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(Describer) A green and blue circle meet and form a Venn diagram. Titles: Blended Learning. Success in blended learning.

(narrator) One strategy to balance blended learning is using the flipped classroom model. The flipped classroom model could be implemented through the teacher teaching the core lesson with a video while the students are at home. This instruction video may be live or recorded. Then, when students return to school, they apply the new knowledge in a meaningful activity. There are many different combinations and approaches that teachers successfully use when determining how to teach the core content and how to provide practice of the content. So, to provide practice and application of new knowledge for my students, what I usually do is I will introduce an assignment or introduce a concept over the weekend. I'll give them a video that they watch. They'll take notes over the weekend. They'll just do a quick check of their knowledge, and then the next week is what I spend the entire week kind of practicing with them. I want to spend my time in class, when I have them in front of me on the screen, practicing those concepts. Especially with something like Spanish, it takes a lot of practice and repetition and applying a concept in different situations. So I really want to use my time in class-- Rather than explaining those concepts, I have them learn it over the weekend, and then we practice it during class. So even if they don't get it right away, they at least already have the notes, and when they walk in, we can hit the ground running.

(narrator) It is important that teachers pick the technology to fit the learning strategy. Teacher goals and teaching strategy should come first, and then teachers pick the technology that will allow the students to achieve the goal more effectively.

(Describer) Julie Rusgo.

The Whiteboard.fi was an application that Toledo Public Schools purchased for us, and we had training on it before the school year started. I find that to be extremely beneficial because it's in real time. So, as I open up the classroom and I have the students come in, as they're filling out their boards, I can see exactly what they're doing at that moment, which is fantastic because we start off in third grade with multiplication and division right out of the gate. So being able to see them manipulate images, pictures, teaching them, of course, all the tools that are associated with Whiteboard.fi, but then actually having them manipulate those tools to show what they're learning in multiplication and division has given me great insight into their thinking. A specific tool that I use is something called Poll Everywhere, and it has different types of questions that you can ask your audience. So I set them up ahead of time, like multiple-choice questions or open-ended questions, or it actually has a feature where you can click on an image. So I can create an image ahead of time and ask them to click on the image that I'm describing. And it's been really, really useful because it has so many different applications, and it's really, really easy to use.

(narrator) When the students are in the classroom, teachers use this face-to-face time to inspire students to create, design, demonstrate, and explain what they learned from the online learning experience. Students can have discussions and collaborate on projects or learning tasks. They can practice the new content in meaningful ways through demonstrations, models, videos, stories, and more. In addition, students can take home materials to design or create something which shows an understanding of a learning concept. That has been a bit more challenging. Luckily, we do have those-- those virtual lab platforms like Gizmos and PhET labs. I have had my students do-- Like, we recently learned about centripetal force, and they were able to pretty easily fashion a bucket of water and spin it around their head, and they did, like, this online discussion activity where they posted their video and talked about the forces. But some other things-- It can be difficult if they have those lab supplies at home and making sure that they get them. Like, we've been learning about layers of Earth, and so I made it optional. I included, like, a video. So if they didn't have access to materials, they could still interact with the hands-on activity, and I included some recipes where they could make their own Play-Doh at home with a few ingredients. But you just can't count on that students are always gonna be able to have those items or-- You know, like, safety is always a concern, too. So you have to kind of think about that before you think about lab activities to do at home. Multi-meaning word puzzle, and so they have the word "bat." Usually they're simple words because they're still emergent readers. And then they have the pieces that go with it to help them understand that "bat" can have more than one meaning. So these are some of the hands-on things, and they can do these several times throughout the week when we're not meeting, and it has a good repetition for them.

(Describer) Kristin Menhorn.

I use the document camera in the classroom when they are remote. Right now, my students have workbooks from the curriculum that we've sent home. I've also given them-- We use... We use the AVID program here at McTigue. So they have a binder that has a lot of their materials in it separated out. I prepared all of that and separated it by tab. So they know the yellow tab is math, and they open that tab, and there's all the math things that they need to be working on. And so I will put my binder-- I have the same binder. I put it under the document camera. We open it up to what we're working on, and they can do it that way. I've given them whiteboards and dry-erase markers. They have manipulatives. I just sent home little mini erasers to use as math manipulatives with a part-part-whole mat and a ten frame. There's been papers that they sent home for tracing. Recently, we just made word builders and gave them little word builders with letters so that they can practice building words with me. While I have that under the document camera, they've got it at home, and they can be manipulating it as well.

(narrator) There are many ways that technology can be used with in-person instructional practices that can effectively accomplish amazing learning experiences. It's not just one size fits all, but a decision that is strategically planned by the teacher to fit the needs of the students and the learning goals. What I like about Breakout Rooms is it gives the kids an opportunity to talk with one another because virtually, they're not given that opportunity, whereas they are when they're in person. You know, we all crave human interaction, and I think, if anything with Covid, we realize just how important human communication and being around others is critical to our well-being. And so I feel that, you know, when I send-- When I was planning my lessons in the hybrid, I felt that it was more important above anything else to give those kids time to talk. I teach their core content knowledge asynchronously. They learn it at their own pace because some students are going to need to repeat or watch a video multiple times to get the notes or to understand a concept. And that's actually something that I've noticed works a little bit better during the hybrid plan than it does in person. In person, I am bound by the bell. I have to finish my class by the time the bell rings. So I don't always have as much time as I need sometimes to spend with one student or two students or a couple students who need something repeated more, whereas the students at home can spend more time watching the video, sending me an e-mail, asking me questions, getting more clarification, so that the time that we use in class can be more practice and less delivery of content.

(narrator) There are two delivery methods that teachers can use in blended learning-- synchronous and asynchronous. Some classrooms are using synchronous learning for teacher-led instruction. Synchronous learning happens in real time. In asynchronous learning, students can access a folder with content to be completed by specific deadlines. Asynchronous learning is flexible and self-paced. For example, students may view a lesson video recorded by the teacher and engage in other tasks located in a folder. The decision of how to teach learning content, whether synchronous or asynchronous, should be made based on the students' backgrounds, skills, strengths, and needs, as well as the teacher's preferences. Two additional factors should be considered: the nature of the learning task and whether the task would be better implemented synchronously or asynchronously. In addition, teachers should consider the technology available to students and teachers.

(Describer) Anna Drake-Kotz.

To balance that really takes, like, a lot more planning. You're basically like a first-year teacher again, and you have to go through your normal lessons and figure out which ones are suited for that asynchronous to do at home on their own, and then think about, like, for them to be successful, what kind of scaffolds do you have to put in place for them to be able to do that in this new way? And then the things that they have to do hands-on, planning to do those here so you kind of can be adjusting where that lesson takes place and running-- You know, if you're on a hybrid schedule, I almost run two separate groups so that they can do that learning at home that they can and then come apply it here hands-on in the classroom.

(Describer) Jennifer Thompson.

To support student learning, a lot of things that I've used have been from other educators-- amazing resources that I've found in Facebook groups, YouTube videos, tutorials and things that I've been able to then create things for my students, fun songs and videos that help learn vowel sounds or hunk and chunks. Those kinds of things have been extremely valuable. Google Slides, where we can work on something at the same time together, or a Google Doc, where I can put, like, "CH" at the top, and then we can together-- Four different people working on the same document can type different "CH" words. And Schoology has been pretty amazing.

(Describer) In a virtual learning session, students read letters on flashcards.

(child) T...ttt...ttt... S...sss...sss... W...www...www... V...vvv...vvv...

(Describer) Menhorn.

Definitely most effective is direct instruction with the teacher, definitely interacting with the teacher and with other students. They need to be able to have those discussions. They need to be able to, again, have their misconceptions cleared up. I have to be able to give them feedback right away and practice on the things that they need, and it's definitely being with the teacher and being with other students.

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(Describer) A green and blue circle meet and form a Venn diagram. Titles: Blended Learning. Success in blended learning. WGTE Public Media. Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.

Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.