Distance Learning

The Learning Accelerator Releases Online PD Modules for Blended Learning

• By Christopher Piehler
• 08/12/15

The Learning Accelerator (TLA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping K-12 educators embrace blended learning, and grantee Relay Graduate School of Education have launched a series of online training modules to help teachers make the shift to blended learning.

With the support of TLA, Relay has spent the last year developing this new curriculum. According to Juliana Finegan, Relay’s blended learning curriculum designer, “We visited over 35 schools across the country, identifying common denominators of practice, including strategies for routines and culture. We really wanted to focus on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of blended learning to make this relevant and accessible for all teachers.”

The first three curriculum modules, which were launched to the general public on Relay’s course platform, are the following:

• BL-101 (Beginning to Blend) introduces teachers to what blended learning is, and then encourages them to reflect on current practice and apply concrete strategies and resources to start blending or fine-tuning their instruction.
• BL-102 (Rolling Out Blended) focuses on the “building blocks” of blended learning, including setting up the learning space, creating routines and building a culture with buy-in, collaboration and student autonomy.
• BL-103 (Teaching Each Student) is aimed at helping teachers leverage technology to address instructional challenges through the use of data and planning. It also includes ideas for how to run a successful pilot.

Each module includes videos, readings, strategies and discussion forums for sharing ideas with peers.

A fourth learning module, Extending Your Blending, will be released in October and will focus on helping teachers take their practice to the next level in their classrooms as well as their broader learning communities.