What's my why for doing Blended Learning
Bobby Bracken
Lamar Class 5304
Week 1
Why = The Purpose
Don’t Let Klein Be Left Behind - Choose Blended Learning
How = The Process
Work with a pilot group to model successful behavior of blended learning.
What = The Result
Successfully implement Blended Learning curriculum across Klein ISD.
Here the video promo for my Innovation Plan - https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0B2ksfBvlwCiDS1JEVzNhRkZlaFk
My Why Statement is - Don’t Let Klein Be Left Behind - Choose Blended Learning
Our school district needs more Blended Learning opportunities that will allow our teachers the flexibility to be amazing. Luckily enough, we’re already doing some blended learning, so a district wide roll out is just a few small steps away.
What’s even better is that other people are already doing the marketing for us!
http://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/programs/blended/what-is-blended/
Blended Learning must include these three things: student flexibility, learn on campus, and formative assessments. Follow Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools, by Michael Horn and Heather Staker, whose research for the Christensen Institute provides the framework for this initiative.
Blended Learning is already happening in Klein ISD.
Example 1 - https://www.questia.com/magazine/1G1-347406745/blended-and-flipped-learning-teachers-have-begun
Example 2 - http://www.theexchange.kleinisd.net/single-post/2016/09/09/Apex-Were-Lovin-It
The problem in Klein ISD with our Blended Learning is too many of our teachers don’t want to do it. That’s a bigger hurdle than most realize. As much as we give technology to all our teachers, and as many ipads, and laptops as we give to our students, if they aren’t being used then it’s not working.
I don’t want to see Klein ISD left behind, I want to start a group of Blended Learning Teachers and have them show the rest of the district how it’s done, finally I want all Klein ISD teachers to successfully use the strategies in their classrooms.
There’s a sense of urgency because every student in Klein is one-to-one with a laptop. - http://www.kleinisd.net/default.aspx?name=issitc.initiatives
We can’t give kids a pencil and not the paper. We can’t give kids a laptop and not an enriching online learning experience. Every day that goes by without high quality online instruction is a day missed.
We have one website just for students that have a few good links for learning. It’s called StudentNet. Here is where students can read, research, and play. We need our teachers to be more involved with helping select the appropriate tools for learning, and providing formative assessments while the student learns. I see some students click on a link and then sign off without a teacher ever observing the learning.
Since it’s my job to go to every campus around our school district, I see teachers who have a lot of complacency. They accept technology in their classroom but don’t utilize it to the best of their abilities. We have a really good IT department and they’re responsive to fix problems. Some of our teachers just don’t want to pull out technology just to put it away. It’s like a full bookshelf and the teacher doesn’t want to ruin the organization. It doesn’t make sense since the teacher will pull other items off shelves and put them back. Each teacher already has time set aside for cleanup.
I really feel that having a Blended Learning pilot group will help spread the message about how great it is for individual teachers. By focusing on the Why and how teachers will be left behind, also focus on their students already have laptops, we can make Blended Learning an even bigger success in Klein ISD.
Citations
About Blended Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2017, [Video file] from http://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/programs/blended/what-is-blended/
Horn, M. (n.d.). Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://www.amazon.com/Blended-Disruptive-Innovation-Improve-Schools/dp/1118955153
Thiele, H. (2013, September). Blended and Flipped Learning. Retrieved from https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-347406745/blended-and-flipped-learning-teachers-have-begun
The Exchange | Klein ISD. (2016, September 9). Retrieved January 19, 2017, from http://www.theexchange.kleinisd.net/single-post/2016/09/09/Apex-Were-Lovin-It
