Blended Bulletin, Issue 14

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with many teachers to work on blended learning designs using Education Elements' "core four" as a framework. Starting with Hartford's vision of placing students at the center of their learning, teachers developed problem statements to finish the thought, "I need a way to..."
To solve the problem, they then considered tactics in the areas of Small Group Instruction, Data Driven Decisions, Integrated Digital Content, and Student Reflection. I enjoyed many fruitful conversations and appreciated the teachers' willingness to be innovative practitioners.

In reflecting on these meetings, I was struck by the thought of how important it is to continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in our teaching and in our students' learning. Often, this idea is captured as "growth mindset," and while I think that is an important theory, I would like to offer a more practical approach. In brainstorming new teaching and learning designs, it would have been easy for the teachers to stick to the phrasing, "I wish that..." However, in our discussions, we mostly spoke through "What if..." and "How can I..." If you stick with wishes, no matter how positively intentioned they are, you run the danger of waiting for a new reality. Implicit in "I wish that..." is the idea that you do not have the agency or capacity to achieve the wish. In "What Ifs" and "How can I's," there is a promise that you will act to make your idea a reality. As we continue to innovate in our teaching, I would encourage this community to keep asking "What if..?" and then, "How can I...?" to make student-centered learning the reality in Hartford.

Cool Tools

For yet another way to produce instructional, Khan Academy-style videos, try using Office Mix. This is an add-on that will appear right in the menu when you open PowerPoint. Because it is built into PowerPoint, Office Mix has the added benefit of familiarity; therefore, it is quick and easy to use. It also has some built-in editing features, though not to the same extent as some other tools. Here is an article that explains how to use it. The new way to create flipped video in 60 seconds without adding software.

Professional Learning

Can a Truly Student-Centered Education Be Available to All? discusses the reality of public demand and skepticism of student-centered learning.

5 Ways to Build a Student Agency in the Digital Age shares ways to ensure students are building a sense of self in school, rather than losing it.