BLENDED AMBITION: So you've finished your required reading on blended learning and it's time to try a little blendin' in your school or classroom, but you feel all tied up with red tape. There's the required SIS for state-reporting and that big contract your district signed for that fill-in-the-blank LMS with a serious case of feature- creep. Plus the "tech guy" comes in only on Wednesdays and he has a backlog of fix-it requests. So how are you going to get help recording a few lessons?
If this sounds like your situation -- or a situation you'd like to avoid -- then you'd do well to digest these blended and e-learning planning tips from Mr. Christopher Dawson of ZDNet Education. Like a true company man, he gives several nods to WizIQ where he spends his daytime hours as VP of Marketing, but his suggestions for navigating the complex world of edtech implementation are practical and insightful.
For example, he urges K-12 educators to review the features of their current SIS before looking to add new learning management products to the edtech stack. He also encourages teachers to look at simple applications such as WordPress, Joomla!, or Google Apps to see if their communications and collaboration needs can be met without inviting a gaggle of disparate systems and processes to the party.
Of course, if you've already been to this party, and know how to dance, we'd appreciate you sharing your steps with the EdSurge community!