Book Study Introduction

A few of my colleagues and I are participating in an optional professional book study, and we've decided to blog about it. I'm going to challenge myself to blog about each section of the book. We're reading Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools by Michael B. Horn & Heather Staker.

I've read the introduction, and so far this book is a brain-stretcher. I've heard the term disruptive technologies, but I've never quite understood what that meant. To me, disruptive meant something like what the other night's storm did to my ability to watch the US women's soccer game by making the signal go in and out. But what I'm gathering is that disruptive really means putting pressure on the market by creating a product that's cheaper, accessible, and just as efficient if not more efficient than the traditional method or business model. This book really centers itself around technology that provides students with online access to education and how a blended model, traditional and online teaching, can improve schools.

A piece of what's driving this improvement is student-centered learning that enables students to have power over their education and become life-long learners: "[Student-centered learning] translates into an ability to become a lifelong learner, which is necessary in today's rapidly changing world, in which knowledge and skills become outdated quickly" (Horn & Staker, 2015, p.10). The last part of that sentence is critical. If students stop learning the minute they receive their high school diplomas, then they are like the latest technology model that's outdated once it hits the shelves. They have to be curious, self-seekers, that are willing to not only learn about new technologies, grow themselves professionally and gain new job skills, but also adapt to different environments and teams.

Another critical effect of blended learning is personalized education that provides support for under-performing students and provides enrichment for advanced students. This helps to break the factory model of education that treats all students in the classroom as if they learn at the same rate. Blended learning provides students with self-paced learning modules and intelligent tutoring systems for support, while also providing them in-face learning experiences with teachers and peers.

With a well-blended model, the teacher is free to be a lot more things: "It can free up teachers to become learning designers, mentors, facilitators, tutors, evaluators, and counselors... " (Horn & Staker, 2015, p.11). The most striking of those is "learning designer." By using online experiences to help track students and provide feedback, teachers can design more personalized learning experiences that are engaging, have real-world applications, and reach students at their level.

I'm excited to keep reading this book and learning about how a truly blended learning environment can help me to reach the teachers I serve, and in that way the students they teach. I'm also looking forward to good conversations with my colleagues. Be sure to check out their blogs too in the sidebar, and pick up your copy of Blended.

Horn, M. B. & Staker, H. (2015). Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools. San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.