{"id":5811,"date":"2015-05-22T11:30:08","date_gmt":"2015-05-22T15:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=5811"},"modified":"2022-04-22T10:50:17","modified_gmt":"2022-04-22T14:50:17","slug":"blended-learning-teacher-empowerment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/blended-learning-teacher-empowerment\/","title":{"rendered":"Blended learning and teacher empowerment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Getting educators to a place of power with a powerful method<\/h2>\n

\"blendedWhen I think about educational technology, it has never for me been divorced from pedagogy. \u00a0As soon as I encounter a new digital tool, although it might attract me at first based on its novelty, my mind immediately jumps to the connection of how can I use this with my students to __________. \u00a0I fill in that blank with all manner of things to include: uncover what they’ve learned, inspire deep thinking, provide a visual prompt or clue, create an engaging hook, etc. \u00a0So, sometimes I’m taken aback when colleagues suggest teachers who embrace technology “tool hop” without any intentionality or simply like to play with then next new, shiny toy.<\/p>\n


\nOften, those same colleagues see blended learning, a mix of traditional face-to-face and digital tools for instruction and assessment, as a method that\u00a0diminishes a teacher’s role\u00a0<\/a>and cedes control of the learning to the computer.<\/p>\n

I would direct those who believe so to read this definition of blended learning by\u00a0Susan Patrick<\/a>:
\n“Blended learning<\/i>\u00a0is a delivery system that utilizes the best of online learning tools and resources to shift the instructional model toward student-centered, highly personalized approaches. \u00a0Blended learning makes it easier for teachers to be empowered with technologies that allow personalization.”<\/p>\n

It is this message of empowerment through the use of technology to personalize instruction that I want to convey to all those teachers who remain skeptical about technology in education.<\/p>\n

\"blended<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In\u00a0Five Steps to a Successful Blended Learning Program<\/a><\/i>, Sari Factor describes the teacher as the most important factor in determining student success in a blended learning environment and advises that “with data generated from online tools and resources, teachers can pinpoint individual student needs and focus on high-value activities” to include:<\/p>\n