Day 53 - BPS Remote Learning - Jenn Scheffer - BHS Mobile Learning Coach

This post first appeared on the BPS EdTech Blog

Blended learning in K-12 education and at the postsecondary level continues to rise as free, high quality technology resources become more accessible and easy to use. The integration of device agnostic applications and web-based tools provide students with access to curriculum materials anytime, anywhere…even during a Nor’easter!

Burlington Public Schools continues to explore the concept of remote learning and the BPS EdTech Team is encouraging teachers to take advantage of online tools that, when used purposefully, allow learning to continue even when students can’t physically be at school due to bad weather cancellations. As a district Mobile Learning Coach and high school Instructional Technology Specialist, I am available to assist teachers of all disciplines with the curation of online resources and the creation of blended learning experiences for their students. Whether you wish to work with me one on one or in a small group setting, I am available during the school day to help you and/or your team develop your BPS Remote Learning (formally BPS Blizzard Bag) resources.

Leveraging online tools including EduCanon, Edpuzzle, Zaption, Screencastify, MoveNote, QuickTime, Explain Everything, TED-Ed, Google Hangouts, and of course YouTube (see the instructional videos my Help Desk students and I have created on my channel) will help your instruction continue when mother nature strikes. What’s more, many of these tools provide meaningful formative assessment student data. The data gathered will in turn help you more effectively differentiate and personalize your instruction.

Learners in your classroom are used to being online. When they have questions, they Google the answers. When they need to learn something new, they turn to YouTube. It’s time to meet our learners where they are at and deliver a portion of our instruction in a place where they feel comfortable learning. Whether that’s YouTube, Google Classroom, your website or blog, your students (and their parents) will appreciate having access to your course materials even if school is cancelled. They will appreciate it even more when they can get out of school on time! Again, I’m available (during your prep period or after school!) to help you explore blended learning resources and discuss the best platform for disseminating these resources to your students. To book an appointment with me, please visit jscheffer.youcanbook.me. The appointment will automatically be added to my Google Calendar. I look forward to working with you, individually or with your department/team, and preparing for the winter of 2016. I hear it’s going to be brutal!

To learn even more about blended learning, check out my presentation slides from this year’s BPSCON:

Blended Learning: A Toolkit for Educators.