MSD Wayne Director of Virtual and Blended Learning Authors New Resource for Teachers

August 11, 2020

With our educational environment in the midst of a sudden transition to increased online learning, teachers have access to a new resource.

“The Perfect Blend,” by MSD of Wayne Township Director of Virtual and Blended Learning Michele Eaton, is a guide for teachers seeking to blend virtual and in-person learning. Ms. Eaton’s book came out just as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, closing school buildings and quickly prompting educators to teach in a completely virtual setting.

“As teachers and students face an uncertain year, they face many challenges,” Ms. Eaton says. “We must be prepared to teach both online and in person, and sometimes both concurrently.”

Part 1 of “The Perfect Blend” focuses on activities in the physical classroom, exploring the various models of blended learning, and helping teachers understand how to design lesson plans that incorporate technology. Ms. Eaton, formerly a second grade teacher at MSD Wayne’s Chapelwood Elementary, shares the “aha” moment she experienced when she first started utilizing a digital discussion board for her students’ reading response activities.

“By simply moving this work to a digital space, the quality of work I saw from my second graders began to skyrocket,” she writes. “I had given my students an audience. It may not have been global or revolutionary, but it was someone to write for, peers that were interested in interacting with their work.”

Part 2 of Ms. Eaton’s book tackles the digital classroom. In this section, she cautions that high -quality virtual instruction is not just a matter of moving high-quality face-to-face instruction online.

“If all we ever try to do is replicate face-to-face instruction, the online learning will never be more than a cheap imitation of the traditional experience,” Ms. Eaton writes. Her book provides detailed instruction in areas such as content design, using purchased digital content, and incorporating animation and visual effects.

“‘The Perfect Blend’ provides the blueprint as you grow as a blended learning educator,” writes author Barbara Bray in the book’s foreword. “It lays out ideas on how technology allows teachers to restructure their classroom in a way that puts an emphasis on student-centered learning, data-driven decision making, and individualized instruction.”

“We have to provide students opportunities to connect and collaborate in meaningful ways while being physically and socially distanced,” says Ms. Eaton. “Teachers and students must be prepared to move fluidly between in-person, hybrid, and remote learning. Blending our classroom instruction will help teachers face these challenges and help students find success while navigating the constraints that teaching during a pandemic can bring.”

“The Perfect Blend” is available in stores, and online at Amazon (bit.ly/PerfectBlendBook) or the International Society for Technology In Education website at iste.org/PerfectBlend.

ABOUT THE MSD OF WAYNE TOWNSHIP
The Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township provides multiple pathways to success for more than 16,000 students, preschool through high school. Located on the west side of Indianapolis, MSD Wayne works in partnership with the Wayne Township community to help every learner achieve excellence. To learn more about MSD Wayne, visit www.wayne.k12.in.us, or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/msdwaynetownship/ and Twitter @WayneTwpSchools and @WayneTwpSuper.