EC&I 834: Designing for Online & Blended Learning

Month: January 2022

New Attitude – Blended Learning

Unfortunately, I have had much more success as a student than a teacher with online and blended learning thus far…

But in all seriousness, I feel that I would not be able to successfully carry out my day to day or meet the needs of my students without the effective implementation of blended learning strategies. Prior to reading about what constitutes blended learning, I did not realize that it existed in my classroom daily.

This graphic depicts the range of strategies that constitute blended learning. I think that many teachers do not actually realize the amount of blended learning they already include in their classroom.

The pandemic has also brought new challenges to teachers in delivering meaningful and effective instruction to their students. Online and blended learning has needed to be expanded or adopted by teachers across the province. It has also shown just had adaptive and resilient educators are in their planning and preparation. I don’t think that effective teaching that fosters the individual success of students can be done without the use of blended learning.

Through triumphs and trials, I have had many experiences with blended learning in a professional context.

Challenges of Blended Learning

-Students not having access to technology

-Technology advancing faster than teachers & students can adapt

-Websites/Links/Videos becoming obsolete

-Designing lessons with the proper or best blended design

-Being innovative

Opportunities of Blended Learning

-Synchronous and Asynchronous learning

-Allowed learning to persist through the challenges of the pandemic

-Used to help build classroom routines

-Increased student engagement

-Assessment opportunities

When returning to the “new normal”, I was resistant to the reliance on online and blended learning that was making its way into the classroom. Rather than changing for the benefit of my students, I was only holding out hope that I could return to the teaching practices I believed to be superior. I felt that there was a superiority of face-to-face learning as outlined by Bates in Chapter Ten his book. Since the start of my involvement in graduate studies and the opportunities and challenges brought on by the pandemic, I now have a new attitude towards online and blended learning.

One of they ways I have brought more blended learning into my classes is the use of Microsoft Teams. If you asked me about this program a year ago, I would tell you it was the worst thing to ever be mandated by the school division. Now, me and my students effectively use it to improve our communication. I can post my daily lesson plans so that students are able to see hat to expect for the class that day and check in on to catch up on work they have missed. I am also able to communicate with student regarding missing assignments, upcoming exams, and many more things.

Scott Sully – An Abstract

Hello EC&I 834!

My name is Scott Sully, I am in my 6th year of teaching at McNaughton High School in Moosomin, SK. I have been fortunate to begin and spend the entirety of my career so far with such talented peers and in such a supportive community. I began graduate studies last spring and am currently enrolled in my 6th & 7th courses with the intention to finish my studies this summer.

I spend a lot of my time involved with athletics, both in my professional and personal life. I coach senior girls volleyball at the school; we recently hosted the 4A Girls Provincial Volleyball Championships here in Moosomin. I also decided to include our team photo from the tournament in my post as it is an event and accomplishment that I am very proud of as a coach and educator. When I am not coaching in the fall, I spend an obscene amount of time on my couch on Sundays watching NFL football. In the spring and summer, I can be found at Pipestone Hills Golf Course and many other of our provinces beautiful golf courses or lakes. Outside of recreation I enjoy taking on home improvement projects or tearing apart my home, depending upon how you look at it. I also remain personally and financially dedicated to my Peloton bike.

Check out my Twitter!!

Three goals for learning that I have in this class are:

-Learning strategies and tools to adapt to an ever-changing educational landscape

-Enrich my current classes online components

-Engage with peers and grow my professional community

Looking forward to getting started!

Scott