Blended+Learning

= = =[|Power Up for Blended Learning]= Presenters:
 * //Embed Your Library in Every Online Class//**
 * Melissa Higgs-Horwell**, INFOhio eLearning Specialist
 * Erica Clay**, INFOhio ILibrarian

= What is Blended Learning? = Very basically, blended learning is combining classroom instruction with online instruction. The online portion is done on the student's own time and/or at their own pace. It can include watching videos, reading articles, taking quizzes and posting comments or essays.


 * F****lip teaching** is a form of blended learning in which students learn new content online by watching video lectures, usually at home, and what used to be homework (assigned problems) is now done in class with teachers offering more personalized guidance and interaction with students, instead of lecturing. See Flipped Classroom Tools for more flip teaching resources.

= = = Platforms for Blended Learning = Here are some platforms that can be used to incorporate blended learning into your instruction:

=[|Learning Management Systems (LMS)-]= Follow the link above for a more in-depth article on Learning Management Systems.

Our district is currently using Microsoft Teams as an LMS.

Here are two free learning management systems that are recommended by INFOhio. Several of our teachers at the High School are using these. They have a social component and allow interaction between teachers and students. Visually, they look very similar to Facebook. The links below have videos demonstrating how they work.


 * [|Edmodo]** provides a safe and easy way for your class to connect and collaborate, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices.
 * [|Schoology]** is an innovative learning management system (LMS) and social network that makes it easy to create and share academic content.

Another award winning platform is [|Classflow] - an “all-in-one” teaching & lesson orchestration tool for delivering interactive multi-media lessons across connected classrooms. ( 2014 Tech & Learning - Best of Show Award )

=Online Courses and Lessons (also see Online Textbooks)-= media type="youtube" key="iTqantAbjlk" width="560" height="315" = = =Wikis and Websites= If you do not want to use a learning management system, you can still incorporate blended learning through your classroom wiki or website. If you do not have a class website, follow the links above for more information on how to create one. Below are two sites that were recommended by INFOhio:
 * If you want something pre-made,
 * [|Khan Academy] - offers practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. We tackle math, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more.
 * If you want to create your own,
 * [|Versal] is a platform to build online courses combining text, video, quizzes and interactive graphics and simulations. It is a browser based, user friendly canvas where you can assemble a complete course or short lessons and homework assignments, then embed them virtually anywhere on the web (Including Edmodo).
 * TES Teach (formerly Blendspace )is a connected space where students and teachers can organize, present and share information. Gather, annotate and share presentations easily by dragging and dropping images, movies, maps, audio and text and embedding hyperlinks onto a blank canvas. Use multiple frames on each canvas to pre-teach a topic, provide 1:1 and differentiated instruction, and share pathfinders and explore connections. Use your own content or search on the Internet, without leaving the Blendspace page to create collaborative projects. Teachers can search and use [|lessons] created by other teachers. Compatible with **__Edmodo__** groups. Older elementary and secondary students can create collaborative projects by copying individual canvases to make a complete dynamic canvas. Grades 6-12. ( AASL 2013 Best Websites for Teaching and Learning )
 * If you want both,
 * [|Sophia] is a place where you can store and your students can access your online lessons, media and tutorials. Sophia is an online library of lessons and tutorials in all subjects created by teachers for classroom use. Sophia also allows teachers to create their own lessons and deposit them into libraries the teacher creates. This makes it easy to guide students to your lessons. Sophia is a powerful way of "flipping" your classroom, allowing students to view lessons anytime from a computer with Internet access.

Wikispaces - One of the most popular wiki creators that is free for education. Can also be made private (password protected). B e sure to sign up for the EDUCATORS account! Connie Spurlock created our Media Center Wiki using Wikispaces.

[|Weebly] - Excellent site for creating a classroom website or blog that has a secure educational environment. Also, very easy to use (drag-n-drop) and the ability to password-protect your site as well. For help in using Weebly, see [|Creating a Free Website] (thanks to Nora MacFarlane). = = Also, don't forget about Edlio which is used by our school district. See [|Creating Teacher Pages in Edlio]. This is a great tutorial to get started. (Thanks, Mr. Sams!)

= EMBEDDING RESOURCES = Once you have a platform, you can start embedding material to share with your students. Here are some INFOhio resources that you can be embed directly into your LMS or website. These resources will include videos, articles, RSS feeds, diagrams and charts, widgets and research tools.

For other ideas, see [|How to Embed Almost Anything in your Website]

[|INFOhio] -
This is where you want to start. Contact Pam Hopkins at the High School if you need the username and password to connect from home.

= Articles =

[|EBSCO] -
Are you looking for informational texts to use with your students? EBSCO is a great resource! There are a few ways you can embed EBSCO articles onto your LMS or website:

1. You can download, then upload articles directly to your site. Select "PDF Full Text", then "save". You can then upload to your site. == = = 2. You can provide a permalink that takes students to the exact page on EBSCO. Click on the article you want to use. Scroll down and find "Persistent link to this record (Permalink)" in the left-hand column. Copy the URL, then paste onto your site. [|D-Day Plus 70 Years]

3. You can also add RSS feeds from EBSCO to your site. See below.

= = = Diagrams and Charts = Charts and Diagrams can also be embedded from INFOhio. Follow the same directions as above for journal articles. Here are some examples:

from Science Online
Uploading a PDF

from Points of View Reference Center
Using a permalink - Follow the permalink then select "PDF Full Text" [|School Violence Chart] (Using a permalink)

= = = RSS Feeds = RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is **a format for delivering regularly changing web content**, sorted by date. Embedding an RSS feed onto your LMS or website would be a great way to provide your students with up-to-date informational texts for the topics you are teaching. Go to the RSS Feeds page for more information.

= Videos = (ALSO SEE Videos Online- FREE or YouTube- Best Bets) =[|Digital Video Collection] -= has thousands of digital videos broken into segments that can be downloaded or embedded into your LMS or website. Select the video you wish to use, then scroll down to the bottom of the page. Click the blue "embed codes" button. Copy the code, then paste into your site. Below is an example of how it will look. =media type="custom" key="26055102"=

= Widgets = Widgets are mini-applications that may be embedded in websites, blogs, wikis, Nings, etc. They are often dynamic and interactive. Many of the resources listed above could be considered widgets. Other examples of widgets might be: calculators, dictionaries, search engines, maps and much more! To learn more about widgets, go to our Widgets wiki page. = = R4S is an entire course that is designed to be used in a blended learning environment, combining the online delivery of educational content with classroom interaction and live instruction. It is designed for high school students grades 11 and 12. Upon completion of R4S, students will have the skills to conduct research successfully in college and careers. To accommodate institutions using learning management systems, INFOhio is developing widgets for each module that can be imported into any course management system. The widgets are available to educators who have registered. R4S can be found on the INFOhio home page.
 * = [|Research 4 Success] Widgets=

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