2. • Blended Learning looks different for everyone
• You do not have to go all the way—even offering one or two activities as a blended
experience will benefit students
• Don’t be afraid to experiment
• Be forthcoming about what you are doing and why
• Didn’t work? Revise and try again!
• Make sure everyone is properly prepared: be aware of technology needs and pitfalls,
be sure all types of needs are covered—do your homework!
• Before you blend an activity decide if technology enhances it or is just for flash
• Be prepared
• Be flexible
“Here’s some advice. Stay
alive.” Suzanne Collins, The
Hunger Games
Advice from the blender . . .
3. • Take the technology assessment honestly so you are aware of your strengths and
weaknesses
• Do not get behind—time management is essential
• Ask questions and get clarification right away—do not wait!
• Don’t be afraid to try something new—it may become your favorite activity
• There will be things that are confusing or hard, but things worth learning often come
at a cost
“My advice for a person who's just
fallen out of a skyscraper window is,
Flap your arms...faster.” Jodi Kintz,
It Occurred to Me
Advice to the learner . . .
4. Libraries in the Middle
Libraries in the Middle is a Weebly site where
students can participate in blended activities
such as book recommendations and reviews,
mapping of book settings, and finding out book
read-alikes.
My blended environment . . .
5. Book recommendations are
submitted on a form and then
added to the blended
environment. Students can look
at one another’s
recommendations to get reading
ideas
My blended environment . . .
6. Where can a book take you? This
interactive map will allow students to
track the settings of the books they
are reading throughout the school
year.
My blended environment . . .
7. What’s next?
• How-to videos for many of the basic library functions (with closed captioning) will be
added
• Student-created work from blended activities will be added and/or linked
• Co-teaching activities that included blended activities will be showcased
I, the copyright holder of this work, release
this work into the public domain. This
applies worldwide.
Ideas for the future . . .
8. How do participants view blended learning after having participated?
• “It was easy and it allowed me to give feedback towards the books I liked and share
them with other students so they can get something out of it.”
• “It [blended learning] sounds like it could be beneficial toward some people. Those
who are shy about participating in class can give feedback anonymously.”
• “I feel it was useful because it allowed you to share books and it will inspire people to
read them if they find them interesting.”
• “I would [like to participate in blended learning] because I like working with
computers. In this day and age we work a lot with computers and scientists didn’t
invent it not to be used.”
“I think it’s very important to have a
feedback loop, where you’re
constantly thinking about what
you’ve done and how you could be
doing it better.” Elon Musk
Participant feedback . . .
9. I’m changed by blending and I can’t go back . . .
• Now that I have been introduced to blended learning, I look at every opportunity in a
different light. When teachers come to me with a project idea, I turn it over in my head
and find ways that it might be a different or better learning experience with elements
changed and/or redesigned to suit a blended focus.
• As I meet with the other librarians in KPS, I tend to look at the discussions we are
having and wonder how blended learning might enhance our practice and offer
opportunities to the students in our schools that do not have librarians.
• While designing summer activities for my students, I have organized everything
around opportunities to integrate blended learning. My students will have access to
me through Edmodo this summer and we will meet up and learn from one another as
well.
“Change does not roll in on the
wheels of inevitability, but comes
through continuous struggle.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Changes due to blended learning . . .
10. The BLIC class has taught me many new skills and concepts, among them:
• How to close caption of video (!)
• New ways to think about teaching and learning
• Ideas for formative and summative assessment that can be implemented with little
extra effort or change, but a lot of benefit
• Improved time management skills . . . or maybe just a better awareness of how
time management affects teaching and learning in a blended environment
• To be more flexible with my definition of teaching and what learning looks like
• To let go of some of my control and allow myself to be a facilitator while students
begin to drive learning from their own personal interests and angles
“Education is the kindling of a flame,
not the filling of a vessel.” Socrates
New skills and dispositions . . .
