying the Flipped Classroom: The "In-Class" Version, by Jennifer Gonzalez (2014)

  Gonzalez proposes the "In-Class Flip," a type of blended learning that incorporates the video lecture element as one of several stations that students visit during their class period.

• Five-Minute Film Festival: 8 Interactive Video Tools for Engaging Learners, by Amy Erin Borovoy (2014)

  Edutopia's VideoAmy uncovers some of the best tools online that enable teachers to engage students with educational web videos.

• Blended Learning: Strategies for Engagement, by Andrew Miller (2012)

  Miller discusses several strategies teachers can use to promote student engagement in a blended-learning environment.

• Blended Learning: Adding Asynchronous Discussions to Your F2F Classrooms, by Eric Brunsell (2012)

  Brunsell discusses themes from five different action-research projects in blended classrooms, illustrating some of the benefits of and challenges to blending online social learning opportunities with traditional face-to-face discussion.

Blended Learning in Practice

• Blended Learning Energizes High School Math Students (2012)

  In this video, filmed at Oakland’s Unity High School, educator Peter McIntosh discusses how he has re-engaged students in math using resources from Khan Academy.

• From the Classroom: What Does Blended Learning Look Like? by Bob Lenz (2012)

  Lenz introduces Melissa Meyers, a high school English teacher at Stanbridge Academy and teacher of students with special needs. She discusses the promise and challenge of integrating education technology in her classroom.

• Research Findings: Rocketship Education Boosts Scores with Online Learning, by David Markus (2011)

  Markus discusses the "Rocketship Hybrid School Model" at Rocketship Education and the results and implications of an independent study that showed improvements in math scores for students who had access to online math instruction.

• How One District Implemented a Hybrid Learning Program, by Andrew Marcinek (2011)

  Marcinek presents a conversation with Rich Kiker, Director of Online Learning at Palisades School District. This district is the home of the Palisades Cyber Academy, an online and hybrid-learning program.

Additional Resources on the Web

Defining and Getting Started With Blended Learning

• "5 Misconceptions About Blended Learning," from SmartBlog on Education (2014)
• "What Is Blended Learning?" from Frederic Skrzypek (2013)
• "Benefits of Blended Learning," from Frederic Skrzypek (2013)
• "The Basics of Blended Instruction," from ASCD’s Educational Leadership (2013)
• Blogs on blended learning, from KQED's Mind/Shift
• "One Child at a Time: Custom Learning in the Digital Age," from American RadioWorks (2013)
• Blended Learning Course at Khan Academy

Tips, Tools, and Strategies

• "Four Essential Principles of Blended Learning," from KQED's MindShift (2013)
• "40 Sources for Curated Education Videos," from Getting Smart (2013)
• "25 Great YouTube Channels for Blended Learning," from Getting Smart (2013)
• "Blended Learning Cycle," from Bozeman Science (2012)
• "TED-Ed: Creating a Flipped Lesson," from Catlin Tucker (2012)
• Blended and Personalized Learning Practices That Work (The Learning Accelerator)
• Recommendations & Resources for School Districts (The Learning Accelerator)

Blended Learning in Practice and Research

• "Meet the Classroom of the Future," from nprEd (2015)
• "Will Co-Teaching With Computers Improve Student Learning?" from The Hechinger Report (2014)
• "How One School Turned Homework on Its Head With ‘Flipped’ Instruction," from PBS NewsHour (2013)
• "Reflecting on a Year of Blended Learning from Gotham Schools," from Chalkbeat New York (2012)
• SRI Study: Rocketship Students Experience Strong Math Gains with More Online Instruction (2011)
• SRI Study: Study of Miami-Dade’s Virtual Learning Lab Reveals Key Success Factors for “Blended Learning” Programs (2011)
• Research Clearinghouse for K-12 Blended & Online Learning, from International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) and the Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute (MVRLI)
• Blended Learning Research Clearinghouse 1.0 (The Learning Accelerator)

Organizations

• Blend My Learning
• Blended Learning, The Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation
• Blended Learning Implementation Guide, from Digital Learning Now! (2013)
• Blended Learning on Edsurge
• Blended Learning on Getting Smart
• International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL)
• This is Blended Learning, from Cities for Education Entrepreneurship Trust (CEE-Trust)