Go Blended!

Go Blended! is a practical implementation guide for educators interested in getting blended learning off the ground. Author Liz Arney is a seasoned developer of blended learning programs at Aspire Public Schools, and she also closely collaborates with district and charter leaders from across the country on this work. Go Blended! offers boots-on-the-ground support for laying the foundation for a blended learning program in our schools and classrooms. Throughout the book teachers with blended learning experience share helpful tips and lesson plans to help educators make purposeful choices in using technology to fulfill students' needs without becoming an end in itself. This useful guide also offers key documents and timelines to support a blended learning implementation and provides step-by-step practical advice for avoiding mistakes. Readers will gain expert insight into both the broad and narrow of blended transition, from sweeping concepts like program goals to nitty-gritty details like teaching routines around technology use.

Technology is rapidly changing the landscape of education; teacher effectiveness and student achievement are both tied to the ability to adapt to new technology, and blended learning has become a hot topic in schools across the nation. Go Blended! helps school leaders and teachers take their first steps toward blended learning, putting them in a better position to continuously adapt as the world changes. You'll learn how to:

• Investigate leadership and staff readiness to "go blended."
• Learn how to evaluate and purchase the right educational software.
• Keep the program's goals in mind throughout the development process.
• Teach lessons that set students up for success when using classroom technology.
• Tailor the program to the students, not the other way around.

Aspire's impressive track record of high performance, along with a growing body of evidence from blended schools across the nation, testifies to the reality that incorporating technology into the classroom can improve student outcomes. But improved student outcomes will only occur when teachers and administrators intentionally tailor technology and curricula to meet their goals. With Go Blended!, you can be confident that you're focused on the ultimate goal of blended learning: increasing student achievement.

Foreword xi

About the Author xv

About the Contributors xvii

Introduction 1

PART 1 STARTING THE PROCESS: THE FUNDAMENTAL DECISIONS 17

1 Identifying the Focus and Piloting 19

2 Determining School Readiness 32

3 Building the Team and Creating Buy-in 47

4 Recognizing and Planning for the Learning Curve 66

PART 2 PLANNING FOR IMPLEMENTATION: STRATEGIC DECISIONS AND CONSIDERATIONS 77

5 Choosing Your Model and Crafting Your Pilots 79

6 Finding the Right Software and Hardware 85

7 Making Use of Student Data 107

8 Setting Up the Space 127

9 Getting Your Network Up to Speed 134

PART 3 LAUNCHING BLENDED: HELPING TEACHERS AND STUDENTS BE SUCCESSFUL 147

10 Training Teachers and Other Leaders 149

11 Teacher Readiness and Classroom Readiness 158

12 Teaching Lessons to Support Blended Learning 170

13 Setting Up Your Classroom and Students for Success 181

14 Making Mistakes and Iterating to Improve the Work 205

Conclusion 215

Appendixes 222

A Blended Learning Analyst Job Description 223

B Blended Learning Teaching Assistant Job Description 227

C Director of Innovative Learning Job Description 230

D Sample Blended Learning Pilot Agreement 234

E Sample Project Plan 237

F Rocketship Curriculum Evaluation Rubric 245

G Teacher Self-Assessment: Blended Learning Readiness 250

H End-of-Year Teacher Survey Questions 252

I Sample Blended Newsletter 1 256

J Sample Blended Newsletter 2 257

K Sample Blended Learning Classroom Floor Plans 259

L Sample Common Core Weekly Schedule for

Grades K–2 Blended Learning Classrooms 261

M Sample Common Core Weekly Schedule for

Grades 3–5 Blended Learning Classrooms 265

N Twenty-One Lesson Plans for Implementing Blended Learning 269

Acknowledgments 293

Index 297

LIZ ARNEY is the Director of Innovative Learning at Aspire Public Schools, where she is crafting and running blended learning implementations in close coordination with teachers, principals, IT teammates, and data and analysis teammates. Liz holds a master's degree in education from Harvard University and a master's degree in humanities from the University of Chicago.

GO BLENDED!

Blended learning is more than just technology-enhanced education. It is a distinct model of instruction, and one that is growing in importance, thanks to some phenomenal successes at K–12 schools across the country. Go Blended! presents the lessons learned and best practices discovered as a result of one such success story. Aspire Public Schools is one of the highest performing public school systems in the United States, thanks in part to its innovative blended learning initiatives. In this book, Aspire's Director of Innovative Learning, Liz Arney, shares a framework for getting started with blended learning so that K–12 schools everywhere can begin their journeys on sure footing.

With this book, educators and leaders can achieve the necessary enthusiasm by learning to plan, build teams, and make strategic decisions that will form the foundation for success in implementing blended learning.

By its nature, blended learning involves technologies that will inevitably change and become outmoded by newer advances. Truly blended schools need to be adaptable, so that teachers, staff, and administrators can seamlessly deliver rigorous, individualized education, even as our world continues to change. Go Blended! is a practical manual that outlines the steps in the process of launching a blended learning plan that's ready for the future.

Praise for GO BLENDED!

"Go Blended! isn't a book about hype, selling something, or the shiny idea of the moment. Instead, it's a thoughtful book about how schools should think about using technology and blended learning to better serve students. Informed by the experience of Aspire Public Schools and other innovative schools, this book unpacks the hard work of making technology really work in the classroom." —Andrew J. Rotherham, cofounder and partner, Bellwether Education Partners

"If you are an educator or a parent and want to know how schools should use technology to boost student achievement, read Liz Arney's blended learning handbook, Go Blended! Arney learned with and from the best thinkers in the sector and distilled lessons in a readable and useful format." —Tom Vander Ark, author of Getting Smart

"Liz Arney ventures out into the wild frontier of blended learning and strikes gold with this guide on how to put students at the center of school." —Alex Hernandez, partner, Charter School Growth Fund