Article: Three’s a Charm for Teaching Chinese through Blended Learning

From http://www.districtadministration.com/article/three%E2%80%99s-charm-teaching-chinese-through-blended-learning

Three’s a Charm for Teaching Chinese through Blended Learning
By Alison DeNisco
April 12, 2013

At Dublin (Ohio) City Schools, Chinese teacher Dun Zhang teaches class in three different high school buildings—at the same time. With a shrinking budget and a desire to keep the foreign language program, the district moved to a blended model this year, with a combination of in-person, online, and video conference classes, to save money while reaching as many students as possible.

Keeping the course without having to hire more teachers saved the district money, says Tracey Miller, director of secondary education at Dublin City Schools. Next year, Zhang will also teach blended Chinese II.

Miller recommends ensuring that teachers are comfortable in a digital environment before making the switch to blended classes, and constantly communicating with students and parents. This online model in high school will also be helpful for students later, he adds: “After high school, it’s almost guaranteed that students will be taking some digital or blended college classes, and this prepares them for that,” he says.

Read the full article at http://www.districtadministration.com/article/three%E2%80%99s-charm-teaching-chinese-through-blended-learning