Blended

Three weeks ago, I jumped into the blended learning model and I am loving it. My approach to creating a blended learning environment has focused on three important changes in my classroom:

• student choice 
• student ownership of learning 
• my role as the teacher 

Student Choice
I have used Schoology all year as a learning management system for our classroom, posting resources, pushing out assignments, giving assessments (pre, post and formative) and creating discussion boards for my students to publish their own thinking and respond to their classmate’s thinking. The first thing I changed to create a more blended learning environment was how I organized the resources on Schoology and how students were given assignments. I created a separate sub folder for each concept we explored in our Genetics Unit, 5 concepts in all. The first item in each sub folder is a mini-lesson (less than 5 minutes) introducing students to key concepts and ideas. I expect my students to watch the mini-lesson, either at home or in class, and then choose their path for the rest of the sub folder. For most concepts, I have created three paths: pilot, flight attendant and passenger. All paths are self-directed and each path has varying levels of independence. Students who feel like they need more help and direction choose the passenger path, students who think they need less help and more choice in the direction of their learning choose the flight attendant or pilot path. I wasn't sure how this system would play out at first - would all kids choose the passenger path because they thought it might be easier? It turns out that my students have, for the most part, made appropriate choices. Many, including my non-traditional learners, are challenging themselves by picking the more independent roles of pilot and flight attendant. At the same time, students who feel like they need a little bit more teacher direction tend to choose the passenger role.

In addition to allowing students to choose their path through each concept sub folder, I have also given them lots of student choice when it comes to showing their understandings. I have been trying to encourage them to use their iPADs to their full potential as a powerful tool to demonstrate their understandings. My students have chosen a variety of tools to showcase their learning and understanding from many apps including Skitch, Popplet and Educreations.

Student Ownership of Learning 
For several years I have been skeptical of “flipped classrooms” because I didn't like the idea of “lecturing” my students. My skepticism towards mini video lessons has undergone a fairly dramatic change over the last 3 months. As I stated earlier, I have created short mini-lesson to introduce the main concept of each sub folder. My expectation was that students would view the lesson as they began to explore each concept. I also hoped that students would go back and re-watch the mini-lesson as they explored each concept in order to clarify ideas and clear up misunderstandings. I was thrilled to watch my students actually use the mini-lessons as a resource throughout their time with each concept. I have also built in formative assessments throughout each sub folder so that both myself and each student can gauge their understandings. I have seen many students start the formative assessments and not only realize that they are not quite ready to move on yet but also make the decision (on their own!) to go back and revisit previous activities, including the mini-lessons, in the sub folder before moving on.

The Role of the Teacher
One of the biggest benefits I have seen as we evolve into a blended learning environment is the time I now have in class to work with students who are struggling. I am a strong believer in formative assessments. Using data from these ongoing assessments, I know who is struggling and who isn't. My struggle has always been finding time during class to help the students who are struggling while not hindering the students who aren't. This is a hard task to manage with thirty-two students. Our blended environment has alleviated many of these time constraints. Because the students are pacing themselves through the unit, they are at a variety of different places at any given time. I have found that it is fairly easy to work directly with a small group of students who are struggling without slowing down the rest of the students.

Overall, our jump into blended learning has gone very well. There are of course some problems. Some of my students are struggling with the self directed component of our new learning arrangement. They are used to being told what to do and would much rather have me direct their learning. I also have a number of students who are missing work. In most cases, the work is missing not because it is not completed but rather because it just hasn't been submitted. Because their learning is more self-directed, due dates are now very flexible and vary from student to student. This is a big adjustment for many of my students and they are still learning how to manage their own work flow. I am also trying to find the best systems to manage my own work flow as well as finding the time to build each concept’s sub folder. At the end of the day though, the benefits far outweigh the challenges as I watch my students begin to become self-directed learners who are taking on the challenge of owning their learning.

The "Flipped Classroom"

I first learned of the “flipped classroom” several years ago.  I didn't buy into the idea at first.  I’m not a lecturer, never have been, never intend to be.  So I didn't really explore the idea of creating video lessons that my students could watch prior to class.  If I never lectured to begin with, how would this work with my students.  

In the last few months, three things have happened that have made me reconsider my previous, very limited, understanding of the “flipped classroom”.  First, my district adopted the Schoology learning management system.  My students and I have been using Schoology, with much success, since last August.  Second, this past January, I received a grant for a classroom set of iPADs.  Finally, this winter I took a fantastic online course on screen-casting.

I still don’t like the term “flipped classroom”.  To me, it implies that lecture is a huge part of the classroom format and I don’t believe that lectures are an effective learning tool for most of my seventh grade students.  I do, however, see that there could be value in creating short, mini-lessons that introduce and review key vocabulary terms and concepts.  I like the idea of students being able to access these mini-lessons on their own initiative when they think it would be helpful to clarify ideas or clear up confusion.  Our iPADs and Schoology have given me the opportunity to rethink how to establish a classroom environment that pushes all students to learn and create in their own individual, unique ways.  So, I've decided to go for it and completely change what our class format looks like.  I still don’t like the term “flipped classroom”.    I much prefer “blended learning”.  In my mind, blended learning implies student ownership of their learning.  I see my role in a blended classroom more as a facilitator and a coach, than a “sage on the stage”.  I’m curious and excited to see how our classroom as well as the roles of “teacher” and “student” evolve over the next few months.  

Why iPADs?

     This question has been posed to me several times over the last few weeks, both by my principal and by several acquaintances outside of the education field. It’s a great question. I think that all of us agree that the
iPAD is an incredible piece of technology. It’s not enough, however, to just give a bunch of kids this incredible tool and say “go learn”. The iPAD is a tool and the tool in and of itself is not nearly enough.

     We are at a pivotal moment in education. The average classroom looks very similar to classrooms of 100 years ago. But step outside of a typical school and we see something very different. To succeed in today’s global economy, you need to be able to quickly access and evaluate information and then use that information to solve problems in creative, innovative and novel ways. It’s no longer enough for our students to just “know” things any more. School needs to be a place where every day our students have the opportunity to take what they know and apply it as they think critically and analytically, solve novel and relevant problems and are encouraged to think “outside of the box” as they create and innovate. After all, the goal of education is to help students become lifelong learners as we prepare them for the “real world”. The iPAD is not the “end all, be all”. Transformative teaching and learning environments are.

     My classroom and teaching philosophy have undergone a transformation in the last several years. I expect that my journey is far from over. So what does this transformative learning environment look like? I’m still trying to figure that out but here are some of the things I've learned so far:

• Clear Learning Goals: Clear learning goals are important. The students need to know and understand what the target is and why it is an important benchmark to reach. 
• Flexibility: Students need the opportunity to showcase their understandings in many ways. In the classroom this means that many different things might be happening at once. However, the learning target still remains similar from student to student. 
• Assessment: Assessment is ongoing and much of it is informal. Students also need frequent opportunities to address and solve real, relevant problems. 
• Classroom Environment: It sometimes looks messy on first glance but when you look closely, deep, 40-year learning is happening every day in a transformative learning environment. 
• Creative Freedom: Students need to be given the opportunity to find and develop the best ways for them to showcase their thoughts and ideas. This might look radically different from one student to the next. Some students are able to figure this out quickly but many need lots of guidance. It’s not that they can’t do it, they’re just used to being told what to do and how to do it.
• Details: Sometimes details are important but sometimes they’re not. I think that in education we have a tendency to get bogged down with the little things and lose sight of the big picture. Letting go of the little things is sometimes the first step towards creating a transformative learning environment. 

     As I look back at this post, I am aware that I have hardly mentioned iPADs. That’s because iPADs are a tool that can only be used to their full potential when the learning environment changes. So, are iPAD’s necessary for this transformation to take place in the classroom? Of course not. The same transformation can take place using technologies like laptops, Chromebooks and personal SMART devices. It can also take place without technology but I would argue that not allowing students the opportunity to use technology as a tool is a disservice to them not only because it is such an integral part of their lives but also because it is necessary skill in the new global economy.

     This leads us back to my original question, why iPADs? There are several things that set the iPAD apart from other technology tools:

• their simplicity 
• their durability (especially in the hands of middle schoolers) 
• their ease of use as a learning tool both inside and outside of the classroom 
• the ease of personalization 
• the diverse number of apps 

     I currently have a class set of iPADs. This means that our devices are shared amongst 4 to 5 students throughout the day. What I have quickly learned after only 2 months with the devices is that in order to use the iPADs to their full potential they should be a personal device that the students use throughout their school day and outside of the school environment as well.

     My goal is to transform the education experience of our students. I will continue to advocate that the iPAD is the ideal personal learning tool to help reach this goal. Now it’s just a matter of figuring out not only how to help and inspire teachers as they transform their learning environments but also how to get this tool into the hands of all of our kids....

Camera Overload

     I have spent a lot of time this year helping my students understand what it means to be a good digital citizen, what their digital footprint is and how to stay safe online. As we transitioned to the iPADs, we brushed up on all of these concepts. Because each iPAD is shared by 4 or 5 students, following good digital citizenship practices is crucial. Some of the apps we are using for science class require them to store their work on the iPAD. Other students who are assigned to the same iPAD have the ability to view, edit and delete this work. I have stressed over and over again the importance of following good digital citizenship practice. While we haven’t had any issues with students losing their work, there have been some issues with  photos. Since they began using the iPADs, one of the high interest activities for the students has been to come in early to science class and take and manipulate pictures. Some kids get really into it and manage to take 50+ pictures in a span of about 3 minutes before class starts. I have other kids (assigned to the same iPAD as the student who is photo happy) who like to keep the camera roll clean and neat, so they delete photos that they think are repetitive, silly or unrelated to class. My response to the lost photos has been twofold. First, I continue to emphasize good digital citizenship - it is obviously not a good practice to delete someone else’s work (even if you think it is silly or repetitive). At the same time I have shown the kids how to upload those pictures that are “near and dear to their heart” to their Google Drive account so they have a copy in case anything happens to the photos on the camera roll. It seems like a trivial issue at first glance but I want the kids to learn how to use these tools as a device for lifelong learning. Part of that means using them as a tool to showcase their passions and interests. I want to give them the freedom to use the camera as a tool. The dilemma is finding a way to share the camera tool on an iPAD that, for right now at least, is only semi-personalized.

Day 1

The students used the iPADs for the first time today. Pictures capture the excitement in the classroom better than any words I could write.

Countdown

     I've done the research, attended the presentations and followed the blogs, posts and tweets of the trailblazers. Now it's time for action. Yesterday I picked up our shipment of 32 iPADs. The iPADs are bar coded, labeled, in their cases and ready to be received into the hands of my 140 eager seventh grade students. The kids have anticipated their arrival; every day since their return from winter break I have been bombarded with the question, " Are they here yet?" the moment they walk through the classroom door. As we venture into the unknown tomorrow, I know that I'm ready, exited, anxious to jump in and too be honest, just a little nervous.

     Many of the articles, presentations and conversations that I have seen, read and participated in about iPADs in the classroom focus on the ability of this tool to fundamentally change the look and feel of learning (student learning and teacher learning) both inside the classroom walls and beyond these same walls. I am both intrigued and excited to see how our classroom evolves with the introduction of the iPADs.

     I embark on this journey with an open mind. I already cultivate a minds-on, inquiry based classroom environment. My classroom has been a 1:1 laptop classroom for 2 years. Our focus is science but I am a powerful advocate for allowing students to use technology as a tool to help them make meaning of the science they are immersed in, to apply what they know and understand to solve relevant and novel problems and to think outside the box as they create and innovate. I believe strongly that the iPADs will provide my students with even more opportunities to create, innovate and direct the course of their own learning.

     I also hope that our classroom becomes a model for other classrooms and teachers in my school and my district for ways to effectively integrate iPADs as a powerful learning tool both in the sciences and other subject areas. I will be transparent and honest in my postings as I reflect on our successes and our struggles. 

    So, come Monday morning, let the learning and transformation begin; ready or not, here we come.....