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Home Examples of Blended Learning Events & Conferences AZ Senate Education AZ House Education Contact	Madison Park Middle Implements Blended Technology December 1, 2011 By Rich Crandall and Louis Dettorre On November 4th, we had the pleasure of taking a firsthand look at Madison Park Middle School's blended learning program. We arrived to a warm welcome from Superintendent Tim Ham and Principal Kevin Sotomayor. Before setting foot in any of the classrooms, their excitement for the program and enthusiasm for learning was clear. Our first stop of the day was in a 5th grade science classroom. Students were studying the rock cycle with Adaptive Curriculum on their individual laptops. While the teacher guided the class, each student was actively engaged in the computer program that gave them instant feedback. The advantage here is that each child is able to work at his or her own speed. Next we entered an English classroom just before the seats began to fill. The students were a little older here, but still just as engaged. What stood out the most was the teacher's use of the overhead projector to bullet point tasks that needed to be accomplished during class. Clear instructions were given at the start of class before students opened their laptops to begin working. This class uses Vantage My Access! which provides feedback in the areas of overall literacy and writing skills. Madison Park Middle School also uses an online program called Moodle which makes it easier for students and teachers to communicate. This serves as a one stop shop for all assignments and class information. When students want to connect with their teachers or classmates this is the place they go. Madison Park is on the cutting edge of 1 to 1 learning (1 student, 1 laptop). The ability for students to use their personal laptops in the classroom and at home is increasing a student's opportunity to learn. We are excited to watch Madison Park Middle School develop and grow under the guidance of Superintendent Ham and Principal Sotomayor. Thank you for sharing your School with us and keep up the great work! Link: www.madisonAZ.org Read More... A Successful Digital Learning Leadership Summit October 12, 2011 By Rich Crandall So what do you do after your state has implemented most of the 10 Elements of Digital Learning? That’s when the true fun begins. On September 26& 27, 2011, Arizona held its inaugural Digital Learning Leadership Summit at Skysong with 130 top education leaders from across the state including 50+ superintendents, lawmakers, policy writers, alphabet groups, state board members, corporate partners and several school board members. The purpose of the Summit was to hear presentations about blended learning from national experts while discussing our own unique needs and how those needs can best be met. Special thanks to Heather Staker of the Innosight Institute, Tom Greaves of The Greaves Group and Julie Evans of Net Day for headlining a fantastic conference. Underwritten by Intel (a great corporate partner to have in your state) and organized by Cathleen Barton of Intel and Sybil Francis of the Center for the Future of Arizona, the Summit raised awareness for all who attended about the next steps to be taken by all parties in Arizona to begin implementing personalized instruction programs that blend the best of technology with the best of brick and mortar schools. Because of forward-thinking, school-choice decisions of the past, both Districts and Charters will benefit from available flexibility to try new approaches to move the needle. For too long we have been stagnant with academic achievement for the masses. Of course we have “camp fires” of success that burn bright across Arizona, but never for more than a few hundred students. Arizona needs an approach that can be scaled to bring blended learning to the masses. Read More... Arizona Delegation looking forward to iNACOL conference in Indianapolis. October 5, 2011 By Rich Crandall When the International Association of K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) held their 2010 conference in Glendale, Arizona last year, it was incredible how few local people attended. Most education leaders in Arizona had never heard of iNACOL or the resources they brought to the table regarding online and blended learning. Since that time, more and more K-12 leaders in Arizona have become educated about who is leading the nation in this critical work. On November 9-11, 2011, over 40 education leaders from Arizona will join 2000+superintendents, principals, teachers and policy makers at the iNACOL annual conference in Indianapolis. There will be over 100 examples of digital and blended learning from across the United States. Innovators from districts, charters, magnets, private and parochial schools will be on hand to discuss their successes and failures. In addition, a large vendor exhibit is available to learn about new and improved technology products. Read More...	Innovative Products in Blended Learning Rosetta Stone Recently I sat down for a small group dinner with Tom Adams, the young, energetic CEO of Rosetta Stone to discuss the role of technology in K-12 education. Tom talked about what Rosetta Stone is doing across the world to bring language development to the masses, even when a qualified teacher is not available. Click on the link above to see for yourself the amazing things Rosetta Stone is doing with blended learning.
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