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Response to Intervention in the Blended Learning Environment
A Guide to Common Core
Three Strategies for Consistently Engaging Learners
The importance of cultivating a growth mindset with students
Becoming a reflective educator
Developing prosocial behaviors and interactions within the classroom experience
Identifying at-risk learners. Two critical components
Three key factors in igniting the fire in learners
Memories of school veterans. Thank you
Keeping early course finishers engaged
The right curriculum for blended learning
Blended Learning Technology. Selection Process
Students who finish early. Four ways to keep grads-to-be engaged
Generation DIY. Benefits of blended learning that transcend instruction
Generation DIY. Benefits from the Blended Learning homefront
Top 6 Lessons from Madness. NCAA March Madness
Preventing the Dreaded: "Why Do We Need to Learn This?"
8 Blended Learning Space Considerations
5 Favorite Practices for Effective Communication
Second-Order Change: The Blended Learning Mandate
6 Ways to Match Blended Learning Models
Using the SAMR Model in Blended Learning
Planning for 1 to 1 Learning: Making the Blended Learning Model Local
Eight Elite Questions to Ask When Selecting Online Content Providers
Five Tips to Overcome the "January Syndrome" in Professional Development
Blended education: Student-led discussions
Next Generation Learning Spaces eBook offer and conference information
Learning from Reality TV. Five Important Presentation Lessons for Teachers
Six steps to great technology training
Why I’m "Bullish" on Blended Learning
Lessons from the One-Room Schoolhouse
6 Keys to Deliberate Practice in Blended Learning
Top Fifteen Skills Students Need for College and Career Readiness
6 Ways Google Drive Docs Rocks in Blended Education
Effective Instructional Probing Questions
6 Career Types for Personalizing Learning
Back to school thoughts
Using data to inform instruction. Rigor, Relevance, and Results
Teaching to Learn
Social and Emotional learning matters
Infographic: 7 Blended Activities to Start the New Year
Tips for electrifying instruction (even when the lights go out)
Lansing's Woodcreek Achievement Center: Blended Learning ideas to improve reading comprehension
Top Five Blended Learning Tweets (of the summer so far)
Infographic: 8 key points to include in digital citizenship
Deliberate practice makes remember-able perfect
The 'One Minute Manager's' advice to teachers and students
Ways to Get the Most from ISTE 2014
Educators advocate for new programs, more technology, increased funding. 3 simple steps.
7 Favorite Ways Students Like to Learn
Adapting Teacher Observations to Blended Learning Environments
Celebrating Successes. Student Learning in a Blended, Personalized Environment
Teaching in a Blended Environment: 12 Questions for Reflection and Discussion
Great ways to support teachers in blended, personalized, and online learning classrooms
Engagement doesn't necessarily equal buy-in. Working through pushback in Blended Learning environments
Connecting Classroom Instruction to Online Content
Blended Learning Classrooms Start with Blended Learning Professional Development
Top 3 Ways Blended Learning Really Works in Professional Development
Must Follow Organizations Supporting Blended, Personalized Learning
Great Probes for Blended, Personalized, Online Teaching
Four Key Considerations for Selecting Blended, Personalized, and Online Learning Tools
Four Creative Ways to Share the Vision for Blended, Personalized, Online Learning
Series: Planning for Blended and Personalized Learning: Blended Learning Goals
Planning for Blended and Personalized Learning Series: Crafting a Vision
News from the Field: eLearn Magazine – Call for K12 Blended Learning Articles
Does Big Bird "Tweet"? Teaching Generation Z
Five Characteristics of Great Blended Learning Teachers
Empowering Students with the Top Four Blended Learning Models
Three Interrelated Parts of Real Blended Learning
Life blessed me with three wonderful grandkids abounding with more energy and questions than I ever thought possible. I never thought I’d be asked, "Does Big Bird tweet?" These Generation Z enthusiasts have been totally connected to tablets, gaming systems, smart devices and every sort of interactive technology starting, it seems to me, almost from birth. Naturally, they see the world as connected. They expect nearly instantaneous answers and real-time responses. So, it makes sense that they would prefer to learn in a blended environment. To keep this new age of learners from being bored and looking for the next "button to tap," I need to keep this digital lifestyle in mind and plan for how I use it to the students' advantage in the classroom.
Digital Native Doesn’t Equal Digital Citizen
Just because students use new online tools and content faster and with greater ease than we do, doesn’t mean they pause to understand the risks of connections. Take time to teach them "digital citizenry." Help them understand online hazards, how to manage their personal information and online persona(s), protect individual/intellectual property, and what constitutes an appropriate "online connection" in social media and beyond. Gen-Zers collective answer to problem solving is – let’s Google it! They believe the internet holds all answers. Work on discernment, critical thinking skills whenever internet sources are used.
Information Abundance Does Not Equal Basic Skills Automaticity
Do your elementary school kids compute simple math operations with rapid-fire success and sustained recall? How many of your kids still pause when asked what 7 x 8 is? Just because we teach by constructive methodology doesn’t mean we should ignore the importance of skill practice to the point of precision. If I give them a problem to solve, tell them they can use the internet to figure it out, but, they don't have the basic math skills to actually use that information – I set them up for disengagement and devaluing math.
Cheating and Hacking Doesn't Have to Equal Suspension
Gen-Zers applaud each other for finding new ways through games, hacking back-doors or posting videos on where to find answers for quizzes, etc. While I still set the classroom expectations for what my students produce and how they prove they've learned something, I would be "so yesterday", if I didn’t change the way that I teach to accommodate this new approval system. To make this instructional adaptation, I change my conversations with the students and the way I test them. For example, I may give them a set of problems, the resources to solve the problems, and the instructions that I don't care how they come up with the answer. In testing, however, all students know that at any point in time I will ask them to prove what they learned and how they got the answer. They also know that I will ask them that same or related question again, and again, and again, over time and in different ways. And, that they need to answer with precision each time.
Blended Learning Path Options do not have to be Totally Online
Just because I teach in a blended learning environment and my Gen-Z students lead a blended-life, doesn’t mean they want to “blend” everything. It means they want choices and may need help in navigating the changing personal interaction dynamics that this mobile life holds. Technology is still “just a tool.” To survive beyond the K12 systems, students need 21st soft skills and personal interaction skills. I embed the use of these skills in every project, allowing learners to self-select from a required list of personal/group interactions. Then, I use technology for them to accomplish detailed peer reviews and critiques.
I expect to grow this list over time and to share the next four or five idiosyncrasies in future posts. So, as you do today’s challenge, please share questions or commentaries so that together we stay focused on not just blended teaching and learning, but also on the characteristics of the Generation Z students.
Today's Challenge:
What do you find to be the hardest part of teaching, guiding, and working with Generation Z learners? This might be understanding their new languages, staying current with technology, knowing how to best adjust teaching techniques, etc. How best can service providers help you meet these challenges straight on? If you need help getting started or this post has ignited a spark of reconsideration, check out this link to the AdvancePath Advantage Blended Learning Services. Be sure to click on the Getting Started tab.
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