The Blended Workbook. Learning to Design the Schools of our Future

Navigate the transition to blended learning with this practical field guide Blended is the practical field guide for implementing blended learning techniques in K-12 classrooms. A follow-up to the bestseller Disrupting Class by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael Horn, and Curtis Johnson, this hands-on guide expands upon the blended learning ideas presented in that book to provide practical implementation guidance for educators seeking to incorporate online learning with traditional classroom time. Readers will find a step-by-step framework upon which to build a more student-centered system, along with essential advice that provides the expertise necessary to build the next generation of K-12 learning environments. Leaders, teachers, and other stakeholders will gain valuable insight into the process of using online learning to the greatest benefit of students, while avoiding missteps and potential pitfalls. If online learning has not already rocked your local school, it will soon. Blended learning is one of the hottest trends in education right now, and educators are clamoring for «how-to» guidance. Blended answers the call by providing detailed information about the strategy, design, and implementation of a successful blended learning program. Discover a useful framework for implementing blended learning Unlock the benefits and mitigate the risks of online learning Find answers to the most commonly asked questions surrounding blended learning Create a more student-centered system that functions as a positive force across grade levels Educators who loved the ideas presented in Disrupting Class now have a field guide to making it work in a real-world school, with expert advice for making the transition smoother for students, parents, and teachers alike. For educational leaders seeking more student-centered schools, Blended provides the definitive roadmap.

In the International Year of Chemistry, prominent scientists highlight the major advances in the fight against the largest problems faced by humanity from the point of view of chemistry, showing how their science is essential to ensuring our long-term survival. Following the UN Millennium Development Goals, the authors examine the ten most critical areas, including energy, climate, food, water and health. All of them are opinion leaders in their fields, or high-ranking decision makers in national and international institutions. Intended to provide an intellectual basis for the future development of chemistry, this book is aimed at a wide readership including students, professionals, engineers, scientists, environmentalists and anyone interested in a more sustainable future.

It is often said that education and training are the keys to the future. They are, but a key can be turned in two directions. Turn it one way andyou lock resources away, even from those they belong to. Turn it the otherway and you release resources and give people back to themselves. To realizeour true creative potential—in our organizations, in our schools and in our communities—we need to think differently about ourselves and to actdifferently towards each other. We must learn to be creative. —Ken Robinson PRAISE FOR OUT OF OUR MINDS «Ken Robinson writes brilliantly about the different ways in which creativity is undervalued and ignored . . . especially in our educational systems.» —John Cleese «Out of Our Minds explains why being creative in today'sworld is a vital necessity. This book is not to be missed.» —Ken Blanchard, co-author of The One-minute Manager and The Secret «If ever there was a time when creativity was necessary for the survival andgrowth of any organization, it is now. This book, more than any other I know, providesimportant insights on how leaders can evoke and sustain those creative juices.» —Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business, University of Southern California; Thomas S. Murphy Distinguished Rresearch Fellow, Harvard Business School; Best-selling Author, Geeks and Geezers «All corporate leaders should read this book.» —Richard Scase, Author and Business Forecaster «This really is a remarkable book. It does for human resources what Rachel Carson's Silent Spring did for the environment.» —Wally Olins, Founder, Wolff-olins «Books about creativity are not always creative. Ken Robinson's is a welcome exception» —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, c.s. and d.j. Davidson Professor of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University; Director, Quality of Life Research Center; Best-selling Author, Flow «The best analysis I've seen of the disjunction between the kinds of intelligence that we have traditionally honored in schools and the kinds ofcreativity that we need today in our organizations and our society.» —Howard Gardner, a. hobbs professor in cognition and education, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Best-selling Author, Frames of Mind

Your formula for managing innovation and transforming learning #EdJourney: A Roadmap to the Future of Education is a refreshing change from the negativity so common in the world of education today. Over the course of a 3-month solo road trip across the United States, author Grant Lichtman discovered that there is much to be positive about in today's K-12 schools. Lichtman, one of the country's leading experts in educational innovation, interviewed over 600 teachers, administrators, students, parents, and trustees to find out what kind of innovations they're doing right—and how others can leverage their successes. Innovation in education takes hard work, planning, and cooperation. With examples from around the country and findings from the latest education research, #EdJourney maps out how administrators and teachers can embrace the innovation process that schools and learners need now. Today's 21st century education presents unique challenges and opportunities to students, and this is a trailblazing practical guide to making sure education is ready for the future. #EdJourney focuses on four key questions: What new learning strategies are the top schools implementing to prepare our students for their future rather than for our past? How do teachers and administrators manage transitions to new types of teaching and learning? What are the key obstacles to shifting away from the assembly line model of education? How can we all leverage the lessons of success from the most innovative schools? The concrete examples and advice in this book will help you bring innovation and educational design concepts into your school. #EdJourney goes beyond the theoretical need for change—by now a familiar topic to almost everyone—and takes a real-world approach to achieving transformative education in any school.

Discover why and how schools must become places where thinking is valued, visible, and actively promoted As educators, parents, and citizens, we must settle for nothing less than environments that bring out the best in people, take learning to the next level, allow for great discoveries, and propel both the individual and the group forward into a lifetime of learning. This is something all teachers want and all students deserve. In Creating Cultures of Thinking: The 8 Forces We Must Master to Truly Transform Our Schools, Ron Ritchhart, author of Making Thinking Visible, explains how creating a culture of thinking is more important to learning than any particular curriculum and he outlines how any school or teacher can accomplish this by leveraging 8 cultural forces: expectations, language, time, modeling, opportunities, routines, interactions, and environment. With the techniques and rich classroom vignettes throughout this book, Ritchhart shows that creating a culture of thinking is not about just adhering to a particular set of practices or a general expectation that people should be involved in thinking. A culture of thinking produces the feelings, energy, and even joy that can propel learning forward and motivate us to do what at times can be hard and challenging mental work.

The next twenty years will be completely unlike the last twenty years. The world is in economic crisis, and there are no easy fixes to our predicament. Unsustainable trends in the economy, energy, and the environment have finally caught up with us and are converging on a very narrow window of time—the «Twenty-Teens.» The Crash Course presents our predicament and illuminates the path ahead, so you can face the coming disruptions and thrive–without fearing the future or retreating into denial. In this book you will find solid facts and grounded reasoning presented in a calm, positive, non-partisan manner. Our money system places impossible demands upon a finite world. Exponentially rising levels of debt, based on assumptions of future economic growth to fund repayment, will shudder to a halt and then reverse. Unfortunately, our financial system does not operate in reverse. The consequences of massive deleveraging will be severe. Oil is essential for economic growth. The reality of dwindling oil supplies is now internationally recognized, yet virtually no developed nations have a Plan B. The economic risks to individuals, companies, and countries are varied and enormous. Best-case, living standards will drop steadily worldwide. Worst-case, systemic financial crises will toss the world into jarring chaos. This book is written for those who are motivated to learn about the root causes of our predicaments, protect themselves and their families, mitigate risks as much as possible, and control what effects they can. With challenge comes opportunity, and The Crash Course offers a positive vision for how to reshape our lives to be more balanced, resilient, and sustainable.

This timely volume examines links between the emerging neurobiological research on adult learning and the adult educators' practice. Now that it is possible to trace the pathways of the brain involved in various learning tasks, we can also explore which learning environments are likely to be most effective. Topics explored in The Neuroscience of Adult Learning include: basic brain architecture and «executive» functions of the brain how learning can «repair» the effects of psychological trauma on the brain effects of stress and emotions on learning the centrality of experience to learning and construction of knowledge the mentor-learner relationship intersections between best practices in adult learning and current neurobiological discoveries Volume contributors include neurobiologists, educators, and clinical psychologists who have illuminated connections between how the brain functions and how to enhance learning. Although the immediate goal of this volume is to expand the discourse on adult teaching and learning practices, the overarching goal is to encourage adult learners toward more complex ways of knowing. This is the 110th volume of New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, a quarterly publication published by Jossey-Bass.

This groundbreaking book offers a down-to-earth resource for the practical application of blended learning in higher education as well as a comprehensive examination of the topic. Well-grounded in research, Blended Learning in Higher Education clearly demonstrates how the blended learning approach embraces the traditional values of face-to-face teaching and integrates the best practices of online learning. This approach has proven to both enhance and expand the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching and learning in higher education across disciplines. In this much-needed book, authors D. Randy Garrison and Norman D. Vaughan present the foundational research, theoretical framework, scenarios, principles, and practical guidelines for the redesign and transformation of the higher education curriculum. Blended Learning in Higher Education Outlines seven blended learning redesign principles Explains the professional development issues essential to the implementation of blended learning designs Presents six illustrative scenarios of blended learning design Contains practical guidelines to blended learning redesign Describes techniques and tools for engaging students

Learn how the future of medicine is being unlocked—one digital innovation at a time The Future of Health is an insightful and comprehensive overview of the past, present, and future of digital health. Accomplished health innovation leader Roberto Ascione delivers a practical exploration of how the latest digital technologies are transforming the practice of medicine and redefining health itself by making it more accessible, sustainable, and human. The book includes practical, real-world examples from the United States, Asia, and Europe of technology applications, companies, and start-up that have changed—or will change—our relationship with our health and the healthcare system. Readers will also find: How our health is becoming increasingly consumer and connected while technology is empowering patients in completely new ways and deeply transforming the doctor-patient relationship Discussions of how the training of medical professionals, particularly doctors, has changed—or needs to change—to meet the new digital reality Examinations of how new technologies will allow doctors to dodge many of the administrative and regulatory burdens they currently face each day Treatments of the ability of new technologies to unlock new, holistic ways of practicing medicine, with a focus on latest developments such as Digital Therapeutics and Virtual Reality Reflections on how digital health is fostering a shift “from cure to care” and will unleash a human-sized future for a more accessible, ubiquitous, and sustainable healthcare The Future of Health is required reading for medical practitioners and the managers of pharmaceutical companies. It will also earn a place in the libraries of medical device companies and healthcare entrepreneurs seeking an incisive treatment of the impact of digital technology on all aspects of healthcare. Also, the general public, interested in understanding how to take better control of their own health through digital technologies, will find this book insightful and easy to comprehend.

A real-world action plan for educators to create personalized learning experiences Learning Personalized: The Evolution of the Contemporary Classroom provides teachers, administrators, and educational leaders with a clear and practical guide to personalized learning. Written by respected teachers and leading educational consultants Allison Zmuda, Greg Curtis, and Diane Ullman, this comprehensive resource explores what personalized learning looks like, how it changes the roles and responsibilities of every stakeholder, and why it inspires innovation. The authors explain that, in order to create highly effective personalized learning experiences, a new instructional design is required that is based loosely on the traditional model of apprenticeship: learning by doing. Learning Personalized challenges educators to rethink the fundamental principles of schooling that honors students' natural willingness to play, problem solve, fail, re-imagine, and share. This groundbreaking resource: Explores the elements of personalized learning and offers a framework to achieve it Provides a roadmap for enrolling relevant stakeholders to create a personalized learning vision and reimagine new roles and responsibilities Addresses needs and provides guidance specific to the job descriptions of various types of educators, administrators, and other staff This invaluable educational resource explores a simple framework for personalized learning: co-creation, feedback, sharing, and learning that is as powerful for a teacher to re-examine classroom practice as it is for a curriculum director to reexamine the structure of courses.