What Do You Mean This Isn't Blended Learning???

image from 123RF

Have you ever heard this… “We use the computers a lot so we are already doing blended learning.”  You and I both know that there is more to blended learning than just adding some computers to the
mix or we would have been doing blended learning back in the 1980s every time we played Oregon Trail on the one and only computer in the back of the classroom, right?

Blended learning is not about technology.  It’s a meta-strategy used to help personalize the learning for all students.  Really the reason that computers need to be brought into the mix is because 1 teacher in a room with 30 kids can’t do it alone.  The computer becomes a way for the teacher to multiply his/herself in order to work with students in smaller groups or even 1-to-1.  Now, let’s not get carried away to the other extreme and decide that blended learning is putting a student on a software program and letting them learn completely online.  This has a name, but that name is not blended learning.  This becomes either enriched virtual or full on virtual learning.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not bad-mouthing this type of learning. There are situations where this is necessary and works well. But we're talking about blended learning in your regular old 21^st century classroom.

Let’s dig in and take a look at blended learning vs. tech integration.  Tech integration is great and can be very useful and engaging in the classroom.  One useful example of tech integration is by providing students with an online test or quiz. This is helpful because it can help you get grades done either instantly or more quickly and students can get feedback much quicker.  If I did this at the end of a unit for a summative grade, then this is just tech integration.  It was useful, but it didn’t meet any of the criteria for blended learning.  

So, let’s look at our blended learning image again and think about how we can use this same example in a blended learning model.  First, I need data.  That’s easy.  I will have data readily available after the students take the test or quiz.  Then I need to take that a step further and use that data to guide flexibility in pace, place, path or time to personalize the learning.  So, how can I change the scenario to meet this expectation? I could switch up my summative test and make it a pre-assessment to provide starting point data. Now I can use this data to guide how I group students and how I offer flexibility to each group. Maybe a group that is really struggling needs to spend more time with me, the teacher, to get more direct instruction.  Others who have a stronger foundation in the new unit might be successful with a teacher-made video that they can watch then get started on their activity.  Others might not even need a video, but instead they may need some other options that challenge them.  By incorporating the use of technology, I am able to multiply myself as a teacher and meet the needs of more students at one time.

image from 123RF

Now I bet you are wondering, what is the magic formula to know that a lesson is blended and not tech integration. There isn't a magic formula, but you can definitely ask some questions about the lesson using the image above as a guide.  First, are you using some type of data to drive decisions on students needs, groups and activities?  Second, how are you offering flexibility in pace, place, path or time?

Let's look at another example and use these questions to guide our decision.  I set up 3 stations that my students will rotate through.  Station 1 is a video with questions.  Station 2 is a computer simulation game.  Station 3 is a worksheet to practice the concepts.  I will be walking around and answering questions.  Is this blended learning?  Well, let's take a look.  Did I use any type of data to inform my groups or the work each group is doing?  When looking at this scenario, I don't see any data being used.  Already I can tell that this is not blended learning because I did not use data, but let's look a the next question just for fun.  Did I offer any flexibility in the stations based on the data?  Again the answer is no.  All the students are doing the same 3 stations just in a different order.  This is not flexibility.  There is no purpose or reason for the stations other than having students working together in groups as they complete the tasks.

When creating blended learning lessons, just remember to keep these questions at the forefront of your mind and you'll have a great way to gauge if your lesson is tech integration or blended learning!

Blended Learning: It's All in the Timing! ⏰

U.S. News and World Report stated in 2009 that thirty percent of college students drop out after their first year and half never graduate.  You might be wondering why this number is so large.  We are trying to up the rigor in K-12 to prepare our kids for college.  We are pushing AP classes and dual credit, so what's the deal?  Although we are doing all of this, we are still missing one big piece of the equation.  We send our students off to college to live by themselves for the first time ever and we've never taught them any time management skills.  This is where blended learning can be the hero if we do it right.

I've talked to a lot of teachers who are implementing blended learning in their classrooms and the number one complaint that I hear is that the kids aren't doing their work.  Let's examine this more

Image from 123RF.com

closely.  Our kids are used to a school environment where we tell them when and how to do everything.  Think about it.  We tell them when they can go to the bathroom, when to be in class, when they need to sit, when they can move around the classroom and the list goes on and on.  When we throw kids into a blended scenario, suddenly we are not telling our student when and how to do everything anymore.  So, I wonder... are our kids ready to suddenly manage everything on their own?  In some cases, yes, but in many cases the answer is no.  Time management skills become very important in a blended learning classroom because we are putting so much responsibility on the kids to take ownership of their own learning.

Let's take a look at some ways that we can help our kids be more successful at managing time.  First,
you as the teacher need to be organized and have dates and assignments ready ahead of time.  By making sure that you are able to provide students with important deadlines as far in advance as possible you will be setting students up to be able to manage their time wisely.  I know this sounds like a tall order because we can't really be planning months in advance if we are expected to use data to drive instruction, right?  Let me give you some examples of what I mean by this.  One this that helps students is by having a consistent pattern to follow.  For example, if you are going to have students post to a discussion board, then make sure to have the original posts always due on the same day of the week.  How do you choose what day of the week to make them due?  How about asking your students and letting them choose which day works best for them.  Then students can make sure to plan their week according to when work is typically due.  For example, if you have a student who plays basketball and they know that they have a game every Tuesday night and their discussion post is also due every Tuesday night they can plan ahead to avoid the conflict.

Image from 123RF.com

Teachers being organized for the students will definitely help, but it won't completely fix the problem.  I want you to consider your own life for just a moment.  How do you organize your life?  How do you know when you are supposed to be somewhere or do something?  For example, how do you know when you scheduled your haircut appointment?  I know what I do!  EVERYTHING gets entered into the calendar app on my phone.  I have my personal Google calendar, my work Outlook calendar and Yahoo calendar all connected together through this one app.  Every single thing I do gets entered here.  If I have a work appointment, it's there.  If I have a vet appointment for one of my dogs, it's there.  What happens if something slips through the cracks and I forget to put it on the calendar?  I'm sure you all know the answer to that one.  It doesn't happen.  If this is the way that we as adults operate, shouldn't we be teaching these skills to our blended learning students (or really all students) so that they can stay organized for their class, but really so that they can learn this incredibly important life skill.  If you would take some time to talk to students about choosing a calendar system to use - whether it be a phone app, a spiral daily planner or the built-in calendar on your LMS - students could start planning for time management success.  Then just take a couple minutes each class day or once a week to encourage students to make sure everything is entered in their calendar and their alerts are set.  Look how easy that is to provide students with a lifelong skill to organize their life!

Station Rotation: Why Should I Do That?

Station rotation is a great model to use in your Blended Learning Classroom.  When I say that, notice I didn't say in your elementary classroom.  There is a big misconception out there that station rotation is an elementary thing and it doesn't work or is not needed in the secondary classroom.  I would argue the exact opposite.  Station rotation gives so many opportunities for inserting great pedagogy to allow for a more personalized learning experience through blended learning.

We've been doing station rotation in the early elementary grades for ages.  Stations typically included the classroom being broken up into 3 groups.  The 3 groups would rotate through 3 stations that included small group time with the teacher plus two other station that had "activities" set up for the students to complete.  All students went through the same stations for the same amount of time and did the same things.

While this has been a great model for the elementary classroom for all these years, this isn't blended learning.  Wait!  I know, I know.  I just told you that station rotation was great for blended learning and now I'm saying this isn't even blended learning.  Well... station rotation in the most traditional sense is not blended learning because it is missing a few key components.  Let's take a look at ways that we can tweak this long standing model to make it fit in our blended learning model.

First, we need to figure out a way to add some flexibility in pace, place, path or time.

Let's look at our blended learning graphic again to see how station rotation can add the flexibility that we are looking for.  By using stations, you can easily allow for flexibility in pace for your students.  You might be wondering how that is accomplished.  After all don't all students go to all stations for the same exact amount of time?  The answer is maybe.  That's one possibility, but when we are looking at the purpose of that variation I start to wonder what is the purpose of that model.  In my mind, the purpose of that model is control.  The teacher is in control of everything going on in the classroom.  The students are all getting the same exact learning experience for the same amount of time.  That seems very equal, right?  It might be equal, but is it fair?  Do all students need the same exact thing for the same amount of time?  Let's compare my struggling learner to my GT student.  In this scenario, let's imagine a station rotation with 3 stations and one of the three is a teacher-led station.  A GT student does still need some time at the "teacher station" to help clarify misconceptions and build relationships.  The struggling learner also needs time at the "teacher station" but they are not just clarifying misconceptions.  They may need reteach, more scaffolding and extra guided practice.  Both groups should meet with the teacher, but they probably don't need to meet with the teacher for the same amount of time or to receive the same exact lesson.  In this scenario, things are not equal, but they are fair because both students are getting what they need.

By simply altering the amount of time spend at different stations in order to better meet the needs of students, you are offering flexibility in pace, but the students are also getting flexibility in path because now the teacher is free to alter what happens at a station based on the needs of students.  I already mentioned how the teacher station could be altered to meet the needs of students, but the other stations could be altered as well.  By offering some choice at the other stations, you can offer students some flexibility in path to better meet their needs.  When I say offer choice, you might be thinking, "If I offer kids choices at the stations, then how can I ensure that they are learning what they need to learn."  Remember, just because you offer choice doesn't mean that you are giving up all of the control. You are still in charge of coming up with the choices, so you get to make sure that each choice still contributes to the learning.

As an alternative, you could also offer choice in path by allowing students to choose what stations they will attend.  Maybe instead of offering 3 stations, you offer 5 stations and the students have to go to at least 3 of the 5 stations.  Students get some choice in how they learn.  Maybe one station involves art and speaks more to some students while another station might involve creation on an iPad and that station might speak to other students.  In this format, you can also make 1 or more of the stations mandatory.  Maybe you want to have a teacher station and it is mandatory that all stations attend that station at some point.  The great thing about this model is that you get to make the rules and you can make this look however you need it to look to meet the needs of your students.

Last, don't forget that their must be some use of technology to really make this blended.  Make sure that when using technology, you are using it in a way to really enhance the learning or deliver things that can't be delivered any other way.  For example, you could have video directions posted at each station to help the students get started.  You could also have some videos posted that offer students support in the concept at a station if they need extra scaffolding.  In essence, you are now able to multiple yourself.  Another great way to use technology is to have students creating and/or collaborating using tools like G Suite, Flipgrid, Padlet, PicCollage, Puppet Pals, etc.

You might notice that I didn't address time and place in this post.  That's not to say those aren't great ways to add flexibility to your blended learning classroom, but they don't lend themselves as well to the station rotation model.

If you are interested in trying out the station rotation model, remember to start out with baby steps and work your way up.  Get students used to rotating and being independent learners at two stations before you add in a teacher station so that you can be free to guide and redirect students as needed.  Once they have two stations down pat, then add a third station or even a fourth.

Do you have some great tips on implementing station rotation?  Leave us a comment below and share your tips!!

Who do you think you are, dreaming about being a big star? Equity and Fear

"Kids were laughing in my classes
While I was scheming for the masses
Who do you think you are?
Dreaming 'bout being a big star" 

Goals/dreams are always impossible and nearly invisible things that hang perpetually in our future.  They wait.  They're silent. They almost seem to run away from us.  But goals and dreams, like mile markers on a highway, let us know where we are going and give context to whether we're headed in the "right" direction or not.  

Uncertainty is this weird unmeasurable thing.  It's empty and intimidating.

Risk, however, is quantifying or taking a bite out of uncertainty.

Many of those new to blended learning will count, among the list of struggles, that there is uncertainty in trying out something new in the classroom.  It's exciting, but also scary at the same time. But if you take a measurable step toward Blended Learning then you are controlling the risks involved with trying something new.  You are giving form to uncertainty and, thereby, controlling it.

Change for the sake of change isn't a good idea most of the time.  Change for the sake of benefitting your students? That's admirable.  But change reveals new horizons and those new horizons show us potentially newer and better changes for our student's betterment. 

Change is going to happen. The sometimes slow but always certain current of change has momentum…tremendous momentum. But it is dumb and unrefined momentum, like an undeniable ocean current. Yes, ocean currents can pull you out to the sea, but they can also be used to navigate that same sea in order to reach incredible destinations.

The calculating acts of shifting your sails or pushing the rudder a certain way are risks that help navigate through uncertainty.

The trick in being a teacher is to see the questions their adult selves will ask & address them in the here and now.  I would then base my calculated risks in class based on both my student's real needs and what I imagined their future selves might ask of me.

Change is happening and you can’t stop it…so lean into change by taking a risk.  Let calculated risks help you, your students, & America's Future (patriotic music and eagle noise in background)!

Here's a slide I like to use in our Blended Learning Academy.  It's one example for how to take baby steps toward blended learning.

Start becoming a Blended Learning teacher by including elements of Blended Learning, even if they are only parts and pieces.  If you use a timer, for example, you will be teaching your students time management skills which are crucial in blended learning environments.

Let your students laugh in your classes, let them scheme for the masses... let them dream about being big stars by building lessons for learning instead of lessons for teaching. The choice to be afraid to try new things hurts your special populations and economically disadvantaged more than main streamed students because personalized learning via blended learning is that "rising tide that lifts all boats".  Main stream students are more likely to have support at home, have a diverse background of experiences (ie. vacations, exposure to adults with a variety of career paths, etc.).   In short, focus on build lessons for learning instead of lessons for teaching via the blended learning lens.

If you can't do it in one lesson then incorporate lesson add-ins like timers, stations, student data folders and so on.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

Blastoff!  For many of us we are just weeks or even days away from the 1st day of school.  We've talked about what blended learning is, but now you might be thinking, "That's all great information, but just tell me what to do during the first week of school." Let's take a look at 4 things you can do during the first week of school to get your students ready for blended learning.

1. Teach your students how to log in.  Then practice, practice, practice!  I know this sounds so basic, but often times there is not enough time devoted to this.  When I say this, I'm not just talking about elementary kids.  I'm talking everyone from K to 12.  You might be wondering why I think high school kids need time to practice getting logged in.  Let me tell you what happened one year when my son was in high school.  We were using Edmodo for the first year.  A few of his teachers were trying it out and had their students create accounts to join their class.  My son got home from school and needed to access something in his Edmodo account for homework.  Guess what???  He didn't remember his password.  I was in shock.  How could a high school student not remember their password.  I told him to hold on and I would log into the admin console and reset his password for him.  I went to get my computer and by the time I got back, he was in his account.  I said, "Oh good!  How did you get in?"  He responded, "Oh, I just created a new account."  The part of me that was rolling out this software in our district wanted to shout, "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"  But the mom part of me completely understood that since no one had taught him otherwise then this was a pretty good way to solve a problem.  Let me just say - my son was not the only high school student who just created a new account every time they forgot their password.  It happened over and over and over.  How do I know?  Because I could see all of the duplicate accounts in our admin console.  So, please, please, please teach the high school students how to problem solve and recover their passwords rather than creating new accounts.  Even better, help all students come up with ways to keep their passwords safe but accessible for times when they forget them.

2. Get students acquainted with your devices.  We often assume that since our students were born into the digital age that they know how to use the devices in our classrooms.  This is often a false assumption.  Our students are good at using the most accessible devices in their homes which is usually a phone, but if you throw out a chromebook, macbook or other type of device students may not be familiar with all the nuances of using that device.  It never hurts to spend some time showing them not only how to use the device, but also some of the programs that you plan to use with the students most often.  One time Charles and I went out to a middle school to model a lesson.  We decided to have the students post to a Padlet as part of the lesson because everyone knows how to use Padlet, right?  Wrong!  We soon discovered once we started into the lesson, that the students had never even seen Padlet and didn't know how to post to the board, upload an image or record a video, so we had to modify the lesson in order to accommodate the technology.  This defeated the purpose of having technology to make things easier.

3. Start teaching students about digital citizenship from day 1. Again, this is one of those things that we assume students know or that their parents teach them, but in reality this is something really important that students need to be learning on a daily basis throughout every grade level.  There are different types of issues that are important and appropriate at different ages.  For example, in

elementary school I might be talking to my students about how to log in, choosing a good password and keeping your password safe.  In high school you might have to have more delicate discussions such as making sure what you do online is appropriate because once something is out there on the web, chances are it's out there forever.  I know what you are thinking... Now I have one more thing to plan and no extra time to plan it.  Let me help you by taking that off of your plate. Check out Common Sense Media.  They have amazing resources and already created lessons for all grade levels.

4. Establish a home base to use as a one-stop-shop for all of your online needs.  When I was a kid, I was living up north.  I can remember what a Saturday morning was like with my mom.  First we had to do our chores, but after that it was errand after errand.  We went to K-Mart (there was no Walmart back then) to buy any random home stuff we needed like towels, sheets, storage containers, etc.  Then we made our way over to the grocery store.  No, K-Mart didn't have groceries back then.  We bought all of our groceries except the meat.  Then we had to drive home and put the groceries away before loading back up into the car to head to the meat market.  I LOVED going to the meat market.  It seems weird now, but the floor was covered in sawdust so it was like playing in the sand and my mom always bought me one of those small, single serving size bags of BBQ chips. Yum, Yum!!  That might have been the end of the errands for Saturday, but there was also other trips to the pharmacy to get my sister's medicine (ear infections).  There wasn't a pharmacy in the grocery store.  I guess by now you are wondering why I'm telling you about my Saturday morning shopping

excursions in the 1980s.  Well, sometimes this is how kids feel when we throw about a bunch of tech tools and websites to them.  It gets confusing and tiring.  Think about how our modern day shopping experience works.  Charles talked about Target runs in the last post.  In this day and age, I can go to Target and get all the same things that it took 4 or more stores to supply in the 1980s.  Think of a home base like a Target store.  You always go to the same place, but once you are inside there are tons of options available.  So, to be clear.  I'm not saying don't ever use any other online tools except for your home base, but make it a convenient and easy place for you students to find everything they need as it pertains to your class.  For example, I might want to use a Padlet in class one day.  That is perfectly fine, but I need to make sure that I post the Padlet link to my home base (my Target stroe) so kids can find it when they log in to "shop."  There are so many different tools that you can use as your home base.  If your district has an LMS such as Canvas, then I would definitely use that as it has so many options and so much flexibility to make it look the way you want.  There are also lots of free choices available such as Google Classroom.  If you are teaching elementary, I highly recommend using Seesaw for your home base.  Check out this recent post for elementary teachers where I shared reasons why Seesaw was a top choice for elementary classrooms.

This is an exciting time of year.  Let's make the most of those first days of school to set our students up for a successful year of blended learning.  Post a comment below sharing any tips that you have for getting off to a great start with blended learning.

Target Runs & Blended Learning Pathways

The Target Effect

My wonderful wife once got lost in Target.  Like... for real for real lost.

She innocently went in to get some gum.

Gum, as most of us know, can be found in the checkout lines at most grocery stores for your convenience.  As in,  it should have been a quick in-and-out operation.

Because of this fact, I offered to stay in the car and wait for her while I totally dominated level 894 of Candy Crush.  After my five lives were up and I asked my FaceBook friends for help I looked up.  What seemed to be about 4 hours had passed, but there was no wife.  I started wondering if I should call the police and file a missing person's report.

Soon thereafter, my wife came out with half a shopping cart full of "stuff" with a "I dare you to say something" look on her face.  I did not say a word.


Because of this event (and many like it), I got curious and searched the Google-inter-webs to see if this occurrence was a nationwide spousal issue, a genius marketing hypnosis ploy, or just my wife's very cute but very real DTMATS (Decreased Time and Money Awareness at Target Syndrome).

You see... Just like how grocery stores place those impulse-buy products near the register in order for you to see them at the last second and think "I need and can afford this $2 (candy, lighter, soda pop, etc)", Target has a hyper-focus on it's adult consumer experience.  Their stores are tech centered, bright, clean, organized, and well stocked.

So getting hypnotized and distracted is understandable and almost fated no matter how strong willed you are!

To get through a Target store and reach your GOAL without giving into distractions takes strength of character, skills, and a plan. But fret not, Target is organized in such a way that you can use their subversive powers AGAINST them.

The key to getting into and out of a Target in a timely manner is creating a PATHWAY map, at least mentally.

I know... keep laughing.

Creating a map with a pathway to get you into and out of that place while reaching your purchasing goal helps save time, money, and something I like to call marital energy.

Constructing pathways in a Blended Learning lesson is much like constructing a strategy for a Target "run".  In both cases, you must organize experiences so no one gets "LOST" in sections they don't need to be in.


Getting Started With Pathways:

A great first step is to pull out a trusted and loved lesson plan and actually make a physical flowchart.  What happens first? What is the teacher doing? What are the standards? Which question stems are being used?  But most importantly, is every student doing the same thing at the same time?

If your lesson is too linear (ie. only a single pathway for your students to follow & they're all doing the same thing at the same time), try to find a spot in your lesson where you can offer students a choice in how they do the work, learn the content, or express their learning.  Voila!  Just with these additions you have created three different pathways!  Next,  add those different paths to your drawn out flow chart.  If need be, use a game like Chutes and Ladders or Life as your mental (or actual) template.  Whatever you do, create multiple paths for your students as they make their way through the content.  Don't let them suffer from the Target Effect.  Don't let them get distracted by unnecessary facts, activities, lectures, etc. if they don't actually NEED them.

How?


Consider the following:

• Your higher level kids may already know much of the information in a lesson so don't let them get lost in a pointless lecture... give them something else to build upon.  Challenge them either with differentiation in CONTENT, PRODUCT, or PROCESS.  Not all three, necessarily. Heck, let them choose which one to differentiate!
• Your low or ESL students may need more videos and images to more easily fill in their gaps in knowledge. So give them teacher made or Khan Academy made videos.  Expose these students  to images or visuals.  Maybe even have these students express themselves in a medium that speaks to them.
• Your GT kids may need and want more challenging tasks or more open ended tasks.  They'll certainly get distracted by low level expectations, so don't be afraid to raise the bar using tools like Sandra Kaplan's Depth and Complexity sheet. 

Construct the learning experiences for each of the groups in a way that they won't want to wonder away from their sections.  You could begin constructing pathways by surveying your students past experiences with that particular content.  Make those gaps visible somehow and then build around them.  Further, get to know their learning styles, not just their favorite summer memory.  Get to know them as learners and you will, in fact, get to know them in a deep way.

Your role, after your pathways are constructed, will be to facilitate the learning instead of pushing the kids to learn.

If your students only need to get "gum" in an upcoming lesson, don't make them go through the clothing and house keeping sections.  They'll get bored, pull out their phones, and become discipline issues. 

Fight the Target Effect in the classroom. 

And pray for me and my wife the next time we go to Target.  We usually go in for one thing and end up in a situation that looks a lot like the following video...

Don't let your lessons be like this... add pathways!

Elementary: I Got You Covered!

     When you hear about blended learning, often times people just assume its for high school and college.  But if we think about the goals of blended learning, to personalize learning using data to
provide flexibility in pace, place, path and time, then we realize that blended learning is good for all students including elementary students.  One thing that can help make blended learning successful at the younger grade levels even down to kindergarten is having the right tools to make your students successful.  Today I want to take a look at what I would rank as my top 3 tools for an elementary teacher to make blended learning successful in their classroom.

Home Base

     I want to start out with what I consider to be the most important tool: A home base.  If you don't have one consistent home base where kids and parents know that they can find everything posted, then things will just become a confusing mess. 

There are so many different choices out there when it comes to a home base so it was pretty difficult to choose one, but I did settle on one because I believe it is the easiest to use for elementary students and has a lot of cool perks built in.  My choice for a home base is Seesaw.  You may not agree, but let me explain my choice and maybe you'll change your mind.
     First, I love the sign in choices that Seesaw offers for students.  Students as young as kindergarten can easily get logged in using a class code or a QR code.  As students get older, the teacher can utilize the log in through an email address and password to get students used to logging in the traditional way.  I think this is a great option and I'm sold just based on the log in options, but Seesaw didn't stop there.

     One of the greatest and most popular features in Seesaw is the ability to assign activities to your students.  You can create your own activities, but there is also a gigantic library of amazing activities that you can just grab and assign to your students.  You can also edit pre-made activities to fit the needs of your students as well as create your own from scratch.  When I've shown this feature to elementary teachers, it was a complete game changer for them. 

     Although activities are amazing, students also have the capability to create using the add to journal feature.  Through this feature, students can take a photo or video, upload a file, add a link, draw, record audio, or type a note.  These features in this easy to use format are an amazing addition for elementary students.  In one click, students can take a photo and add it to their journal where they can annotate over it, type a caption and/or record audio.  What's amazing is it took something that might otherwise require a bunch of app smashing and uploading and combined it all into one easy step that young students can easily master.  Now teachers can have their students not just consume, but also create.
     I could really go on and on, but let me just mention a couple more things that make Seesaw a great choice for elementary students.  Most importantly, this tool is free which is always amazing.  You also have the ability to add families so that parents can view their child's work.  How awesome would that be to have them view student activities and creations and even hear their child's voice explaining their thinking.  Another reason Seesaw is a great choice is their safety.  They are complaint with both FERPA and COPPA.  So you can rest assured knowing their your students are safe on Seesaw.  For more information about Seesaw safety, check out their Privacy Center.

Data

     You know from reading previous blogs and looking at our blended learning image above that data is super important to the blended learning process.  Teachers must continually be collecting data from their students in order to guide their instruction so that they can personalize the learning to meet

student needs.  There are many traditional ways to collect data such as exit tickets, activities, conferring with students, observation, quizzes and tests and many more.  I think it is important to also have a digital tool that teachers can use to quickly gather data and provide analytics to guide their instruction.  As I'm sure you all know, there are many, many tools out there that can quiz students and collect data.  I've chosen one tool to recommend for elementary for its ease of use, visual appeal, available features and compliance with COPPA.  For my data tool, I chose Quizizz.

     Quizizz is a great choice for elementary students because it is very easy to get logged in.  The students can simply go to the Quizizz site and use the teacher's code to join the game.  Alternately, if the students have Google accounts, the teacher can set up a class and invite his/her students to join the class using a link and their Google login.  Either way, the teacher is able to give quizzes and collect analytics.  

     Speaking of analytics, Quizizz has great analytics.  You can look at the class analytics as a whole class which are also color coded for easy viewing.  You can also view them by question and by student.  If you have a class set up, you can also email the scores to parents once students complete a quiz.  One other feature that I really like is that you can attach state standards to each question so that you also have analytics per standard.

     I know that the biggest concern is about getting quizzes into your account.  Rest easy.  There are many ways to get your quizzes going.  Before you do anything else, I would browse the library of quizzes that have been shared by other teachers and see if you can find something already created.  Even if the quiz isn't exactly how you want it, you can make a copy and edit it to add your own questions or delete questions you don't like.  This is by far the easiest and biggest time saver.  If on the other hand, you want to create your own quiz from scratch, you can certainly do that too.  When adding quiz questions, you can add text and/or images and there is even an equation editor built in.  One last way that you can upload questions is by uploading a spreadsheet that contains your questions and answer choices.  Once you have your quiz ready to go, you can either play the game live or give it to students as homework that can be completed in a station, at home or any time of day.

Sharing

     When trying to decide what I would include as my third recommendation, I decided that having a universal way to share is important.  My third tool is QRstuff.com.  QRstuff.com is a super easy website that takes URLs and converts them to QR codes.  I'm always surprised that when I share this tool how many people never knew how to create a QR code before.  Not only is this tool easy to use, but it's free and you can even customize the color of your QR code.  This is also a very reliable

website.  It's been around for many, many years and it is the only one I use nowadays.

     I guess you might be wondering why making QR codes would make my top 3 list.  First, I just love QR codes!  QR codes are such a great way to quickly share links with a variety of devices and people without having to have a home base or type in long URLs.  All someone needs to scan your QR code is a camera app or QR reader app on their phone or tablet.  If you use Chromebooks or laptops in your classroom, you can still use QR codes by installing a QR Code Reader Extension in the Chrome Browser.  Once this extension is activated, students can use the built in webcam to read the QR codes.  You can post QR codes in the hallway, send them to parents through email, post them at stations for students to use with iPads, and the list goes on and on.  

Not It's Your Turn

     It was hard to whittle down my tool choices to just 3 with the vast amount of tools available today, so let me know what other tools do you consider must haves in blended learning.  Post a comment below to share your top choices.

The Hero's Journey: Failure

Failure and the Hero

Spider-Man, Into the Spider-verse is a wonderful little offshoot of the Marvel Universe.  Miles Morales is bit by a crazy radioactive spider and sort of reluctantly becomes his universe's new Spider-Man after the original dies.  (Those aren't really spoilers).

When this new teen hero comes of age in the movie, a song can be a herd in the background: What's up danger?  The hero, Miles, comes to terms with the fact that a great power has been thrust upon him and he can't simply sit back and let other's take on challenges that are now his by right.

So the song, What's up danger, is indicative of that choice to meet "danger" head on instead of hoping that things just "turn out well".  The line "What's up danger? Don't be a stranger" underpins Mile's decision to welcome the challenges that are inevitable.  That's not to say he goes looking for danger unnecessarily, he simply doesn't shy away from challenges that present themselves as he works toward the common good.

In so many ways, teachers that invest themselves in other people's kids are heroes in the making.  I use the term "in the making" because a hero's journey happens without a final arrival.  Being a hero is an active journey, not a destination.

As educators, we will have a variety of students with a variety of needs who all want to take a variety of pathways in life to reach their various goals. It seems like a herculean task IF we assume that all of this variety must be owned and planned for ONLY by the individual teacher.

THAT IS THE OLD WAY OF TEACHING AND THINKING!

Your task is NOT to take on your student's present and future on your back and think and act for them.  Your task is to develop learning experiences that allow for a multitude of expressions and growth on the part of your students. 

You get bored when you go to PD that is cookie cutter and doesn't speak to who you are.  So do your students!  Variety, differentiation, and individualized learning are a moral imperative in education.

So how do we start this difficult and seemingly complex new calling in our classrooms?

Start small and celebrate the small victories.  You can't know how to hit towering home runs until you understand the nuances of swinging your hips, not dropping your shoulder as you swing, the need for strong wrists, and keeping your eye on the ball.  The small things add up to the big things.

The Hero's Journey

So, whether you are starting off with Blended Learning, Project Based Learning, or some other new fancy pants way to prepare for learning... you gotta start small, celebrate small, and progress incrementally.

As you an see in the image to the right in "The Hero's Journey" image, failure is part of the success.  Odysseus, Hercules, and other great heroes of the past went through very similar trials and tribulations before their ascension.  The journey, though, looks very similar to the many struggles we face and humans beings, demigods or not.  The small victories add up to the big ones. 

How to fail better

1) Break down large tasks into small tasks - the big stuff doesn't happen unless the small stuff happens.  Focus on the small stuff first.  Make sure it's in order.  Make sure you complete small step #1 before worrying about or moving on to step #2, and so on... Small failures are learning opportunities.

2) Keep track of your victories - All habits were originally a choice.  Keep track of your small choices and small victories.  Act on the small victories repetitively until they become good habits.  Document your past failures and how you overcame them.

3) Celebrate - Don't be afraid to "self promote".  Students, parents, administrators are saying things about you (likely good things!).  It wouldn't hurt to add your own voice to the chorus.  Be your own PR director.  Celebrate what you do well and send those celebrations out into the ether! Use instagram to give parents a window into your classroom.  Join twitter chats and share your lessons.  Join FB pages and ask for ideas to make your great lessons better.  Read books.  Celebrate your failures and lessons learned with others. 

4) What's up danger? - When a baby begins to walk and then falls down, you don't see parents chastising and bemoaning the baby's "failure".  We would NEVER learn to walk LOL. We support failing baby walkers until we are celebrating walking baby walkers.  Meeting your "danger" head on. Get ahead of the curve.  Anticipate your challenges.  Don't fret.  You WILL fail at some point.  That's a given.  What isn't a given is how you react.  The hero will never arrive at their destination.  The hero can only be a hero within the context of their journey and struggle.  Be a hero for your students. Meet your challenges and struggle in front of them and continue your journey... preferably with a smile.  Take on your failures head on and make them your friend. 

5) Blended Learning - If your mindset is ready.  NOW go reread our blog posts, attend our Blended Learning Academy sessions, read Blended Learning books... Fail for your students sake.