President's Message - March 2014

March Message

Even though it is March, it is my first opportunity to wish many of you a "Happy New Year." Have you set any resolutions? Are you sticking to them or are they already a distant memory? I set two New Year's resolutions for myself this year. The first resolution was to eat better and exercise more. Well, I am definitely eating better, but the cold winter has made it difficult to exercise more (and my children's activity schedule!). The second resolution was to think more about math and blended learning. This one I am keeping!

According to the Ministry of Education website, "(B)lended learning uses the tools of the provincial learning management system (LMS) to teach and support learning in a face-to-face class." Blended learning looks different in each class. For example, some blended learning classes have lessons delivered in a traditional manner and make use of the learning management system (LMS) to find due dates, reminders, homework assignments, class notes, and enrichment or remediation materials. In this model, students access the LMS mainly outside of class - before and after school, at lunch, on weekends and holidays, and while absent. Another example of blended learning occurs when teachers have a small bank of computers in their classrooms so that students may take turns using the computers, or they may work in pairs/small groups on some assignments. Some blended-learning teachers have access to enough computers for their entire class. In this case, teachers may deliver the majority of their lessons online and make use of class time to make observations, confer with students, and offer face-to-face instruction to small groups of students.

The benefits of learning math in an online environment are many. As OAME members, we are already aware of electronic resources that support mathematics learning, including CLIPS, www.mathies.ca, Gizmos, and Geometer's Sketchpad&tm;. For me, the power of blended learning is that teachers can increase the usage of these resources and tools in one click. Teachers can provide links to activities and often embed the activities right in the LMS.

I am sure that, like me, many of you are looking for ways to enhance the learning experience for your students. Blended learning provides a vehicle for doing just that. By creating a virtual classroom, we can provide access to resources and learning activities for all students. Blended learning is naturally connected to differentiated instruction. One of the many features of the Desire2Learn (D2L) LMS is the creation of groups. By placing students into groups, teachers can assign developmentally appropriate tasks. But even better than doing work that makes students feel successful, only the students assigned to the group can see what their task is. As a blended-learning teacher, I have created opportunities for my students to be successful, to increase their confidence, and to share their learning in different ways. Blended learning allows me to meet with my students in small groups or individually to ensure concept attainment and promote problem solving.

My students are benefitting from access to learning online. They participate in our class discussions via the discussion tool. They submit their assignments to me via the dropbox tool, receive feedback from me electronically, and can access that feedback whenever they need to do so. My students are also benefitting from the math learning supports provided through the Ontario Education Resource Bank (OERB), which are available for use through D2L. The OERB includes CLIPS activities, OAME-created Financial Literacy lessons, as well as multimedia activities to support student learning for Kindergarten to Grade 12. Homework Help and Gizmos are now directly linked to the class inside D2L. One click provides my intermediate students with access to free online math help.

Blended learning is one way of enhancing the learning experience of my students. I am looking forward to increasing my learning about blended learning, particularly as a way to differentiate instruction to provide enrichment and support for students in both online and face-to-face classrooms. I encourage you to explore ways to enhance student learning in a virtual classroom. As we approach the OAME 2014 Conference, we are reminded to be Champions for Change; I think this includes the classroom locations we use to engage our students in learning.

Citations
Ontario Ministry of Education. (2014). Defining blended learning. Retrieved from href='http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/elearning/blend.html' > www.edu.gov.on.ca/elearning/blend.html

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