WeAreTeachers Blog

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The term Blended Learning has been tossed around in educational circles for a few years now--- but sometimes it can be tough to put your finger on exactly what it means.  That said, we think it's an important concept for all teachers to understand as it can make a huge impact on student learning.

The simplest definition we found was from The Innosight Institute, which defines blended learning as "any time a student learns at least in part at a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home and at least in part through online delivery with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace."

With that in mind, whenever you're using an online platform that allows student control as part of student learning, you're participating in blended learning.  Simple, right?  So, how can the blended learning concept help your students to learn more effectively?  Greg Long—Senior Vice President of Product Development at Dreambox Learning— recently talked with EdTech Digest about the ins and outs of its thoroughly researched blended learning platform, went into detail about all the ways blended learning can impact student learning.  We summarized five of the many ways below. (Feel free to click over to read the entire article to get more details.) 

1. Blended learning platforms mimic what the best teachers do—creating a learning environment that is similar to one-on-one instruction.
2. Blended learning platforms create a game-like learning experience—where students play and interact with the materials in a fun and interesting way.
3. Blended learning platforms provide consistent assessment without formal tests and quizzes.  Instead, engagement with the platform allows for consistent and effective student evaluation.
4. Blended learning platforms are adaptive and treat each student differently depending on how they interact with the materials—allowing students to learn at the pace and in the style that works best for their individual needs.

Blended learning platforms are fun.  Students actually want to learn because they enjoy the method in which they are learning.

Question for you:  Have you ever used blended learning strategies in your classroom?  If so, tell us how and you could win $100, an iPod Touch and more!  Click here to learn more.