Blended Learning in K-12/Types of Blended Learning/Classroom Websites

Using Websites for Blended Learning in K-12

Innovakids Classroom/School Website - Web Based Learning
site is designed as a full service Educational Website created to assist Teachers, Parents, Administrators and Students in centralizing the learning environment. This site is designed to integrate learning with classroom management. This site is designed for K to College.

Features
Online notebook for all your lessons, lesson plans, tests, quizzes, pacing plans, gradebook, student general information, etc... This is not a quiz system, this is a lesson system. Each question you create is connected to a concept page that teaches. Each concept is then connected to a standard. Automate your quizzes allowing students to access them from school or home. Give students a chance to retake exams until they learn the material. Automatically have Innovakids send you and the parents emails each time their child takes a quiz. Automatically send progress reports for an entire class to parents email with a single button click. Place class announcements online. Import lessons and lesson plans from other teachers all around the world. (Finally teacher lessons that work are shared and available throughout your department, school, district and the world) Create blog discussions about your lesson. Setup international chats with classes around the world. Place powerpoint lessons in an online environment using the innovakids lesson module, where you can access online for class demonstrations and direct instruction. (In Addition to sharing these with other teachers) But you have the added advantage of connecting each page of the powerpoint to an assessement question and students can access these lessons on their own)

THE INNOVAKIDS CONCEPT
The Innovakids.com concept integrates the requirements of classroom management with the overall Standardized Curriculum focus needed to move our students to Proficiency. With the requirements of NCLB (No Child Left Behind), schools are faced with the dilemma of finding innovative ways to teach our children differently. The Innovakids site was created by teachers who saw a need for a tool to integrated the collaborative knowledge base of teachers across the nation into a centralized fully usable data-warehouse and interactive web based environment. Not simple a system that allows teachers and parents to access grades online, or a system of computerizing tests with automated grading, but a fully integrated school system that centralizes all the content, lessons, quizzes, lesson plans, assessment, discipline, grade books, student management, curriculum, homework, progress reports and more into a system that individualizes the learning plans of each student and links these resource into the State Standards of Education.

INNOVAKIDS FEATURES
Integrated Student Database - The Innovakids database allows educators a web based interface to enter and access the basic student information needed in the course of a school year. This database includes the student’s parent and home information, contact information as well as basic medical requirements. Through this database the teacher can access phone numbers, addresses, and email accounts of the students parents and guardians. Grade book – The integrated grade book automatically is updated with grades as the students complete each lesson and assessment. The teacher can add grades manually, edit grades or print progress and grade reports with the most current grade information. Parents can access current grades online and well as receive emails of completed lessons and progress reports. Teachers can print progress reports, charts and graphs and view real times reports and graphs as students are working. Student Schedules – Parents, teachers and students can view and print their entire school schedule through the web interface. Online Assessments – All lesson and class related assessments are available online for immediate grading or printable through the teacher interface. These assessments are automatically graded and grades are immediately updated in the online grade book. Online Quizzes – Each lesson concept includes a question used for immediate evaluation of that concept. Online Lessons – In place of PowerPoint slides and Transparencies the Innovakids system allows teachers to build the concept slides directly into the site via web browser from any location. Teacher may add video, sound, images, Concept information, and a question to each concept. The slides are unlimited for each lesson although we recommend between 10 and 20 per lesson. After the lessons are added on line they are available to any teacher using the system via the lesson library. Each lesson is linked to a state standard and allows any teacher search by key word or by standard to see all the other lessons in the system associated to that standard. Automatic Emailing of Student Progress Reports – The most important feature is the email and mail function that allows students to receive lesson progress reports after each student completes their lesson. This automatically send progress report list not only the name of lesson and associated standard but the questions and concepts that the student marked incorrectly and calculates and displays the students current grade for that class based on this completed lesson. Quizzes Integrated with online Lessons – Each concept in the lesson has an associated assessment question that is asked as the student reads the concept. If the student marks the question incorrectly the system returns the student back to the concept page where that information was taught or can return the student back to the beginning of the lesson allowing for repetition of the lesson. The grading for each lesson is determined via a calculated total of each concept question (even if the concept was repeated) divided by the number of questions answered correctly. (i.e. If the student answered 10 questions but had to re-answer 2 of the questions then the grade would be based on 12 total questions divided by the number that were answered correctly.) Administration Systems fully integrated – Graphs, Reports and Charts depicting overall teacher, standard, concept and student results from each lesson. This system also reports on overall understanding and progress of each standard being taught by grade, ethnicity, teacher, team, or grouping. Lesson Plan sharing – Just like the online lessons the Lesson Plan Library is a central shareable library where teachers around the world can input lesson plans, link them to online lessons and standards. These Lesson Plans will print in the Lesson Book at the end to assist the teacher in planning their class period activities. Import lessons and quizzes from other teachers - The Online lesson library includes the ability to create new lessons and share them automatically with other teachers. This allows teachers to search by keyword for related lessons or by standard for lessons that fit their particular pacing guide or curriculum. Once these lessons and quizzes are imported the teacher may customize them to fit their needs. Progress Reports – Students, Parents and Teachers may print or view online a progress report for any class or a summary progress report for all classes. These progress reports can also be automatically emailed to each student’s parents in a class with the pressing of one button or emailed to an individual’s parent. The progress reports can also be printed for an entire class or individual student and includes a formatting that includes the parent’s name and address for mailing in windowed envelopes. Parent communication – The integration with parent communication tools is essential for the system. This toolset includes: Online access for parents via the web; Mailed and automatically emailed progress reports; Automatically emailed lesson completion reports; Discipline reports (Referrals) automatically attached to progress reports (emailed, mailed, online or printed); Notification online of class and school events; Online communication with parents via email and discussion groups; Online chat rooms for parents to chat with administrators and teachers at set times. Teacher and Student Observations – Student observations are available for input by the teacher via the web. Student Team Management – Student teams in each class can be easily input into the system. Teachers can quickly view what students are on what teams for assignments and assessment summarizing. Seating Charts – Student seating charts are online and easily accessible by teachers, subs and administrators. Curriculum Plan – District Pacing guides, Department Curriculum Plans and/or Teacher class curriculum plans are input online and easily available via the web. Classroom Management – The system is designed to give teachers a fully integrated classroom management system to centralize and share the resource used for each subject. The Student management system allows for quick integrated access of addresses, phone numbers, discipline records, standardized test information, special ed information and academic information. The concept is to allow teachers and administrators to enter information once and have it available to everyone who has permission and access rights. Student Information Management – All the basic information is placed online in the system and available to all those with access. Online Homework with ability for students to complete homework online - Parent’s and students can access the web and view all the homework required for that class and all classes. These assignments are automatically entered into the grade book when a teacher creates them and are available in the homework section of the automatic progress reports. Discipline - Online Referrals for Teachers with automatic printing on Progress Reports Individualize Learning Plans – The concept of Innovakids is to begin to manage many students with a system that treats each student as an individual learner. This ILP approach presents a way for teachers to directly instruct the class according to the pacing guide and curriculum but allow students to move through the class at their own pace with immediate communication with the parent and teacher. If a student requires a week to pass a lesson the system allows for that. If a student needs to repeat a lesson 3 times before passing the system allows for that. If a student can work ahead of a class the system allows for that.

This section focuses on the use of websites in the classroom. Classroom websites help facilitate the creation of a blended learning environment. Teachers use classroom websites to post assignments, receive homework submissions, administer tests, and post grades and classroom policies. Teachers also use classroom websites as the medium to link to blended learning sites such as external websites, videos, software, graphics, audio feeds, and virtual field trips. In The Web-Enhanced Classroom, Klaus Schmidt discusses four necessary components for successfully enhancing a course via the internet: Administration, Assessment, Content, and Community (Schmidt, 2002). A classroom website is one way to implement these components into a web-enhanced course. The classroom website acts as an extension to the teacher's administration toolkit. Teachers can post links, assignments, grades, and communicate with students and parents all from their classroom website.

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Teacher Resources:

Teachers can incorporate blended learning into their classroom by linking resource sites and external websites to their classroom website. The following is a list of useful links for teachers for blended learning activities:


 * MarcoPolo: Internet Content for the Classroom is a nonprofit consortium of education organizations dedicated to providing standards-based internet content and professional development for K-12 teachers and students. Teachers can access lesson plans, student activities, and website reviews through seven content websites.  MarcoPolo also features a network of over 200,000 registered educators in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.


 * National Science Foundation (NSF) Classroom Resources is a collection of science and mathematics lesson plans, activities, and web resources for classroom teachers, their students, and parents. NSF was created by Congress in 1950 as an independent federal agency "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…". Most of these resources come from NSF's online library of resources for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education. Collaborating partner institutions such as universities, museums, professional organizations, government agencies, research laboratories and publishers create content-rich materials to meet the needs of students and teachers at all levels: K-12, Higher Education and Lifelong Learning.


 * PBS Teacher Source is provided by the nonprofit Public Broadcasting System. PBS Teacher Source provides free lesson plans, activities, and curriculum concepts.  PBS also provides professional development opportunities for teachers and videos.


 * PBS Nova Teaches is also provided through PBS and supplies scientific technology and information activities and lesson plans.


 * Scholastic Teachers is provided by the Scholastic Publishing Company of children's books and media. This site provides resources for online activities, lesson plans, teaching strategies, and free classroom tools.


 * e-Learning Center This page provides links to some resources on blended learning - that is a learning solution created through a mixture of face-to-face and online learning delivered through a mix of media.
 * California EdTech Leadership Network This page provides links to free live online classes offered by teachers, for teachers from Sacramento (California) County Office of Education.