Blended learning: up to what point?

First of all, for those of you who may not know about blended learning, in general terms it's learning in the traditional way in schools AND through technology, at home. For more info, you can watch this short video:

In my experience, I haven't worked with online platforms at school until I got to the Teacher Training Course, where that way of working is very common. Sincerely, I feel a degree of regret for not having tried that, since from my point of view it is very helpful for both sides: the teacher, and the student. This provides teachers with many advantages, like having the possibility of having a very organised record of each student's progress. On the other side, students can work at any time they desire/can.

However, in my opinion it is better to be present when students are working, to see how they are doing and be in hand if they need any help; at the same time some autonomy from their part is also great. So in a certain manner and degree of implementation I can see a lot of advantages, of course always depending on the group characteristics.

Tools for the designer: Voki and wordclouds

One dynamic way of taking profit from what this though notsonew Web 2.0 offers is making students work out words through their meanings expressed in a particular display: using wordclouds. Then, via Voki they can figure out if they have solved the word puzzle correctly, just by playing a sympathetic being who is going to say the answer. In the end, they will see the word by going to a specific link where there's an image with it (this can vary).

Fortunately, there are many possibilities when selecting a word cloud generator, each varying in their functions, displays, fonts, etc. I've tried out with Tagul when I wanted to work with a key element of Web 2.0, "community", and this was my production:

The students will have to go to a link (click on the picture) to get to the wordcloud. Then, this is what I've done with Voki and where they could find out whether they've come out with the right definition. It looked like:

...and there are many ways in which you can custom your little character, and what's more there's even the option of choosing the voice!

Finally, just a link to a picture to confirm that they have discovered the word in question.

Technology in the classroom: reflection on Kuklinski's talk

  On wed 28 we were invited to a talk in which an author, Hugo Kuklinski, was presenting his book about teachers “intraemprendedores”, related to being innovative with technology.

  All started ok, when he expatiated and said that to innovate wasn’t equivalent to incorporating technology in the classroom, but to change working logics by being “intraemprendedores” (innovator, fast and agile). However, sometimes I perceived that many of the terms he made use of were form an economic/financial/business conceptual domain, and although education can be thought through it, for example in management issues, a complete talk coloured by such terms chiefly made evident Hugo’s inclinations or way of thinking towards education.

  Then, he talked about being “children-sensitive” when he mentioned an experience he had with a school in Medellín, and it was not until the end of the talk that we knew it was a failure because they and their ideas were rejected by all the community. Personally, I believe that the problem was the “bubble” where he lives in, precisely in Barcelona, which make it impossible for him to actually see of the context and thus the real needs of those students. He has a nice dream and good aspirations towards education, but they are sometimes egocentric and so pure that they need to be tarnished, or as he said, “smeared”, with more and more school experiences of all kinds (not just university or Barcelona primary/secondary schools).

  In order not to be so pessimistic, I would say that many of his ideas were good and can (and need to) be adapted to our reality. Nevertheless, I would suggest Hugo to also work with people who studied education in a pedagogic-deeper extent and who is more aware of some cultural aspects. They would do a wonderful work together, no doubt about it.