Blended, Flipped and Personalized Learning

As education starts to think about catching up with everything else in today's supremely tech-integrated world, a lot of possibilities are opening up for changing the dynamics of our classrooms.  Technology is introducing an element of flexibility not possible in a traditional classroom, which has benefits for teachers and students.  Here I will take a quick look at three models of tech integration i the classroom - blended, flipped and personalize learning.

Blended Learning

The term blended learning covers a variety of approaches, but the signature feature of blended learning is that it combines online instruction with face-to-face work in the classroom.  This could involve splitting students into groups, with one group watching lectures or taking quizzes online, while other groups work on projects or work with the teacher.  This allows the teacher to focus on smaller groups of students while the others work at their own pace learning online.

This infographic from Knewton has heaps of information about different kinds of blended learning.

Flipped Learning

In a flipped classroom, teachers make use of podcasts, videos and presentation tools to deliver content to students for viewing outside the classroom.  Class time is focused on group work, practicing, solving problems etc.  Using class time to engage with the content viewed at home allows the teacher to provide help where students need it, and solve issues as they arise. 

This video says it all about flipped learning.

Personalized Learning

Personalized learning is student-driven, directed by each student’s interests, learning style and needs.  The pace of learning varies from student to student, as well as the content itself.  Extensive use of online technologies allow teachers to personalize learning for their students instead of fitting every student into one time frame or set of assignments.

Read this chart for some characteristics of personalized learning

http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/personalized-learning-special-report-2014/a-working-definition.html

So what's best for me?

I would love to flip my future high school ELA classroom.  Some tasks that are often set as homework, such as reading practice or writing, would be better done in class so that students can get immediate feedback on their work and correct problems or move on to new challenges as they are ready.  In addition to saving class time, watching videos or presentations outside of class could be more helpful to students than listening to a teacher lecture, as online learning can utilize a variety of media to help students with different learning styles understand the content.  Students who don’t immediately understand a video lecture can easily watch it again, or simply view a different one on the same topic.  Unlike in-person lectures, online videos can also be available for student reference as they are engaging with the topic they learned about.  I could make my own lecture videos or presentations, or make use of some of the fantastic resources already available online – lecturing in class does not allow this kind of flexibility.  When the time comes for students to use what they have learned, I will be on hand to give them immediate feedback, guidance or further challenge.

If you're still not convinced that a flipped classroom is a great idea, here is the mind-blowing video I made about it.

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