Blended Learning & The Teaching Profession

Just in time to bust a myth that reared its ugly head in the closing keynote at the ASU/GSV Summit, Digital Learning Now! today released the “Blended Learning & The Teaching Profession.” The infographic shows how blended learning is not about replacing teachers with technology, but rather empowering them with new opportunities.  The infographic previews the next DLN Smart Series paper “Improving Conditions & Careers: How Blended Learning Will Improve the Teaching Profession” that will be released later this month.
Click here to download the infographic

Blended Learning & Teaching Infographic

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5 Comments

Kecia Waddell
4/20/2013

I envision a day when teaching & learning in the public school sector--and truly teaching and learning in general-- will always mean "blended." I would say that SOME PORTION of teaching and learning to a great extent already is computer-assisted. WHO DOESN'T go FIRST to the web for teaching and learning resources before, after or during instruction or training?
Further, in light of this infographic, I envision a school setting that would make an assessment of their TEACHERS' specialized strengths and would allow them to use those strengths to impact student achievement, since technology will have made it possible for teachers to have individualized data on each of their students' needs. For example, my strength as a teacher is technology-integrated instructional design and training. So I would serve to collaborate with teachers to design content for their F2F classes, and assist teachers with locating digital content. If Mr. Teacher X's strength was in his rapport with kids, Mr. Teacher X would serve to make the teaching and support staff aware of what human challenges beyond how a student's data might present otherwise. Teachers could be moved around within and between schools in a district as was feasible depending on the size of the school district. Teachers willingness to work in such a model would be key to its success. The human relations of teachers towards their peers and students will always be the "secret sauce" within a fully effectively functioning blended learning or training environment no matter WHAT awesome ubiquitous technological tools are still yet to come.

Christina Mobley
4/23/2013

I agree with all of the benefits of blended teaching, but I'm curious why increased salary is part of the benefits. I don't see this happening in my district/state. Unless salaries are tied to testing and that blended teaching has shown to increase test scores (I'm sure it would if done right).

Carri Schneider
4/23/2013

Thanks for your comments Kecia. We definitely agree about the importance of teachers in the equation, and we're hoping this infographic and forthcoming paper will clear up any misconceptions from teachers who haven't yet realized the potential of blended learning to improve their opportunities.

Carri Schneider
4/23/2013

Thanks for your comment Christina. The full paper that will launch in a couple of weeks will go into more detail about pay, but in the meantime you can check out Public Impact's Opportunity Culture work. The paper is co-authored by Bryan & Emily Hassel of Public Impact and we consider them to be real experts on the topic of teaching models that can improve conditions - including pay. http://opportunityculture.org -> The video on this page is a great starting point.
The full paper will launch in a couple of weeks & will be available with the other DLN Smart Series papers here: http://www.digitallearningnow.com/dln-smart-series/

Ginger Brindey
5/16/2013

As an older teaching professional, I have found all of the technology very difficult to keep up with. I am a learner who needs to write things down to learn them, and even with 2-3 hour inservices, I find that if I don't have time to use it right away, I forget what I've learned. Personally, it is a very frustrating situation, but I'm sure easier for those who are younger since they grew up with it.

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