#BeenBlended: Chapter 2

After hearing from high school student Nick about his experience in his blended English II course this summer, we asked his teacher Ms. Dana Vazquez to share her thoughts about teaching in a blended format. Here are the insights she shared: 

The blended course allows students the opportunity to manage their tasks and time on a much more independent level. 

"As an educator, the blended course has proven to be quite manageable, especially in a limited time frame such as a summer school course."

The availability and variety of online resources supports students as they complete their assignments from home.

The use of Blackboard provides the students with exposure and experience  to its future use in college.

What are your thoughts on blended learning? Join the #BeenBlended story by sharing your comments below.  

#BeenBlended: Chapter 1

Posted by Alyssa 

We begin the #BeenBlended story with a short video featuring Nick, a high school student who is taking an English II summer course taught in a blended style using Thesys curriculum. For this English II class, "blended" means that the students come to class two days a week from 9am-12pm to participate in group work, lectures, discussions, etc. Outside of class, they are responsible for accessing the class online via Blackboard to take assessments, submit assignments, post to discussion boards, and more. 

Here's what Nick had to say about his blended learning experience so far... 

Blended Learning: The Word on the Street at ISTE

Teachers and students at the 2012 ISTE Conference share their thoughts on blended learning. 

Innovation Journalists: Congratulations Nancy!

Voting for our first ever Innovation Journalist competition closed yesterday, and we are pleased to announce that our winner is Nancy! She wowed us with her creative report on iBallz at ISTE, and she won over our Facebook audience to surpass her fellow finalists in the popular vote. We are pleased to present her with a brand new iPad for use in her teaching career, and just for fun! Check out her winning video above.

Thank you again to all of our Innovation Journalists, you were truly amazing! And we'd also like to say a special thanks to everyone who voted in our Facebook poll. Look out for the next Innovation Journalist competition soon, and until them--keep innovating! 

#BeenBlended: Preface

Posted by Alyssa 

Making education more relevant for the new generation of learners—that is our purpose at Thesys, and the reason we design our courses as a blend of online and classroom instruction. But is that truly the experience teachers, students, and administrators have when they’ve “been blended” by engaging in our blended learning curriculum? 

This summer, we’re going behind the scenes to find out. Across California, high school students and teachers are discovering what blended learning is all about in their Thesys summer courses. These summer programs are offered through a partnership between the high school administrators and Thesys.  The courses have been customized to meet the specific needs of the students and to give them a more relevant and flexible summer learning experience.

We believe these students, teachers, and administrators have a story to tell, and we’re calling it #BeenBlended. We will share their story piece by piece through a multimedia collage of video interviews, quotes, photos, and journal entries shared here on our blog and through our social media channels. #BeenBlended will be an authentic snapshot of the blended learning experience told from many voices and perspectives. In the end, we hope to conclude the story by sharing the insight we’ve learned from the people we believe in most—students, teachers, and administrators. 

Experience each chapter of our story by following along via Twitter or Blogger. Chapter 1 will be released on Friday, July  27. 

Permission GRANTed: Education Grants 101

Posted by Alyssa 

Education Grants are an excellent source of supplemental funding to explore for your school, particularly if you are interested in integrating technology. However, securing a grant is no simple task. Starting the research process can feel overwhelming because there are just so many grants out there! Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you begin applying and a list of five excellent education grant foundations that accept applications on an ongoing basis. 

Top 5 Things to Do When Applying for Grants 

1. Triple check for accuracy. When applying for grants make sure all the information you submit is correct and structured in a way to make it easy for the grant reviewers to read. Incomplete information will delay the process or possibly prevent you from being awarded a grant.
2. Be persistent. It’s simple probability—the more grants you apply for, the better chance you have of securing a grant. Don’t limit yourself by not applying for all the opportunities that you can manage.
3. Research the grant requirements. Grants usually come with strict compliance requirements, which include: reporting, cash management, matching and an expenditure approval process.  Know what you’re getting into by accepting a grant and know how to properly manage the funds. 
4. Ask for help. An experienced consultant can ensure that you submit the best application possible. The consultant can also detail exactly what you are getting into when accepting a grant. For example, the original grant sum is sometimes not worth the effort needed to manage the grant.  A professional can assist you with evaluating each grant opportunity.
5. Build relationships. Build strong relationships with administrators and gatekeepers to ensure the grantor has a point of contact to assist you with any questions you might have regarding your grant.  Also, develop a strong relationship with the grant officer; this will assist you in managing the grant and securing future funding.

Getting Started - Ongoing Education Grants 

• Toshiba America Foundation accepts Grade 6-12 applications for $5,000.00 or less on a rolling basis.
• DigitalWish is dedicated to helping school gain technology access across all subject areas with grants awarded every month.
• Verizon Foundation Grants are awarded continuously through the year to non-profits that support the foundation's core initiatives. Take their online eligibility test to find out if your school qualifies. 
• Intel Community Grants are awarded quarterly in geographies where Intel has a presence. 
• NSPIRES is the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System.

Innovation Journalists: Vote Now for the ISTE 2012 Winner!

This year at the International Society for Technology in Education conference (ISTE 2012), we recruited attendees to become "journalists" and report on their favorite innovations. After reviewing all of the fantastic videos, we narrowed them down to our top five semifinalists last Thursday. We’d hoped to announce our winner today, but after much debate, we just can’t choose! 

We need your help--we’re opening up the competition to popular vote from now until Thursday, July 19. Please vote for your favorite journalist by following these three steps:

1. Review the top 5 videos below and choose your favorite.
2. Go to the Thesys Facebook page, and “Like” our page if you haven’t already (only votes from fans will count in the final tally).
3. Vote for your favorite video in the poll posted at the top.

The Innovation Journalist that earns the most votes by 11:59pm on July 19 will win the iPad! We will announce the winner on Friday, July 20 on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages. 

Voting starts NOW!

Finalist #1 - Angela 

Angela, a teacher, is one of our semifinalists because of her concise and informative report on Ed Click. We were impressed by the way that she took control of the situation, met with the founder of Ed Click, and made him feel comfortable with sharing his story. Additionally, we appreciated the time she took to edit her segment. Congratulations Angela! 

Finalist #2 -  Joshua 

Joshua, a teacher, earned a spot among the semifinalists for his demonstration-style report on the e-Learning app. We loved how he captured the essence of the product in such a short time span through visuals. Congratulations Joshua! 

Finalist #3 - Nancy

Nancy, a teacher, made our top five because she took an "outside the box" approach to reporting on iBallz--which is a very "outside the box" product. She had fun with her video and even empowered the iBallz rep to do a little impromptu acting as well. Great work, and congratulations Nancy! 

Finalist #4 - Paula 

Paula, a teacher, was named a semifinalist because she truly took on the journalist persona in her report on LEGO Tetrix! She gave context to her report, strategically staged her background, and really engaged with the LEGO representative. She was not afraid to step outside her comfort zone and put on her "reporter hat." Congratulations Paula! 

Finalist #5 - Ashley 

Ashley, a student, earned our final semifinalist spot for her unique approach to this assignment. Instead of focusing in on just one innovation, Ashley made a video that showcases a variety of the technologies and ideas presented at ISTE 2012. We were very impressed by the video editing she did, and we really appreciated having a student perspective. Congratulations Ashley! 

Innovation Journalists: ISTE 2012 Semifinalists Announced!

Posted by Alyssa 

This year at the International Society for Technology in Education conference (ISTE 2012), we recruited attendees to become "journalists" and report on their favorite innovations. We had an overwhelming response of over 60 media clips returned back to us, and we were thrilled to see so many people excited about innovation in ed tech. 

After reviewing the videos, all of which are awesome, we are pleased to announce our five semifinalists! One of these five Innovation Journalists will win an iPad. We will announce the winner on Monday, July 9 on our blog, Facebook, and Twitter pages. 

Check out these five videos to get a taste of what education innovations stood out at ISTE 2012. 

Thanks again to all of our Innovation Journalist participants--you were amazing!

Semifinalist #1 - Angela 

Angela, a teacher, is one of our semifinalists because of her concise and informative report on Ed Click. We were impressed by the way that she took control of the situation, met with the founder of Ed Click, and made him feel comfortable with sharing his story. Additionally, we appreciated the time she took to edit her segment. Congratulations Angela! 

Semifinalist #2 -  Joshua 

Joshua, a teacher, earned a spot among the semifinalists for his demonstration-style report on the e-Learning app. We loved how he captured the essence of the product in such a short time span through visuals. Congratulations Joshua! 

Semifinalist #3 - Nancy

Nancy, a teacher, made our top five because she took an "outside the box" approach to reporting on iBallz--which is a very "outside the box" product. She had fun with her video and even empowered the iBallz rep to do a little impromptu acting as well. Great work, and congratulations Nancy! 

Semifinalist #4 - Paula 

Paula, a teacher, was named a semifinalist because she truly took on the journalist persona in her report on LEGO Tetrix! She gave context to her report, strategically staged her background, and really engaged with the LEGO representative. She was not afraid to step outside her comfort zone and put on her "reporter hat." Congratulations Paula! 

Semifinalist #5 - Ashley 

Ashley, a student, earned our final semifinalist spot for her unique approach to this assignment. Instead of focusing in on just one innovation, Ashley made a video that showcases a variety of the technologies and ideas presented at ISTE 2012. We were very impressed by the video editing she did, and we really appreciated having a student perspective. Congratulations Ashley!