By Nathan Martin
August 13, 2013
For classrooms in the not too distant future, “Blended Learning” will be a term relegated to Wikipedia pages on the history of education and the vernacular of those people who still reference 8-track players and “the World Wide Web.” Students and parents will expect that schools will be defined by learning experiences mixing brick and mortar instruction with the best of online and digital teaching. Blended learning will be part of the implicit definition of “Learning” as much as reading textbooks or studying maps.
Blended learning can be for all students, not just for those in “innovative” classrooms with “rockstar” teachers or in districts with high per-student spending. At Digital Learning Now! we know this shift is coming to the American education system and that it is essential to empower teachers and prepare students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in college and careers.
The Smithsonian Magazine highlighted this shift in a recent article, “The Rise of Blended Learning”—showing how this shift is nation-wide and how students at Stanton Elementary School in Washington D.C. are the latest to benefit from the promise of personalized learning.
It’s a fascinating look into how schools are choosing to adopt blended learning models and the challenges that can come from the new adoption. For the leadership at Stanton, the shift came as they looked for new ways to increase student engagement.
“They kept running across the same mysterious two words: blended learning. ‘We didn’t really know what it was,’ says Principal Caroline John, ‘besides computers.”
While blended learning will be part of the future of education, for now, the experience at Stanton shows that there are still more than a few misconceptions. For principals and teachers, it can be difficult to know where to turn when there are questions about the latest tools to help in the classroom. It’s one reason why we decided to release the Digital Learning Now! Smart Series, addressing the shift to digital learning.
The Blended Learning Implementation Guide shows that blended learning is a mindset more than just computers, and provides easy step-by-step instructions to help harness the benefits of digital learning for any school.
Deborah Simmons in the Washington Times followed up the piece in the Smithsonian with an excellent column this month digging into the story behind the Stanton Shift. It’s a fascinating look into the exciting things happening in Southeast DC, and a reminder that blended learning can truly benefit all students.
Indeed, that students who attend a public school in an impoverished section of the District are using computers on a daily basis proves school officials, principals and students are moving in the right direction.
Example No. 1: Stanton Elementary School, where 98 percent of youngsters are black, 99 percent receive free or reduced-price meals and 14 percent of the student body is considered special needs. The school is wedged between one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods, Congress Heights, and one of its wealthier and most stable, Hillcrest Heights (which the mayor calls home).
A chronically underperforming school, Stanton was reconstituted in 2010. Today, third- through fifth-graders spend 45 minutes of learning time on computers and iPads working at their own pace on their math studies.
Stanton Elementary School and Deborah Simmons prove what we already know — online and blended learning is for students of all backgrounds.
The future of learning will include Blended Learning, but for now, it’s worth revisiting our latest Smart Series paper, “Online Learning: Myths, Reality & Promise” as other districts and schools consider following Stanton Elementary and making the shift.