with Less
whenever/wherever learning, personalized teaching to meet students’
individual learning needs and styles,
and access to open resources and tools
that more fully engage students in the
learning process. Some examples of
effective blended teaching strategies
include:
• Classroom teaching resources (class
notes, slideshows, or videos) that
teachers post online for students to
review after class or at home
• Online assessments that students
can use as a self-check
• Online collaborative areas where students can continue classroom discussions or group projects after class
• Homework help through synchronous chat
Flipped classroom instruction. What if
we changed the definitions of
homework and classroom practice by asking
students to use their time at home to
become familiar with content instead
of doing homework, and to use their
classroom time to actively engage with
other students and their teachers to
think critically and apply knowledge
to real-world problems, group projects, lab work, or classroom discussions? In a flipped classroom, teachers
use technology, such as podcasts or
videos, to deliver class lectures or
demonstrations. If needed, a student
can replay a teacher’s demonstration
or lecture several times until she understands all the concepts. And if she
still needs more help, she has classroom time the next day to work one
on one with the teacher. By turning
the traditional homework model on
its head, limited classroom time ceases
to be a constraint to learning.
By Liz Pape, Tracy Sheehan, and Colleen Worrell
Free the Resources!
Both blended and flipped classroom
strategies rely on open educational resources—free online tools and materials designed to support instruction.
Web tools and resources can generate
new and exciting learning experiences
for students of all abilities and learning styles, and teachers can use them
to develop digital age literacies. The
sheer number and easy accessibility
of these tools and resources also gives
students multiple options for completing projects, thereby differentiating
and personalizing both the learning
process and their end products. This
allows students with different learning styles to process information and
comprehend content in the way that
is best for them, and approaching
content from several angles allows all
learners to better integrate it into their
knowledge.
Web tools also address many facets
of student motivation by empowering
them, giving them choices, allowing
them to express themselves in their
preferred formats, encouraging them
to collaborate, and engaging them
with interactivity rather than passive
consumption.
Finally, web resources give students
the opportunity to develop research,
internet literacy, authoring, and publishing skills.
Here are a few categories of free
tools that develop these skills in an
engaging way:
Blogs. When students write about
subject-specific content for an authen-
tic audience, they are learning not only
about the topic, but also how to effec-
tively communicate with others. Blogs
promote critical and analytical think-
ing when students share knowledge
and reflect on content.
