Fantastic Blended Learning Resources for Every Teacher!

Hi Teachers! The teachers at Act 48 Academy and The Teacher’s Academy are about to release their new course, Blended Learning.  However, they were so excited about all of the resources they discovered while created the course they could not wait to bring them to you!  And, just like in a typical blended learning environment, your location is irrelevant!  Texas, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, New Mexico and all teachers across the nation can take advantage of these fantastic blended resources.  So, have fun linking to some really cool websites and keep an eye out for the release of our new course on blended learning this spring!  Enjoy!

Teacher Tools

The Clayton Christensen Institute for Disruptive Innovation
Clayton Christensen has developed and applied the theory of disruptive innovation in order to solve our most pressing issues in healthcare and education.  He explained that successful businesses fail because they cannot change or “disrupt” their stagnant practices to adjust to changes in technology, client needs, etc.  When his theory was applied in the education field, in the form of blended learning, a complete transformation occurred.  Michael Horn is co-founder of the institute and the Director of Education.  He and his team have collected data on the dramatic changes in some of the lowest performing schools, due to disrupting the stagnant track of education.  Not just academic scores, but changes in drop-out rates, student engagement and interest and the role of our teachers.  If you are curious about the impact blended learning is having on education, this non-profit, non-partisan institute is a great resource! Oh, yeah, and it’s free! Check it out here: Clayton Christensen Education Research and Key Concepts of Blended Learning

Multimedia Discussion

Michael Horn: Ending the Classroom Factory Model is a platform created by Common Sense Education to make searching for quality education apps easy for teachers.  They include teacher ratings, prices and a list of pros and cons for each app so you know exactly what to expect.    You can create “Lesson Flows” to manage digital integration in your lessons and create a “Board” of your favorite apps for education.  Oh, yeah, and it’s free! Check it out here:  https://www.graphite.org/

Wikispaces is a tool teachers can use for secure online communication with their students.  Teachers and students can create custom webpages with links to you-tube videos, pictures or anything that would make the site appealing as well as interactive.
http://www.wikispaces.com/content/classroom/about

Curriculet
This is an e-reader that allows teachers to upload their own literature and create their own comprehension checkpoints during the reading.  Teachers can add links from the Internet to connect with the reading.   Oh, yeah, and it’s free! Check it out here: https://www.curriculet.com/

 Early Learners (Pre-k – 3^rd grade)

Write About This
Young learners have an easy time navigating through the app to find the perfect inspiration to start writing.  This app has over 100 pictures and almost 400 prompts to help jump-start the writing process. Check out the review on Graphite: https://www.graphite.org/app/write-about-this

Tell About This
This is a great app to help develop speaking skills or for pre-writing activities.  Students are given a picture and a text prompt.  They click the record button and can respond to the prompt. Free App for ipads. Check out the review on Graphite: https://www.graphite.org/app/tell-about-this

Curiosityville
This website helps to prepare young learners for school with age appropriate learning games and social experiences. Memorization activities, puzzles and understanding emotions are just a few of the games young learners can play to help build skills.

  Elementary Learners

Dreambox Learning Math
This adaptive math program that uses your students’ current math skills to develop a personalized learning track.  Students play fun, engaging games that teach complex math problems and develop critical thinking skills.

Design Squad Nation
Students will have a blast designing their own machines, watching videos about how stuff works and developing a deeper understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering, Architecture and Math.  Oh, yeah, and it’s free!

Tween Tribune
This is a website that posts relevant news for students.  Smithsonian posts a variety of articles, from nutrition and sports to current events, science, technology and even fashion.  The news is organized by interest and can be converted to Spanish. Oh, yeah, and it’s free!

Middle or High School Learners

Codecademy
This website teaches people to use code to build websites and applications. Students engage in higher level thinking, problem solving and can work collaboratively building websites from scratch. Coding is not just a great educational tool but can lead to high-level careers.  Teachers (or anyone) can sign up and take advantage of the free coding lessons for your students.  Oh, yeah, and it’s free!

Peacemaker™
This game allows students to become the leader of Israel or Palestine and try to find solutions to the problems plaguing this part of the world. Free for now!

Google Art Project
Take a virtual tour of art museums around the world.  Students are exposed to some of the greatest works of art in history along with facts about the pieces and information about the artists.  Students can even become the curators of the museums! Oh, yeah, and it’s free!

These are just a few of the highly rated resources we explore in our upcoming course, Blended Learning. For a full list of our current courses, go to our online course catalog.

It is Free to browse our courses and create an account!  Our courses are the most affordable, convenient way to maintain your teacher certification.