This presentation provides rationale for transforming classrooms into blended learning environments.

1. What’s so important about blended instruction? [And why should you encourage teachers to be involved?] Joanne E. Hopper, Ed. D.LearnPort Blended Instruction Course April 29, 2011

2. Our Vision… We envision a day when all learners are connected through technology-rich environments to learning that prepares them to be confident, creative problem solvers, and global citizens who care about their culture..

4. Apply knowledge to new situations

5. Analyze information

6. Communicate effectively

7. Collaborate – locally and globally

8. Solve problems

10. The Rationale “In a global society, we can no longer afford to provide information from one textbook, one genre, one point of view limited by space, time, and geography.”

11. What the experts have to say about the need to support 21st Century learning.

12. “One of the most important things educators can do is pay attention to what kids are doing with technology when they are not in school.” Alan November

13. “There’s not a kid who gets up in the morning thinking how he can help raise the country’s test scores. Education is very personal.” Sir Ken Robinson

14. Technology needs to be like oxygen: ubiquitous, necessary and invisible. We need to not think about it. It just needs to be there. Chris Lehmann

15. Students and their parents are counting on us to create the conditions in which they can learn the skills needed for a future we can’t yet envision.

16. Being able to read and write multiple forms of media and integrate them into a meaningful whole is the new hallmark of literacy. Jason Ohler, Ed Leadership

17. It’s far more likely that students will learn complex language and sophisticated problem-solving skills – when the fate of a (digital) world depends on it. Gee & Levine, p. 48 Educational Leadership

18. The Changing Role of the Teacher

19. In some cases, the student will be the teacher and the teacher will be the student.

20. Students already know how to use technology to learn, to communicate, to live their lives. Shouldn’t our classrooms foster that ability?

21. An infrastructure for learning unleashes new ways of capturing and sharing knowledge based on multimedia that integrate text, still and moving images, audio, and applications that run on a variety of devices. It enables seamless integration of in and out of school learning. National Educational Technology Plan 2010

22. To stay relevant in the 21st century, education institutions need to keeppace with the rapid changes introduced by digital media. Whatwould it mean to really exploit the potential of the learning opportunities available through online resources and networks? Living and Learning with New Media, November, 2008

23. “Our children can’t wait. The future is now. We need to be preparing them for a future that few of us can even visualize.” Dr. Mark Edwards Former Superintendent Henrico County, VA Public Schools

24. The journey is challenging, but our students are worth it.

25. Creating Blended Learning Opportunities Interested in learning how to help teachers use blended instruction to engage students? Willing to help your teachersjoin a growing group of educators preparing to be 21st century learners and leaders? Find out how.

26. Focus on“Blended Instruction?”

27. What are the tools?

28. What are the tools?

29. What are the tools?

30. What will drive our learning environments? Web 2.0 Virtual Presence Mobile Computing

31. What is the impact of social media?

32. Why go blended? From the students’ point of view How does Joe feel about his non-netbook? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkhpmEZWuRQ What do these students think about traditional instruction versus online learning?http://www.21things4students.net/11-online-learning.html Think about how these opinions shape your thinking about blended instruction.

33. Why go blended? From the teachers’ point of view What do teachers think about blended instruction?A Vision for 21st Century Teachers Video

34. Explore a sample blended course Password: darwinCourse: Science Teacher Resource Exchange

35. Participate in a Poll Visit my blog and participate in a poll: How important is blended instruction to your students?http://joannehopper.edublogs.org/2011/04/26/how-important-is-blended-instruction-to-your-students/

36. Where can teachers learn? LearnPort Blended Instruction Course Provides extensive information and techniques on how to be an effective online instructor. Presented by an expert who models high-quality student engagement and interaction. Explore Learnport.org site

37. “Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future." John F. Kennedy

38. "The rate of change not going to slow down anytime soon. If anything, competition in most industries will probably speed up.“John P. Kotter, Leading Change

39. What is our role in change? “A person who is entitled to lead should be responsible for leading.” Sergiovanni, 2007 Rethinking Leadership

40. “We can re-imagine the system and it’s on our watch. The change starts with us.” Mike Flanagan, State SuperintendentMichigan Department of Education

41. Engage in discussion Share what you have learned with other colleagues in your district. Be prepared to share your reflections and participate in developing a plan for action at the next meeting of our administrative team.

42. Contact: Joanne Hopper, Ed. D. Director of Education Services St. Clair County RESA 499 Range Road Marysville, MI 48040 810-455-4001 hopper.joanne@sccresa.org