Showcase: A Westerville Teacher Discusses Blended Learning

Blended Learning and Personalized Learning are two of the more recent ways of visualizing instructional practices that meet the needs of all learners. While the theory behind these concepts - that all students should have content and activities that meet their needs available to them - is an easy one to grasp, the practice of setting up a classroom to differentiate for all students can be more than a little daunting. Heather Griffith, a 4th grade teacher at Fouse Elementary has been using Blended and Personalized learning techniques along with flexible seating to better meet the needs of her students. In this Showcase Video you will hear about:

- A typical day in the classroom

- How 2:1 Technology makes a difference

- Why set a class up this way? 

- How flexible seating helps these strategies

- Struggles and successes

- Recommended starting points for teachers looking to shift their teaching style

It is worth your time to watch the whole video, but if you are pressed for time you can skip to the points that most interest you by looking for the orange question bubbles in the video. 

Additionally, example materials are included below that were used to help organize the classroom and guide students in their activities. 

Daily plan for students to schedule their independent work time

Schedule from teacher perspective

Schoology and Google Classroom continue to move closer together with what they are capable of. Schoology has added Classroom-like functionality this year. For more on anything you saw, contact your ed-tech coach!

Using E-Portfolios in the Classroom

For years teachers have displayed their students' work on school walls and bulletin boards. However with the new digital age and more schools going paperless student work has become more easily shareable, accessible and more easily organized.  

Both students and educators need to share their achievements and to reflect on what they learn. Portfolios provide them with the ability to quickly and easily collect, organize, and share their work with others.

Schoology makes this feature fun and streamlined with their new e-PORTFOLIO feature. Located in your Schoology personal profile, portfolios make it easy to showcase students’ work, interests, and talents.

Above is a sample collage of items that were easily shared in the student’s Schoology portfolio. 

If you would like to try the ePortfolio feature but would like a help getting started, please contact your EdTech Integration Coach.