6 - Workshop: Enhancing Existing Lessons for Blended Learning

Introduction

Welcome to our workshop guide focused on enhancing existing lessons for distance learning. Recognizing that educators often face time and financial constraints, this guide provides a structured approach to modify existing teaching materials for effective and engaging online instruction.

While starting from scratch can be ideal, it's not always feasible. Therefore, we aim to offer a practical and streamlined method to adapt your existing lessons for distance learning. This workshop is designed as a realistic and actionable tool, not a miracle solution. It aims to help teachers pivot and experiment with distance learning pedagogies and digital tools in a structured yet experimental manner. Through this process, students and teachers evolve as learners, striving to achieve digital proficiency and collaboratively grow in hybrid or distance learning experiences.

Our approach in this workshop involves a two-step process:

1. Quick Scan: Collaboration x Engagement Matrix

In this initial stage, teachers will evaluate their current lesson activities, mapping them based on perceived levels of student engagement and collaboration. This reflective exercise is coupled with a practical overlay, guiding teachers to explore specific web-based educational technology applications. These tools are selected to enhance collaboration and engagement in distance learning settings, offering immediate improvements with moderate impact.

1. Deep Scan: SAMR Model

This stage involves a more in-depth analysis using the SAMR Model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition) for teachers with interest and additional time. This model enables teachers to assess, reflect, and brainstorm both incremental and radical shifts in how technology can transform their lesson delivery. It's a pathway that encourages a thoughtful redesign of current lessons, setting the foundation for our comprehensive workshop on blended learning redesign.

Both workshops in this toolkit are complementary and have been field-tested. They were developed in response to real-world feedback from teachers who often encounter significant barriers when transitioning to blended or hybrid teaching models. Many educators feel the pressure to perfect their lessons on the first attempt, which can be overwhelming and unrealistic.

This workshop facilitates a different approach, allowing experimentation within a clear framework. It helps teachers balance the quest for perfection with the practicalities of teaching, providing structured yet adaptable steps for redesigning existing lesson materials. This process is supported by a clear rationale, helping teachers communicate their intentions and reasoning behind each redesign choice.

We hope these exercises, both quick and insightful, will empower many educators to embark on or further their journey in blended or distance learning, or any other instructional mode. This guide is not just about adapting to new technologies or methodologies; it's about embracing a journey of continuous improvement and adaptation in the ever-evolving landscape of education.

Imprint

We suggest citing this report as follows: Van Cauwenberghe, J., Fraile, J., Orgaz-Rincón, D., Esteban-Manrique, P., Carrillo, L., Katrini, C., & Lassenius, P. (2023). Workshop: Enhancing Existing Lessons for Blended Learning. Augmented Agile teamwork for hybrid learning at Schools (AgileXR). https://agilexr.eu/

Editors/Partners: RHIZO School (BE), Fundación Universidad Francisco de Vitoria (SP), CollectiveUP (BE), Metropolia University of Applied Sciences (FI).

Authors: Joos Van Cauwenberghe (RHIZO), Juan Fraile (UFV), Daniel Orgaz-Rincón (UFV), Paula Esteban-Manrique (UFV), Liliana Carrillo (CollectiveUP), Chrysanthi Katrini (CollectiveUP), Petra Lassenius (Metropolia University).

Translation: Dutch version by Joos Van Cauwenberghe (RHIZO), Finnish version by Petra Lassenius (Metropolia University), and Spanish version by Juan Fraile (UFV), Daniel Orgaz-Rincón (UFV) & Paula Esteban-Manrique (UFV).

This publication (in English, Finnish, Dutch and Spanish) and other publications and tools produced by the project can be downloaded free of charge from: https://agilexr.eu/

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/