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Why Does Blended Learning Work?

Blended learning is a fine-tuned combination of onsite and online instruction that creates powerful learning experiences. Blended learning requires a wide range of instructional tools and methods and enables the instructor to deploy more tailor-made tactics for each specific learning objective. That’s enough to get us excited about the possibilities of blended learning. But what is it about this special blend of onsite and online learning that so powerfully impacts learners?

Spotlight

Wittenberg University

A Lutheran-affiliated liberal arts college in the heart of Southwest Ohio, Wittenberg enjoys a national reputation for excellent academic standards and is widely known for its friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Guests on our campus, which is recognized as one of America's most beautiful, will quickly feel the friendliness with the first of many "Wittenberg Hellos" during their visit. The same can be found inside the classroom where professors understand that personal attention makes a huge difference in how students learn.

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Continuing Education

Back to school after lockdown – tips from an NHS Psychologist

Article | November 15, 2022

Since some schools across the UK have started to re-open in phases, it’s opened up a whole new set of questions for families. What will it be like for our kids? How will my child adjust to school after months at home? As well as adjusting academically to full-time education again, the emotional impact will be big too. We spoke to NHS Senior Clinical Psychologist, Dr Shreena Ghelani, about how parents can help their get kids ready to return to school, whenever that might be. Here’s what she had to say: Prepare in advance Before it’s time for them to go back, keep school in the minds of your kids – drive past the school if you can so that they can see that it’s still there. When they’ve been given a return date, treat it like the beginning of the school year. Do a test run of getting ready in the morning, make sure school uniform fits, practice packing bags and walking the route to school. For younger children, they may need a settling in period again – parents may have to come into the classroom and ensure their child is settled. For teenagers – use the time while they’re still at home to keep their friendships alive by video call etc. This will help make returning back to their peer group feel less unfamiliar. One step at a time Even when school re starts, you may find that children are more tired than usual by the extra demands and sensory stimulation placed on them. Ease them back in to their routine gently and wait to start other activities (clubs and activities) in a few weeks time. Manage expectations When the time comes, you’ll find you’ll feel less stressed if you know there will be bumps in the road. Allow enough space and time in a new schedule for any hiccups so that you’re not having to manage too many demands (i.e batch cook dinners before hand, don’t agree to extra activities or if possible, adopt flexible working hours). Try to notice if you’re feeling anxious about the return to school in any way and if so, spend some time thinking about it and unpicking it. If children pick up on your anxieties they may feel anxious too. Managing worry and anxiety If you know your child might struggle with going back to school, try developing a toolbox of things they can do when they are worried at school. This might include a song to sing to them selves, visualising a calm place, some affirmation cards, practicing a breathing techniques and identifying safe staff they can tell. You can make this box together and the child can take some bits with them to school. Speak to your children about the impact of Coronavirus Let children know that it is likely that other families have been impacted by the virus (whether that’s key worker parents working hard, or family bereavements). Encourage your child to be patient with and kind to other children. Talk to them about what they might still be expected to do – not hug friends, wash their hands often, not share food or toys etc. For any children with special educational needs, they might need adaptations made for them. This might include visiting the school while it’s empty to familiarise them with the space, a video call with their teacher or a more phased return than other pupils – whatever’s best for them.

Read More
Education Technology

3D-printable cases for the Raspberry Pi High Quality Camera

Article | July 20, 2022

How do we know you love it? Because the internet is now full of really awesome 3D-printable cases and add-ons our community has created in order to use their High-Quality Camera out and about…or for Octoprint…or home security…or SPACE PHOTOGRAPHY, WHAT?! We thought it would be fun to show you some of 3D designs we’ve seen pop up on sites like Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory, so that anyone with access to a 3D printer can build their own camera too!

Read More
Online Education

What are the highest paying jobs roles in the Data Science industry?

Article | July 12, 2022

When we talk about technology in current time and age, the first thing that pops up in our head is Data Science. There are a million reasons for saying so. The market is full of job opportunities, multiple field applications, growth, higher demand and much more. Data Science is not like other technologies which come and go instead; it is here to stay. Why I say so is that this stream has multiple co-streams that have sub-streams and the web is getting dense. The best part is due to its universal usage the technology is developing at lightning speed. Due to its high demand and lack of supply, the salary bracket of a Data Scientist is way more when compared to other technical streams irrespective of your experience.

Read More

Visually Interactive Courses And Their Core Benefits

Article | April 16, 2020

So what does this translate into for your online courses? You may have incorporated video content and a number of engaging GIFs or infographics into your course, but is that enough? Does your course have everything that is needed to attract your target audience? In this article, we are going to provide you with a simple checklist to make sure that you have a wholesome and fun online course. Here we have also provided some core benefits of visually engaging content that can seriously boost the quality of your online course. Here’s a small checklist of details that contribute to the fun factor of your online course.

Read More
Continuing Education

3 Ways to Monitor Student Progress in Class with Classroom Management

Article | November 15, 2022

Since some schools across the UK have started to re-open in phases, it’s opened up a whole new set of questions for families. What will it be like for our kids? How will my child adjust to school after months at home? As well as adjusting academically to full-time education again, the emotional impact will be big too. We spoke to NHS Senior Clinical Psychologist, Dr Shreena Ghelani, about how parents can help their get kids ready to return to school, whenever that might be. Here’s what she had to say: Prepare in advance Before it’s time for them to go back, keep school in the minds of your kids – drive past the school if you can so that they can see that it’s still there. When they’ve been given a return date, treat it like the beginning of the school year. Do a test run of getting ready in the morning, make sure school uniform fits, practice packing bags and walking the route to school. For younger children, they may need a settling in period again – parents may have to come into the classroom and ensure their child is settled. For teenagers – use the time while they’re still at home to keep their friendships alive by video call etc. This will help make returning back to their peer group feel less unfamiliar. One step at a time Even when school re starts, you may find that children are more tired than usual by the extra demands and sensory stimulation placed on them. Ease them back in to their routine gently and wait to start other activities (clubs and activities) in a few weeks time. Manage expectations When the time comes, you’ll find you’ll feel less stressed if you know there will be bumps in the road. Allow enough space and time in a new schedule for any hiccups so that you’re not having to manage too many demands (i.e batch cook dinners before hand, don’t agree to extra activities or if possible, adopt flexible working hours). Try to notice if you’re feeling anxious about the return to school in any way and if so, spend some time thinking about it and unpicking it. If children pick up on your anxieties they may feel anxious too. Managing worry and anxiety If you know your child might struggle with going back to school, try developing a toolbox of things they can do when they are worried at school. This might include a song to sing to them selves, visualising a calm place, some affirmation cards, practicing a breathing techniques and identifying safe staff they can tell. You can make this box together and the child can take some bits with them to school. Speak to your children about the impact of Coronavirus Let children know that it is likely that other families have been impacted by the virus (whether that’s key worker parents working hard, or family bereavements). Encourage your child to be patient with and kind to other children. Talk to them about what they might still be expected to do – not hug friends, wash their hands often, not share food or toys etc. For any children with special educational needs, they might need adaptations made for them. This might include visiting the school while it’s empty to familiarise them with the space, a video call with their teacher or a more phased return than other pupils – whatever’s best for them.

Read More
Education Technology

6 Technology Trends That Redefine Data Analytics in Higher Ed

Article | July 20, 2022

How do we know you love it? Because the internet is now full of really awesome 3D-printable cases and add-ons our community has created in order to use their High-Quality Camera out and about…or for Octoprint…or home security…or SPACE PHOTOGRAPHY, WHAT?! We thought it would be fun to show you some of 3D designs we’ve seen pop up on sites like Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory, so that anyone with access to a 3D printer can build their own camera too!

Read More
Online Education

5 Strategies for Schools to Win an Education Grant

Article | July 12, 2022

When we talk about technology in current time and age, the first thing that pops up in our head is Data Science. There are a million reasons for saying so. The market is full of job opportunities, multiple field applications, growth, higher demand and much more. Data Science is not like other technologies which come and go instead; it is here to stay. Why I say so is that this stream has multiple co-streams that have sub-streams and the web is getting dense. The best part is due to its universal usage the technology is developing at lightning speed. Due to its high demand and lack of supply, the salary bracket of a Data Scientist is way more when compared to other technical streams irrespective of your experience.

Read More

Visually Interactive Courses And Their Core Benefits

Article | April 16, 2020

So what does this translate into for your online courses? You may have incorporated video content and a number of engaging GIFs or infographics into your course, but is that enough? Does your course have everything that is needed to attract your target audience? In this article, we are going to provide you with a simple checklist to make sure that you have a wholesome and fun online course. Here we have also provided some core benefits of visually engaging content that can seriously boost the quality of your online course. Here’s a small checklist of details that contribute to the fun factor of your online course.

Read More
MORE ARTICLES

Spotlight

Wittenberg University

A Lutheran-affiliated liberal arts college in the heart of Southwest Ohio, Wittenberg enjoys a national reputation for excellent academic standards and is widely known for its friendly and welcoming atmosphere. Guests on our campus, which is recognized as one of America's most beautiful, will quickly feel the friendliness with the first of many "Wittenberg Hellos" during their visit. The same can be found inside the classroom where professors understand that personal attention makes a huge difference in how students learn.

Related News

Online Education

Parkway School District Optimizes Blended Learning Environments with PowerSchool Solutions

PowerSchool | January 15, 2022

PowerSchool, the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education, today announced that Parkway School District in Chesterfield, Missouri, utilizes PowerSchool solutions to create optimal learning environments for students. Through their partnership, Parkway Schools sees benefits from PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool solutions to support district-wide teacher collaboration and student career preparation efforts, respectively. “As a long-time Unified Classroom Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool user, both solutions have played an instrumental role in improving our in-person, distanced and hybrid learning environments,” said Bill Bass, Innovation Coordinator - Instructional Technology, Information, Library Media, and Federal Programs, Parkway School District. “Thanks to PowerSchool's dedication to interoperability and teaching and learning, we have been able to transform our work and foster more meaningful learning experiences for our students and staff. PowerSchool continues to serve as a trusted partner and resource for our district, and I look forward to working with them for years to come.” Parkway Schools cited PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning as an instrumental solution that has helped the district foster improved learning environments over the years, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With the district’s ongoing usage of Schoology prior to school shutdowns, the district was prepared to shift from in-person to virtual classrooms in a timely and efficient manner, creating a seamless virtual (and now blended) learning environment for students and staff. Additionally, the district said Schoology’s Assessment Management Platform (AMP) enables educators to collaborate with one another to create improved question-based assessments for students. Prior to partnering with PowerSchool, the district used various learning management systems and realized the need for a comprehensive platform to manage student assessments, district curriculum, e-learning efforts and digital content. Since integrating Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning, Parkway School District has seen improvements related to personalized student instruction, teacher collaboration and student performance. The district has also used Naviance by PowerSchool, providing students self-discovery tools that help them uncover their strengths and interests to make informed decisions about their futures. “Parkway School District’s use of our Unified Classroom Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool solutions truly shows the expanded capabilities educators can have by partnering with PowerSchool. We’re proud to see the continued impact our solutions make for Parkway Schools’ educators and look forward to empowering these changemakers for years to come.” Craig Greenseid, PowerSchool Chief Revenue Officer Parkway School District is a diverse, suburban school district located in Chesterfield, Missouri. The district serves over 17,000 students across 29 campuses within the St. Louis County community. Since its founding, Parkway Schools has received several accolades within the broader St. Louis community, including a designation as a Top Workplace by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Business Health Culture Award from the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition, among others. About PowerSchool PowerSchool is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education. Its mission is to power the education ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 45 million students globally and more than 13,000 customers, including over 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States, and sells solutions in over 90 countries.

Read More

Skillsoft launches Skillsoft Aspire to address shortfall in data expertise

Skillsoft | January 24, 2019

Leading corporate learning company Skillsoft, with APAC operations headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, has unveiled a new range of learning journeys designed to upskill technologists and developers as the global shortage of data expertise continues The rapid growth of data-driven business operations has led to a shortfall in skilled staff for key technology roles at a host of companies around the world. Skillsoft Aspire, designed with this gap in availability and demand of skilled data workers, will enable firms to broaden the skillsets of their staff to meet demands in data analysis, security, programming and machine learning. In its press statement, Skillsoft said that Aspire will provide the tutelage, guidance, and credentials that could vastly increase the opportunities for data analysts to progress to data scientists, as one of many potential examples. “There are certain functions, tasks and activities that a person does in their current role and there are other tasks that are part of an aspirational role,” said Mike Hendrickson, Vice President of Technology and Developer Products at Skillsoft, said in the press release. “For instance, you can't promote a Data Analyst to Data Scientist just because they have been in an organisation for a long time.

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Fosway Group Recognizes Skillsoft as a Core Leader for the Third Consecutive Year in the 2019 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning

Skillsoft | February 05, 2019

Skillsoft, a global leader in corporate learning, announced today that Fosway Group has recognized Skillsoft as a Core Leader for the third year in a row in the 2019 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning. Skillsoft’s solidified position as a Core Leader is attributed to its continued innovation across its broad and deep multi-modal learning content portfolio. Throughout 2018, Skillsoft launched new and/or enhanced Compliance, Leadership and Technology and Developer solutions available on Percipio, Skillsoft’s intelligent learning experience platform. Percipio Compliance: Percipio Compliance is a new solution that delivers Skillsoft’s comprehensive compliance training comprised of 500+ critical risk topics in 32 languages on Percipio. The solution provides one of the most extensive global libraries of legal coverage, ethics training and workplace safety training available with robust functionality and a modern UX that delivers an engaging user experience while addressing complex regulatory needs. Centralizing an organization’s entire learning program on one platform allows learners to use Percipio to take required compliance training and access Skillsoft’s proprietary content, the customer’s own content as well as third-party content to build critical skills and competencies. Skillsoft Leadership Development Program: The Skillsoft Leadership Development Program (SLDP) features an innovative, scalable and cost-effective course series aimed at accelerating leadership learning at all levels. Courses average 45-60 minutes of high-definition, video-based instruction, each comprised of 5-8-minute single-concept segments to support micro-learning across today’s critical leadership competencies for the digital economy. A unique learning design and scenario-based pedagogy based on brain science research set SLDP apart in the market. Skillsoft’s approach leverages a common set of characters throughout the curriculum, including a “leader mentor.” Through compelling drama and pragmatic storytelling, Skillsoft models the critical human-interaction elements of leadership and demonstrates effective implementation strategies within the team context, allowing learners to tie learning to on-the-job behaviors.

Read More

Online Education

Parkway School District Optimizes Blended Learning Environments with PowerSchool Solutions

PowerSchool | January 15, 2022

PowerSchool, the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education, today announced that Parkway School District in Chesterfield, Missouri, utilizes PowerSchool solutions to create optimal learning environments for students. Through their partnership, Parkway Schools sees benefits from PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool solutions to support district-wide teacher collaboration and student career preparation efforts, respectively. “As a long-time Unified Classroom Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool user, both solutions have played an instrumental role in improving our in-person, distanced and hybrid learning environments,” said Bill Bass, Innovation Coordinator - Instructional Technology, Information, Library Media, and Federal Programs, Parkway School District. “Thanks to PowerSchool's dedication to interoperability and teaching and learning, we have been able to transform our work and foster more meaningful learning experiences for our students and staff. PowerSchool continues to serve as a trusted partner and resource for our district, and I look forward to working with them for years to come.” Parkway Schools cited PowerSchool’s Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning as an instrumental solution that has helped the district foster improved learning environments over the years, especially throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. With the district’s ongoing usage of Schoology prior to school shutdowns, the district was prepared to shift from in-person to virtual classrooms in a timely and efficient manner, creating a seamless virtual (and now blended) learning environment for students and staff. Additionally, the district said Schoology’s Assessment Management Platform (AMP) enables educators to collaborate with one another to create improved question-based assessments for students. Prior to partnering with PowerSchool, the district used various learning management systems and realized the need for a comprehensive platform to manage student assessments, district curriculum, e-learning efforts and digital content. Since integrating Unified Classroom® Schoology Learning, Parkway School District has seen improvements related to personalized student instruction, teacher collaboration and student performance. The district has also used Naviance by PowerSchool, providing students self-discovery tools that help them uncover their strengths and interests to make informed decisions about their futures. “Parkway School District’s use of our Unified Classroom Schoology Learning and Naviance by PowerSchool solutions truly shows the expanded capabilities educators can have by partnering with PowerSchool. We’re proud to see the continued impact our solutions make for Parkway Schools’ educators and look forward to empowering these changemakers for years to come.” Craig Greenseid, PowerSchool Chief Revenue Officer Parkway School District is a diverse, suburban school district located in Chesterfield, Missouri. The district serves over 17,000 students across 29 campuses within the St. Louis County community. Since its founding, Parkway Schools has received several accolades within the broader St. Louis community, including a designation as a Top Workplace by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Business Health Culture Award from the St. Louis Area Business Health Coalition, among others. About PowerSchool PowerSchool is the leading provider of cloud-based software for K-12 education. Its mission is to power the education ecosystem with unified technology that helps educators and students realize their full potential, in their way. PowerSchool connects students, teachers, administrators, and parents, with the shared goal of improving student outcomes. From the office to the classroom to the home, it helps schools and districts efficiently manage state reporting and related compliance, special education, finance, human resources, talent, registration, attendance, funding, learning, instruction, grading, assessments and analytics in one unified platform. PowerSchool supports over 45 million students globally and more than 13,000 customers, including over 90 of the top 100 districts by student enrollment in the United States, and sells solutions in over 90 countries.

Read More

Skillsoft launches Skillsoft Aspire to address shortfall in data expertise

Skillsoft | January 24, 2019

Leading corporate learning company Skillsoft, with APAC operations headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, has unveiled a new range of learning journeys designed to upskill technologists and developers as the global shortage of data expertise continues The rapid growth of data-driven business operations has led to a shortfall in skilled staff for key technology roles at a host of companies around the world. Skillsoft Aspire, designed with this gap in availability and demand of skilled data workers, will enable firms to broaden the skillsets of their staff to meet demands in data analysis, security, programming and machine learning. In its press statement, Skillsoft said that Aspire will provide the tutelage, guidance, and credentials that could vastly increase the opportunities for data analysts to progress to data scientists, as one of many potential examples. “There are certain functions, tasks and activities that a person does in their current role and there are other tasks that are part of an aspirational role,” said Mike Hendrickson, Vice President of Technology and Developer Products at Skillsoft, said in the press release. “For instance, you can't promote a Data Analyst to Data Scientist just because they have been in an organisation for a long time.

Read More

Fosway Group Recognizes Skillsoft as a Core Leader for the Third Consecutive Year in the 2019 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning

Skillsoft | February 05, 2019

Skillsoft, a global leader in corporate learning, announced today that Fosway Group has recognized Skillsoft as a Core Leader for the third year in a row in the 2019 9-Grid™ for Digital Learning. Skillsoft’s solidified position as a Core Leader is attributed to its continued innovation across its broad and deep multi-modal learning content portfolio. Throughout 2018, Skillsoft launched new and/or enhanced Compliance, Leadership and Technology and Developer solutions available on Percipio, Skillsoft’s intelligent learning experience platform. Percipio Compliance: Percipio Compliance is a new solution that delivers Skillsoft’s comprehensive compliance training comprised of 500+ critical risk topics in 32 languages on Percipio. The solution provides one of the most extensive global libraries of legal coverage, ethics training and workplace safety training available with robust functionality and a modern UX that delivers an engaging user experience while addressing complex regulatory needs. Centralizing an organization’s entire learning program on one platform allows learners to use Percipio to take required compliance training and access Skillsoft’s proprietary content, the customer’s own content as well as third-party content to build critical skills and competencies. Skillsoft Leadership Development Program: The Skillsoft Leadership Development Program (SLDP) features an innovative, scalable and cost-effective course series aimed at accelerating leadership learning at all levels. Courses average 45-60 minutes of high-definition, video-based instruction, each comprised of 5-8-minute single-concept segments to support micro-learning across today’s critical leadership competencies for the digital economy. A unique learning design and scenario-based pedagogy based on brain science research set SLDP apart in the market. Skillsoft’s approach leverages a common set of characters throughout the curriculum, including a “leader mentor.” Through compelling drama and pragmatic storytelling, Skillsoft models the critical human-interaction elements of leadership and demonstrates effective implementation strategies within the team context, allowing learners to tie learning to on-the-job behaviors.

Read More

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