Life in the library media center: August 2013

Thank you for joining me for the Yes You Can! workshop at the 21st Century Symposium. This will be an interactive class, so please join in the activities and discussions. For those of you connecting only through the blog, feel free to follow the links and activities as an introduction.

Defining Blended Instruction

Let's begin by defining blended instruction. Post your personal definition of blended instruction in our TodaysMeet back channel room. You may join by scanning or clicking on the QR code below:


Click for link

Application:

Post one concern you have about implementing blended instruction this year to the Discussion Document.

The commonly agreed upon definition comes from the Innosight Institute (now Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation) white paper from 2012: Classifying K-12 blended instruction. While there is room for debate regarding the definition, using it provides a litmus for development of learning opportunities that move beyond tech-enabled instruction.

The Four Models

http://www.christenseninstitute.org/?publications=classifying-k-12-blended-learning-2

Application:

Take five minutes to review the definition of the blended learning models. Using our Today's Meet room, post the model that you have used, will be using or feel is the best fit for implementation for the coming school year.

In groups based upon model choice, review the examples of the blended learning models. After viewing please discuss the following:

One answer the video provided
One concern you hadn't considered
How the model can work in your personal teaching assignment

Choosing a Platform

Please share the following using our Today's Meet room: Do you already have a platform that you use? What do you like about your platform? What are the benefits and limitations of your platform?

Possible choices include: Weebly Sites; Google Sites; Edmodo; Schoology, Haiku; Moodle

For consideration:

Model drives platform
Not a right/wrong; good/bad choice
Benefits/limitations for your implementation model

Comparisons and Reviews:

Content Management Systems for Education

The Staffroom: Edmodo vs Schoology vs Moodle

Application:

Return to our Google Document discussion and complete the following activities:

Respond to a concern that was posted at the beginning of training (either with encouragement, ideas, or commiseration)
Post the platform you are leaning toward using and why you feel that is the best platform choice for your blended classroom.

Building Community

In our Today's Meet room please share the following:

What do you do for opening day activities in you classroom?
What do you use for and "ice-breaker"?
How do you inform students of expectations and formal structures of the classroom?

Making Connections: Students need the same sense of community online