Bobbe,
You bring up a great point. Teaching to the different learning styles is key if we are to grasp and hold the learners attention. Breaking up lectures and limiting the length of PowerPoints then interweaving interactive segments in which the students create something that reinforces the concepts taught is a great way to keep students focused and on topic. Are you planning on incorporating SlideShare into your lesson plan?
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
Using blended-learning techniques can assit students that have different learning abilities. It also allows the class not to get boring and students will interact more.
They help you reach more students. Everyone has a different style of learning and by adopting blending learning techniques I feel that you can reach more students.
I try to split up my lectures into 15 min time blocks. Every 15 min, I try to switch gears and teach with a different approach, for example lecturing on a given subject, then watching a short video on that subject and seeing that subject hands on.
The biggest way it can aid in delivering the curriculum in the class is by allow students the ability to interact in different ways and make the class more interesting. Incorporating different technologies can allow for more interaction of students.
many students learn in different ways. blended learning techniques are another tool to reach students
Jason,
Yes, I agree. Rotating various methods of content delivery ensures you are reaching visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and read-write learners.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
I think pictures, videos, and even a real example that you can put into a students hands helps stimulate all the senses and helps different learning styles. It also helps shift thinking during lecture to aid in learning.
Scott,
Have you ever considered using Flipped Classroom techniques? That would allow you to put your lectures on videos and spend class time helping students with projects or who are hung up on a particular topic.
Wendy
We have always believed in changing media to keep our students engaged, especially for those with a short attention span. But there truly is a benefit of incorporating blended-learning techniques for other reasons. It broadens the curriculum by appealing to different student's learning styles. It is much more stimulating, and activates deeper understanding. It also keeps the instructor engaged.
I think the traditional classroom can give a good foundation to a course. I have provided in class PowerPoint presentations with fill-in handouts to keep the students engaged in the "lecture", but have provided online interactive tutorials ( that I created from in class material) for students to review and test themselves on the information provided in the lecture. The courses I currently teach are very factual, but if I were teaching courses that could be enhanced by viewing online videos and class blogging I would certainly utilize those types of technology.
Lee,
I agree. Keeping the instructor engaged is something that has not been discussed much here in the forum, but yes, this does happen when teaching a course becomes monotonous and new activities are rarely infused. Blended learning activities can be a great way to incorporate more active learning exercises into a class and keep the interest of both the student and the instructor.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
I concur with the blended learning techniques as well because it provides different ways to reach certain students.
We use Engrade for keeping up with our grades and it is very multifacet in its capabilities. I use it a lot with my students with pop quizes, and for study guides. I upload video's and flash cards for them to help them in retaining the information.
Not all information given is the most esciting, yet very important. When getting ready to on this topic, opening up with hands on or live examples to get the students intrigued helps with student interaction throughout the topic
Arthur,
Good point. Asking students to engage with the online content and interact with each other outside of class time may at first appear daunting to the students. By introducing the platform in a non-threatening way, you are presenting blended learning in a non-threatening way.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
Arthur,
Good point. Asking students to engage with the online content and interact with each other outside of class time may at first appear daunting to the students. By introducing the platform in a non-threatening way, you are presenting blended learning in a non-threatening way.
Wishing you continued success in the classroom.
Theresa Schmitt
Blended-learning techniques can aid delivering my curriculum by reaching students who are shy, not outgoing. They can feel comfortable expressing their ideas and thoughts outside of the classroom. They might have fear to ask questions in front of the class and I can answer questions through my message boards delivering the parts of the curriculum that were missed by some students.
I believe that a necessity in education is trying new things and adapting to your students needs. That is why blended learning techniques are so important and should be implemented in the classroom as much as possible.
Megan
Adopting blended-learning techniques makes it easier for students with a variety of learning styles to master the material. They also help maintain student interest, especially later in the evening - I teach until 11pm.
