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Blended Learning in Action: A Practical Guide Toward Sustainable Change
Shift to blended learning to transform education Ìý Ìý
Blended learning has the power to reinvent education, but the transition requires a new approach to learning and a new skillset for educators. Loaded with research and examples, Blended Learning in Action demonstrates the advantages a blended model has over traditional instruction when technology is used to engage students both inside the classroom and online. Readers will
Blended learning has the power to reinvent education, but the transition requires a new approach to learning and a new skillset for educators. Loaded with research and examples, Blended Learning in Action demonstrates the advantages a blended model has over traditional instruction when technology is used to engage students both inside the classroom and online. Readers will
224 pages, Paperback
Published October 13, 2016
103 people are currently reading
223 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 7, 2017
Great philosophy. It made for a really nice book study.
June 15, 2018
Anyone from any level in the organization (from educator, Tech Director, Superintendent, to school board) interested in shifting education and blending learning, should have this in their library. It is a resource filled with so many excellent ideas, processes, questions, and implementation ideas, that you’d be sorry not to have this at your side.
December 4, 2016
I have everything Catlin Tucker publishes and ordered this as soon as it went to print! This is a great text for school districts and individual teachers alike who are just starting out on the blended learning movement. Districts that are already BYOD or 1:1 might not find as *much* in here as those who are in the beginning stages of moving toward blended learning. With that said, this is a must-read for every administrator of a blended school or a district that tout technology or 21st century learning as one of their main priorities. Our district has been BYOD for three years (four for us pilot teachers), and even still, there were plenty of takeaways for me including a gold-mine of a chapter on what blended learning actually looks like in the classroom. With its list of ideas to implement in the classroom tomorrow, this chapter alone makes this book worth the purchase!
June 23, 2017
Thoughtful Examination of Blended Learning
I chose this rating because the text had research to validate its assertions. The pace was comfortable and I could skip around and read the parts that I was interested in and the order that made sense to me . This would be a good fit for people who are interested in blended learning, and who would like an overall picture of the topic. The real-life examples were also very helpful.
I chose this rating because the text had research to validate its assertions. The pace was comfortable and I could skip around and read the parts that I was interested in and the order that made sense to me . This would be a good fit for people who are interested in blended learning, and who would like an overall picture of the topic. The real-life examples were also very helpful.
January 11, 2019
This book is absolutely an essential guide for those exploring Blended and Personalized Learning initiatives. The"roadmap" the authors provide is exactly what many leaders are looking for.
Instructional coaches and school leaders should review this book as a team to gain a common understanding of just what blended and personalized learning can do for a classroom and for an entire campus and how to begin.
Instructional coaches and school leaders should review this book as a team to gain a common understanding of just what blended and personalized learning can do for a classroom and for an entire campus and how to begin.
February 4, 2018
Catlin's book has revolutionized my classroom! She gives practical strategies for creating a flipped or blended classroom where students become responsible for their own learning and the teacher is more of a facilitator or coach. Her resources and strategies for learning stations are awesome....loved this book and keep it near my desk!
November 7, 2016
This book had some good information, especially for readers with limited background knowledge. It's not a specific or particularly practical resource for a classroom teacher who wants to expand blended learning within a class.
June 4, 2017
Practical tips for implementing blended learning.
September 12, 2017
great practical guide to transform your school into a blended learning environment
May 20, 2021
P. 62 where to find apps and Ed tech tools .
P. 73 create a class resource folder like Google drive with viewing only, start a Pinterest or pamphlet, help students create a favorites folder, use drive or ever note to help students create and maintain online binders, create and share a personalized planning document for both teacher and student can post a targeted skill in accompanying digital resource
P74 whole group rotation
P 80 what drive student learning? Ted talk the puzzle of motivation by Daniel pink
Page 81 uncommon learning by Erin Sheninger
Page 85 online blogging/discussion rubric for use in a learning management system blog Twitter back channels today’s meet pamphlet etc.
Page 137 crowdsourcing information on a topic for 15 minutes followed by a 10 to 15 minute video or documentary explaining the topic they crowd sourced students take notes as they watch the video for current events pre-novel or holidays
Drag and drop lesson template on Google drawing page 139
Page 142 class dojo to monitor with her students her on task during online work or for recording real world homework
P.151-152 flipped vocabulary lesson for Spanish 3-4
P 155 websites to check out
P157 Ted Ed lesson plans
P158 video links and today’s meet back channel
P. 73 create a class resource folder like Google drive with viewing only, start a Pinterest or pamphlet, help students create a favorites folder, use drive or ever note to help students create and maintain online binders, create and share a personalized planning document for both teacher and student can post a targeted skill in accompanying digital resource
P74 whole group rotation
P 80 what drive student learning? Ted talk the puzzle of motivation by Daniel pink
Page 81 uncommon learning by Erin Sheninger
Page 85 online blogging/discussion rubric for use in a learning management system blog Twitter back channels today’s meet pamphlet etc.
Page 137 crowdsourcing information on a topic for 15 minutes followed by a 10 to 15 minute video or documentary explaining the topic they crowd sourced students take notes as they watch the video for current events pre-novel or holidays
Drag and drop lesson template on Google drawing page 139
Page 142 class dojo to monitor with her students her on task during online work or for recording real world homework
P.151-152 flipped vocabulary lesson for Spanish 3-4
P 155 websites to check out
P157 Ted Ed lesson plans
P158 video links and today’s meet back channel
October 2, 2020
Effective digital learning and blended learning require a mindset shift for the teacher and for the student.
� The teacher has to shift from being a lecturer or owner of information to a facilitator of learning
� The student has to shift from being a passive recipient to an active owner of their own learning.
It falls to us, as teachers, to build a culture in our classroom (however it is defined) that promotes this mindset shift. No amount of technology utilization—you can use all the fun programs you want—will make digital learning/blended learning effective without this mindset shift.
Digital learning environments require educators to understand the student holistically. When done well, digital learning/blended learning fosters student ownership, leverages student agency, and provides a more personalized learning environment.
� The teacher has to shift from being a lecturer or owner of information to a facilitator of learning
� The student has to shift from being a passive recipient to an active owner of their own learning.
It falls to us, as teachers, to build a culture in our classroom (however it is defined) that promotes this mindset shift. No amount of technology utilization—you can use all the fun programs you want—will make digital learning/blended learning effective without this mindset shift.
Digital learning environments require educators to understand the student holistically. When done well, digital learning/blended learning fosters student ownership, leverages student agency, and provides a more personalized learning environment.
July 1, 2021
In this overview and game plan for Blended Learning authors outline how to create system-wide change and classroom change. The best chapters were by Catlin Tucker where she explains multiple strategies for different rotations, and she includes examples from her own ELA classroom. As a teacher during and after the pandemic, this mindset shift of being facilitator in the classroom instead of the holder of knowledge allows me to see new ways students can apply my classroom content. Tucker also includes URLs to blog posts with resources that I can still use. I would highly recommend this book to any educator since the authors outline several ways to meaningfully use technology in the class. After the pandemic, I know we will all be looking to strike a balance between online and offline classroom tasks.
July 27, 2021
This is not the first book I’ve read for Blended Learning so I was really looking for a set of strategies and a guide for developing lessons that didn’t require hours of prep. This book reads more like someone’s thesis on why you should be considering Blended Learning.
Also, I found the images to be difficult to read - in fact, The Roadmap that they refer to a lot in the book was completely illegible and therefore useless. I also did not care for the technicality of the writing - why use the word onboarding to mean training? It threw me every time. There were a lot of cases where the words were just too clinical and I felt it was not relatable.
That being said, it presents a strong argument for Blended Learning and it is useful for that if you need more information on what it is and why you should try it.
Also, I found the images to be difficult to read - in fact, The Roadmap that they refer to a lot in the book was completely illegible and therefore useless. I also did not care for the technicality of the writing - why use the word onboarding to mean training? It threw me every time. There were a lot of cases where the words were just too clinical and I felt it was not relatable.
That being said, it presents a strong argument for Blended Learning and it is useful for that if you need more information on what it is and why you should try it.
November 21, 2021
This book has some great ideas for combining technology tools with pedagogy to incorporate more variety and student choice into lessons. For example, in my 7th grade Music Appreciation class, I took some ideas from the station rotation model and in-class flipped learning model in this book to create a lesson where students learn new content from a video, compose music with skills from previous lessons, explore new instruments, and complete a formative assessment, all within a 45 minute class period. Some of these activities used technology, and others did not. The students loved it, and they were learning, creating, and being assessed simultaneously. This is not the kind of book that hands you a lesson plan like that; it's the kind that helps you think creatively about how to create a lesson plan like that with new tools.
November 26, 2018
Although this text offers some practical considerations and resources for implementing a blended learning model in education, there are not enough examples provided regarding scaffolding or tailoring the instruction for struggling students. The text reiterates that blended learning can offer teachers more 1-on-1 time with students, and it provides more time for teacher attention with students (e.g. small groups or 1-on-1). However, it does not provide practical examples. The related videos are somewhat helpful, but they appear to be selling more applications (i.e. StudySync) rather than providing a model for how to implement blended learning in the classroom.
May 18, 2020
“The majority of students absolutely need schools. They need schools to provide structure, support, coaching, and positive role models. They need schools to create a healthy environment and facilitate learning. However, they no longer need schools that prioritize the transfer of information.� -p. 191
I read this book hoping for specific lesson suggestions, tools, and resources. I got a little of that, but mostly what I got were good reminders and roadmaps for what good education looks like. Blended learning is about more than the tools: it is about the purpose of education in general and the shifting role of what it means to be an effective teacher.
I read this book hoping for specific lesson suggestions, tools, and resources. I got a little of that, but mostly what I got were good reminders and roadmaps for what good education looks like. Blended learning is about more than the tools: it is about the purpose of education in general and the shifting role of what it means to be an effective teacher.
October 14, 2018
I imagine this would have been more helpful if I had not already been thrust into a blended learning school and was just starting out. The majority was in implementing technology in school, and I was hoping it would have more specifics. But the strategy section we're using in the faculty group was clear and straightforward with its strategies.
February 21, 2020
Broad strokes for implementation without micromanaging lack the details for newer teachers without the experience to create their own. A good model for creating a new way to generate lessons that students can relate to while managing their own learning with guidance and internal motivations balanced against traditional models and opportunities currently used in education.
June 3, 2019
This book provides a practical road map for implementing blended learning in a school. I would say that teachers should start elsewhere if looking for specific strategies to use in class since this book has a broader focus.
June 17, 2020
A very readable guide to blended education (dividing time between actual and virtual classrooms) as part of a vision for student centred learning. It begins with the theory but quickly moves to usable practical examples.
June 23, 2020
I was looking for a book to help me navigate my new reality of online teaching. This did give some insight but not much help with what I actually need to do. I did find the recommendation for an Academic Bootcamp for students helpful, and I plan to mention it to my principal.
June 27, 2020
Good ideas, but focused more on a school-wide approach rather than individual strategies I want to implement in my classroom this fall. Looking forward to reading her other blended learning books that are more focused on classroom activities!
August 3, 2020
The measure of any good professional development is how easy it is to quickly apply the knowledge in the classroom. The end of the book did that a little better than the beginning, but with this crazy COVID school world we are about to embark upon, it was time well spent.
February 15, 2021
Probably more useful for school and district leadership teams looking for guidance on how to implement a school or district wide blended learning program than for individual teachers wanting ideas to apply to their own classrooms.
July 27, 2017
Especially great resource for a team trying to start or integrate technology into curriculum. If you are already there, a great resource to share with colleagues as evidence of best practices.
January 24, 2019
This book has great resources and ideas for either creating a blended class or adding blended elements to your class.
July 26, 2020
This is becoming the reality in education.
September 7, 2020
Good basic intro!
September 28, 2020
Tangible advice throughout. An excellent read for the modern educator.
October 15, 2020
COVID changed teaching
Professional learning plan
Blended learning = good
Professional learning plan
Blended learning = good
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