Blended Learning
Breaking Down Barriers
April 13, 2015
In simple terms, blended learning is a strategy to combine technology-based instruction with traditional, teacher-to-student lessons. And it exists everywhere in school districts these days. This special report, “Blended Learning: Breaking Down Barriers,” examines how K-12 systems are overcoming the challenges related to this approach.
- Classroom Technology Colo. System Lets Individual Schools Shape Ed-Tech BuyingA Colorado district has given its schools significant leeway in making decisions about buying blended learning software, despite the challenges in ceding purchasing authority.
Classroom Technology D.C. Favors Centralized, But Flexible Ed-Tech BuyingThe District of Columbia school system arranged to purchase a blended learning software program, ST Math, through its central office, but left decisions whether to adopt it to individual schools.IT Infrastructure & Management Businesses Build Online Wi-Fi Network in Ga. School DistrictA network of about 50 businesses and facilities in Forsyth County, Ga., are advertising themselves as offering free Wi-Fi to students who are seeking to continue their blended-learning lessons outside school.Teaching Wi-Fi Hubs on Buses Connect Students in TransitAn Arizona school system is one of a number of districts around the country to install Wi-Fi devices on its school buses, with the goal of allowing students to schoolwork during their rides to and from school.IT Infrastructure & Management District Loans Out Wireless Hubs to Bring Students OnlineThe Green Bay, Wisc., district allows students, many of them from poor backgrounds, to check out mobile, wireless hotspots so that they have the Web connectivity to do online assignments.Classroom Technology Creating an Out-of-School Wireless CommunityThe Kent, Wash., school district has placed kiosks that beam free Wi-Fi in locations across the community, including public housing, to give students who lack home Internet access more options for doing homework and school research.Classroom Technology Report Summary: Breaking Down Barriers to Blended LearningThis report examines some of the most intractable challenges schools face in trying to use technology to improve teaching and learning—and how K-12 systems are attempting to clear those hurdles.
Teaching District Extends Wi-Fi to Students in Public HousingThe Kent, Wash., district has set up kiosks with Web connectivity across the community, including public-housing complexes, to help students take part in blended learning away from school.
Classroom Technology Districts Weigh Control Over Software BuyingSchool leaders and researchers often disagree about who should have the ultimate decisionmaking authority over buying blended learning software—central district offices, or individual schools?
Teacher Preparation Ohio District Creates a Lab for Blended LearningIn Mentor, Ohio, teachers test out and refine blended learning best practices in the “Catalyst,” a laboratory for educators to observe each other at work.Classroom Technology K-12 Librarians' Roles Shift to Meet Digital DemandsA school district in Vancouver, Wash., has recast the duties of librarians to serve as experts in technology and blended learning strategies, capable of training peers on the use of digital tools.
School Climate & Safety Chicago School Designed With Blended Learning in MindAt the Intrinsic Schools' first permanent campus, students and teachers are working in spaces designed to support blended learning and a mix of individualized and group instruction.Classroom Technology Blended Learning Research Yields Limited ResultsDrawing conclusions about what works in blended learning is difficult, because of the amorphous nature of the term, rapid changes in technology and how it is used, and other factors.
