In my 3rd blog post I will look into a lesson that I took part in when I was in 4th grade and how blended learning could have been implemented into the lesson.
1) Describe the goal/objective of the lesson.
The goal of the lesson was to have students research and collect information on certain events that took place during the American Revolutionary War. Students were expected to take their collected information, organize it into the helpful and necessary facts, and then create a poster board to present to the class. In order to create the poster boards students were given glue, scissors, markers, and were allowed to use the printer to print off pictures.
2) Explain how the lesson was originally designed-what were the students doing/what was the teacher doing?
The lesson was originally designed to have the students using online resources to find information, and then doing a hands-on activity of putting together the poster board. The students were picking out which facts were best to include on the poster board, and how they were going to present those facts. Students were also then taking their information and printing out pictures in order to put everything together on the poster board. Students used glue and markers to add their information and pictures to the poster. The teacher was monitoring students and asking students for updates on where they were in their process. The teacher was also pointing students in the right direction if they had questions or needed clarification on something. For example, History has never been my best subject, so when I was researching the Battle of Bunker Hill I was unsure of the difference between what my classmates needed to know vs. what was nice for them to know. My teacher was able to help guide my learning, and point me towards more critical information that my classmates would need to know for the future.
3) Explain how you would redesign the lesson to reflect blended learning-how is it blended? what is the teacher doing/what are the students doing?
I would redesign this lesson to reflect blended learning by eliminating the stress and mess of a hands-on poster board, and instead have students create an online poster board. I remember as I got older I began to stop doing so many messy and time consuming crafts such as this lesson, and began to create poster boards online. I remember loving how much I could personalize and add to my online poster board, where the hands-on one made me feel pressed for time and as though I just had to quickly get my information onto the board somehow. I would also change this lesson and create a playlist for students to use while going through the process of creating a poster board. The playlist would consist of the steps needed to complete the poster, beginning with signing up for an online poster website, and going through other steps such as linking at least one video that helps add to the information already presented. I would also include checkpoints for students where they would have to go and check in with the teacher in order to continue with their poster. This would benefit the teacher because if student had unnecessary information on their poster, the teacher can redirect them before the student gets too far into their work. During this blended learning lesson the students would be following a list that would allow them to work at their own pace and find organize their information more easily. Students would also be creating online poster boards that are fun and personalized, without the mess. The students would also be using more online resources such as videos and articles to help enhance their poster alongside their pictures and information. Students would also be able to create a simple bibliography of the sites they used, which will benefit them later on in school. During this lesson, teachers will be monitoring students while they create their poster boards. Teachers will also be able to efficiently help look at where students are at on their playlist, and see which students need more time to complete their online poster board.
Olivia's Blog 
Thank you for sharing this Olivia. This sounds like such a fun lesson but I really loved how you brought up creating the posters online. This saves the mess and time while still allowing the students to craft and be creative! You raise another great point when discussing how this would allow students to work at their own pace.
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I loved your post-Olivia, especially the pictures! I agree with adding in a playlist to your lesson, it will allow for students to keep up with their work and not fall behind. For those who like to move forward, are given the entirety of the assignment and can move at their own pace.
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I really love your idea of having the students make an online posterboard! This can give them an opportunity to work on the project at home as well as at school. I also loved your idea about creating a playlist because it can also be used as a tool for monitoring how much work the students are getting done.
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Olivia-I appreciate that you mentioned that it is often for students to discern between what the audience “needs to know” and what is “nice to know”. I agree that a playlist is a nice structure for a research lesson because it breaks a large task into smaller tasks and allows students to organize their resources in a digital document. I want to push back on the idea that a physical poster would be too messy for ALL students or that all students should create a final product in the same format. “Blended” can take on many forms. Could all students work through the same playlist of requirement and check-ins but produce different outcomes at the end to demonstrate their learning? What might that look like.
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