# Blended Learning in K-12/Blended Learning In Grades 7-8

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## Blended Learning Grades 7--8

As students mature and can handle learning without constant teacher
attention, online applications may become more effective for teaching
some curriculum. After teachers and students feel comfortable with
e-mail and webpage design, they can dig further into the realm of
blended learning by accessing some excellent websites. All of these
sites are designed to help the learner better understand a topic. These
are just a few good examples of websites; there are numerous other sites
available.

**Triple A Math** This site is great
for K-8 math teachers because of its content. Students can read the
explanation of each measurement, play some challenge games, and some
interactive practices. Students will have endless hours of fun checking
out this site.

**Seattle Art
Museum**
(Science, Social Studies) This site is for the \"explorer\" learner.
Students can learn about navigation techniques used in the Age of
Exploration. The site includes a video clip of how to use an octant.
This was very cool to see in addition to learning about the navigation
used today.

**Hands On the Land** Imagine
collecting water samples, monitoring the ground ozone levels, and more
on this environmental website. The site provides interaction with other
schools, students, and the forest preserve as students are engaged while
learning about the environment. There are even lesson plans for teachers
to further enhance the students learning.

**BioPoint** This
is an online site for teacher created webquests. They are listed by
grade level and have everything you need to deliver a unit.

**Barking Spiders Poetry**
Barking Spiders is a site devoted to poems for children. Students can
design their own poems online by filling in the blanks. There are mazes
that can be completed and poems to be read.

**1** The
Smithsonian is known world-wide for its magnificent collections. Since
not every class can take a trip to these free museums, the Smithsonian
has made it easy for every class to access the collections and
activities to go with them online. Teachers can search for lessons by
state standard quickly and easily. Teachers can also check out resources
that can be sent to their classrooms.

**Social Science** Some teachers are more comfortable with enhancing
their class through projects. A sample of one would be a project
developed by Kate Purl at Urbana Middle School. The year was ended with
a seventh grade project on Africa. Each student had to research an area
of Africa, learning specifics about the area such as flora and fauna.
The information they found was then added to a website. Once all the
areas of Africa were added, the adventure began. As teams, the students
had to traverse the African continent. The information that the students
provided was combined into a webquest that was a toss up between \"Where
in the World is Carmen San Diego?\" and \"The Oregon Trail.\" Decisions
made as you traveled the trail could lead to success or failure as an
African explorer. The site is still available at: Africa: Choose Your
Own Adventure.

Other successful online adventures for Middle School students might be
Virtual Ancient
Civilizations which is
a work in progress:

**Numerous Subjects** Quiz Hub.
What can\'t you do at this site? The site is loaded with news quizzes,
online maps, chess games, concentration games and much more. Your
students will never want to leave the site. This will have them engaged
for hours upon hours. There is even an art area where you can design
whatever you want. This was my favorite link!!

**Benefits for Students** Research shows that students who are involved
in online learning during the middle school years are more likely to
keep their academic grades higher than those who are not exposed to
online learning (Belanger, 2005). Additionally, the attendance rate of
students using computers is higher along with the ability of students to
do well in group situations and within project-based instruction.
Blended learning is also research based in that it pulls from research
done by Piaget, Vygotsky, Bloom Keller and Gery. Using online education
for middle schools students is a viable way of enhancing the curriculum
by providing live events such as online homework help. This could come
from the teacher, or it could be from other students in a cooperative
learning environment. Blended learning also gives the students a chance
to move at their own pace. What one student may be able to learn quickly
another may need more time to digest and understand. In blended
learning, students moves at their own pace and they have the
availability of a teacher when questions arise. There is also a
collaborative element to blended learning. If a student does not
understand part of an assignment, there are other students available to
ask questions. Students can use a chat room, IM or e-mail to work
together to complete a project. Along with the curriculum, testing can
also take place online. This would allow students to take assessments
when they feel they are ready. It would also allow for quick feedback
from those assessments so that students know where they stand with
respect to their grade. Lastly, when students use the web for learning
there is a wealth of materials available to them at the click of a
mouse. Dictionaries, encyclopedias and research are just some of the
information that students can access during their learning experience.
These five ingredients to blended learning are important for the
students to have the best possible educational experience. It allows
them to remain anonymous so that their mistakes are not broadcast
throughout the classroom, giving them self confidence. It is a way to
allow students to take control of their own learning experience.

**The Down Side** As with every advance in technology, blended learning
can have its faults also. While online courses have been available for
several years to the post secondary student, use of online technology is
generally thought of as an enhancement for the secondary schools.
Schools are using computers more than ever before with an increase from
60% in 1993 to 84% in 2001 and home use of computers growing during the
same time from 25% of students to 66% (NCES, pg 1). Schools might use
computers more if computers were available in each classroom. Many
schools don\'t have that luxury and, instead, must move students to a
central computer lab to make use of the technology available. This
creates more work for teachers and takes away from instructional time.
Most will also admit that it is the teacher, and her comfort with
technology, that affects how well that technology is presented in the
classroom. In his book, "Oversold and Underused," Larry Cuban states
that computers are not successful because teachers who use computers for
instruction do so infrequently and unimaginatively (Harvard University
Press, 2001).

**Taking Technology Further** Some students, for various reasons, need
to work at their own pace. While distance learning got its start at the
post-secondary level, it is slowly gaining momentum at the middle and
high school level. Students who are gifted, challenged or have health
reasons and do not do well in a traditional learning environment now
have the opportunity to complete their education online. Several schools
are now in operation that offer aid to these students. Some worth
looking at are:

Advanced Academics

Colorado

Exel High
School

High School

James Madison High School
Online

**Teacher Controlled Blended Learning** As with any level of education,
there are some teachers who prefer to have control over what their
students are doing online. Instead of accessing one of the above
websites or a WebQuest, these teachers choose to develop their own
curriculum for their students. This curriculum needs to be well thought
out before anything is ever put online. New South Wales Department of
Education and Training has some guiding questions that teachers should
ask themselves before they begin to design a web-enhanced course. They
first suggest that you know WHY you are trying to place information
online for your students. Once you are sure that what you are looking
for is not already online, then it is time to understand the goals that
you have for you students regarding the online content: Do you want them
to learn to work independently? Or do you want to free up your time to
work with those students who need the extra help? The other suggestions
include teaching your students slowly, showing them step by step what
you expect from them. However, the ultimate suggestion was that if a
teacher were to be interested in providing web-enhanced learning for
their class, they should have had the experience of online learning
themselves (NSWDE, 2005).
