In our first event of the year, we sat down to discuss Blended Learning … what is it? How do we do it? And is it worth the effort? To learn all of these answers and more, you can watch a complete recap of the event.

But, spoiler alert, as we learned, many of us are already relying on blended learning in our classes and, even more, it’s easier than we think to add to our classes!

What Tips Can You Give to Help Me Blend?

Although most attendants were already blending in some ways, together, we came up with several tips for some easy blending to ensure that even the luddites among us feel can join in on the fun.

Videos Rock! Do you find yourself repeating the same background information year-after-year when you’d prefer to use your class time for other experiences? Do you find that sometimes your students lack the necessary background knowledge but you simply don’t have the classroom time to teach this? Videos for home use can be perfect here. Don’t worry – these don’t have to be fancy! You can use the built-in tool on Powerpoint to record a presentation very easily! And if you are feeling more daring, you can look at something like Camtasia (available through SURFspot ) to take those videos to the next level. But remember, there’s nothing wrong with simple.
Think Modular. As you have probably found by now, CANVAS thinks modularly. Although for some of us this is an adjustment from Blackboard, you can take advantage of this modular thinking. Rather than giving students all content at one shot, you can use the modular approach to give them bits of information followed by opportunity for assessment of this knowledge. You can use the quiz function in really fun ways where you give them bits of knowledge, test it out, and keep building. Check out this great instruction for a sample of what this can look like!
Leverage Discussion Boards. Can you use the discussion board on your canvas page better? It’s a great way to get students talking and connecting – but you have to give them something to talk about. Get the ball rolling, give them a goal, and then watch the magic happen.
Find the Demos and Tutorials. There are incredibly good tools out there to let students practice a concept in their own –whether it’s testing operant conditioning or learning ANOVA , there is an abundance of demos and tutorials publicly available. Use them! Build them into your modules and give your students a chance to practice and reflect on concepts at their own speed.
Make It Required. As much as we would like to say, make it optional for students – it seems that compulsory is the way to go. Teachers almost unanimously agreed that best fidelity to blended learning approaches comes with some extrinsic motivation to start – for example, points towards the final grade. But, this doesn’t have to be a lot … and it should certainly highlight that learning involves making mistakes. There’s a Khan Academy video that says this even better that we can, and one that we share with our students each semester. Check it out!

What’s Next?

As much as we love blending at CREA with beer and bitterballen, it’s time to mix it up some more, pun intended!. What does that mean? Well, we know that bitterballen is fantastic … but sometimes our evening events are tough for FMG teachers to fit into their schedule. We get this. Soooo.. we are changing it up!

Our next event, this November, is going to focus on…… PRESSURE COOKING! Okay okay, not really pressure cooking, although that does sound tasty, but we will have food. Here’s the plan: we are going to do a LUNCH session where we will take on the topic of the Pressure Cooker in the classroom. We provide the food, you come and learn about what a pressure cooker is … and how, when, and why should we use them. Good deal, right?

What Else?

We are keeping our CANVAS calendar updated – both with OUR events as well as other events that we think might be relevant to members of the FMGEduCom community. Keep an eye out for really fun things on the radar. We are particularly digging the feedback event on 27 November!

Not a member of our CANVAS community yet?

We can fix this! Just click here to join. You will automatically have access to information, videos, and discussions (including the now famous ‘fishbowl technique’!) and will be added to our promotion list for upcoming events. Yup, it’s that simple!

Anything else?

That’s it for now! We look forward to growing our community and welcome your ideas, tips, and more. You can always find your friendly knowledge officer in your building – so stop by and say hello.

Jessica Taylor Piotrowski, Communication Science
Sharon Klinkenberg, Psychology
Chip Huisman, Social Sciences