What motivated me to bring about this change...

March 2020 hit the world like a ton of bricks.  Schools were forced to shut down.  Teachers and students were ripped from the world they knew in their classrooms.  Education, as we all knew it, was unavoidably changed.  A world-wide pandemic fell upon us and we all had to figure out how to cope and survive.  School districts had to figure out how the teachers were going to educate the young minds of the students.  Students were given laptops and tablets to take home and complete assignments at home, but no one knew what to do or how to do it.  We all survived, but no one really thrived.

 

When the 2020-2021 school year started, teachers were a little more prepared.  Some teachers taught solely online, some only in person, and some tackled the world of hybrid teaching.  Versions of blended learning were thrust into schools.  There was a sense of urgency to bring classrooms into the 21st Century.  This sense of urgency, according to Kotter (2011), is what pushes change to really take place.  Many students thrived in this new learning environment.  They became intrinsically motivated to learn.  Students were excited to take on this new-found way of learning.  They felt a better sense of ownership.  Months went by and schools started to reopen.  Kids and teachers went back to the brick and mortar school.  Technology started getting pushed aside.  Blended learning became a thought of the past.

 

Why my heart is in it...

Why did things regress to the way they were?  Why do we have to choose one way or the other?  Why can't we incorporate blended learning in our classrooms every day?  We can, and we should!  Our students deserve the opportunity to learn and grow through the use of technology in the classroom.  They deserve more individualized learning.  Blended learning gives students this opportunity, and it also gives them the chance to become self-motivated learners.  We need to encourage and foster this way of learning by incorporating a more blended approach to teaching our students.  Blended learning will give them the skills they will need in order for them to compete in the ever-growing world of technology.  When students are excited to learn, they are more likely to retain that knowledge and want to learn more.

 

Blended learning will move mountains in the world of education through student-centered, differentiated learning.  Don't our students deserve the world?  We need to give it to them!  

​

This is why I want to bring blended learning into my classroom!  Sanek (2014) mentioned that you need to know why you do what you do in order to get people to do what you are doing.   This is my why..... for the future of our kids!

​

​

Kotter, J. (2011, March, 23). The heart of change. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NKti9MyAAw

 

Kotter, J. (2013, August, 15). Leading change: Establish a sense of urgency. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yfrj2Y9IlI

​

Sinek, S. (2014, March, 3). Start with why: Ted talk short edited. [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPYeCltXpxw

​