Outline for Publication
Title of proposed article-
“Preparing New Teachers for the Digital Age: A Blended Learning Approach”
What is the topic of your article?
A Collaborative Approach to Mentoring: Leveraging Technology and Blended Learning: I emphasize the importance of technology and blended learning in facilitating collaborative mentoring relationships and support.
Where do you plan to submit?
We Are Teachers- I'm exploring a blog post format as an informal option. Each submission should be between 500 and 700 words. Please refer to the guidelines for specific instructions. Here are the guidelines.
Edutopia- This publication site is dedicated to K-12 educators and features a variety of articles, blog posts, and videos. Here are the guidelines.
Edsurge—This publication site emphasizes technology in education, educational policy, teacher and student experiences, research, and innovation. Here are the guidelines for publishing.
What is the connection to your innovation plan or initiative?
The topic above relates to my innovation plan, which aims to create a blended learning environment in our new teacher academy. This environment will empower our new teachers by allowing them to choose from the tools we provide. My ideas for the innovation plan are rooted in my learning manifesto and philosophy. We aim to cultivate a culture of lifelong learning among our teachers, which we plan to achieve through a blended learning approach. I intend to discuss how blended learning can provide an additional layer of support for new teachers, allowing mentors extra time when they are not able to be in their classrooms constantly.
How can this information help others?
As educators, we are always seeking ways to improve our engagement with students and their learning. My publication can serve as a resource for new teachers, and academic planners/obording professionals, whether they are implementing a blended learning environment or seeking new ideas to incorporate into their existing practices.
As we progress in education, teaching will evolve into a technology-driven and rapidly changing landscape. The traditional way of teaching may fail to foster critical thinking skills in our students. Many teachers are provided with a classroom full of students and devices without direction and lack the experience to facilitate a technologically advanced classroom.
I believe that my article and innovation plan can bridge that gap by providing insights into the practical benefits of blended learning and guiding others in implementing strategies that can empower students with choice, voice, and authentic experiences.
Lesson learned or hoped to learn?
My objective is to deepen my understanding of blended learning in classrooms and professional development, as well as to assist teachers in integrating this model into their daily teaching routine. This will ultimately improve student content mastery and provide opportunities for choice, ownership, voice, and agency (COVA). I also aim to allow time for feedback to assess what is working and identify areas that need support.
In our new teacher academy, we will use blended learning to increase engagement and promote collaboration. This will allow teachers to demonstrate their teaching methods and get feedback from their peers and instructional coaches. The goal is to encourage other teachers in our district to create blended learning environments and incorporate technology into their lessons to develop critical thinking, communication skills, and collaboration.
What digital resources will be included in your article? Briefly describe.
In my article, I will reference digital resources that I currently help teachers implement in their classrooms. These resources would be a great blended learning tool to incorporate into their instruction, including Google Classroom, Kami, Wakelet, Gimkit, and Flipgrid.
- Google Classroom is a free web-based platform that helps teachers organize their classes, share assignments, communicate with students, and collect assignments. It is a convenient tool for teachers to manage their classrooms and for students to stay organized and collaborate with others.
- Kami-Kami is a digital annotation and collaboration tool that can be used for documents such as PDFs, images, and Google Docs. It allows students to add comments, highlight text, draw, and write on documents. Kami can be used for students to collaborate on assignments and provide feedback to each other. For professional purposes, it can be used for tasks such as requesting signatures and reviewing contracts.
- Wakelet- This digital tool enables users to gather and arrange content from the internet. It can be utilized to curate collections of articles, videos, images, and other resources. Educators can use this tool to develop their lesson plans, share resources with students, or create an e-portfolio of their work.
- Gimkit- This tool is a gamified learning platform that enables teachers to create interactive quizzes and games for their students. It can be utilized to review content, assess understanding, and make learning more engaging. The application offers various game modes that allow students to play with their classmates.
- Flipgrid- Flipgrid is a platform for creating and sharing short videos. Educators use it for student presentations and collaboration.
Think of your audience, digital presence, and the message you hope to communicate.
My audience consists of educators who are interested in innovative teaching methods that incorporate technology to enhance student learning through exploration. I want this to serve as a hub for teachers seeking inspiration and guidance. By showcasing a variety of teaching methods and collaboration strategies, I hope to inspire educators to cultivate the love of learning in their students. The COVA principles provide a framework for creating blended learning experiences that encourage students to participate actively in their education.
References:
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (2018). Choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning [eBook]. Creative Commons License.
http://tilisathibodeaux.com/wordpress/wpcontent/uploads/2019/04/COVA_eBook_Jan_2018.pdf
Harapnuik, D., & Thibodeaux, T. (2023). COVA: Inspire learning through choice, ownership, voice, and authentic experiences (2nd ed.). Learner's Mindset Publishing. https://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7291
Harapnuik, D. (2017). COVA+CSLE mindset vs traditional. It's About Learning: Creating Significant Learning Environments. https://www.harapnuik.org/page_id=7007