Student Post: Halie Pechette: Blended Learning: Making it Work in Your Classroom

Implementing blended learning in the classroom is an effective and efficient way to differentiate instruction for students depending on their learning styles and needs. With a blended learning environment, the educator can create several variations of a task depending on the needs of the student, create and distribute supplemental materials to support student learning, and give students access to material they can view 24/7 for additional help. Technology is always advancing, and it is quickly becoming one of the most valuable tools for our society. As educators, it is our responsibility to find ways to make our instruction reflect the advancement of our society, and prepare our students for the world they will live in. Blended learning is the perfect introduction to integrating technology into the classroom, and priming students for success in the real world. Many of the students that are in school today have had the opportunity to grow up with technology, so this form of learning may even come easier to students than the traditional lecture-based learning styles many educators still abide by. 

I have not experienced a blended learning environment in my educational career, but I believe it would have been incredibly useful and beneficial for my learning. Blended learning creates the opportunity for educators to increase student engagement with course content, give students more choice in how they learn and demonstrate their own learning, and provide students with varying modes of instruction that best fit their learning needs.