My Big Campus is a great tool that I have been using to build entire classes in. I teach mostly computer based classes either online or in the night school computer lab. One of the issues with this is the lack of interaction between students in the class. My Big Campus is formatted like popular social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter and students can respond to what other students have done in posts and responses that students are used to from using Facebook. My Big Campus is web based and allows students working separated by time and distance to interact. I'm hoping to see this increase student engagement.

I have built the lessons into MBC to take advantage of the ease I can incorporate videos, both clips made from science TV shows and screencasts of myself going through a prezi. I also can provide a link form them to go through the prezi on their own. They can then make posts on my big Campus about the videos and comment on other students observations of the videos.

I am at the adaption stage of technology and approaching the infusion. I teach online computer based classes. I am changing the classes I inherited with the position this year away from using the computer as an expensive slide machine and pencil and letting the kids use tech to do more challenging assignments that are more applicable to real world activities. I have started to loosen the reins and allow them to more independently do a project to demonstrate their understanding of concepts in the class. The biggest tools I need are more varied tools to allow the students to express themselves how they want. Often they can't afford pay options to do things or they struggle to find access to free tools online. We need a cheap easy to use toolbox of programs that allow more creative lessons, like programs to make diagrams, or programs to easily do chemical reactions as a program.

Foundations of blended learning

In my experience the ability to blend online and traditional classroom can be a big help to students who march to the beat of a different drummer, be they students with attention issues, hyperactivity issues, bipolar issues, and behavior issues. Many of these students can function in a classroom on a limited basis, but at times need to be able to be by themselves and still be able to progress in the class. A class that has an parallel online component fits this need well.  Allowing students who can be a distraction and/or detriment in a busy classroom environment the ability to get away from the environment in either time or space and still make progress so they can rejoin the class when they are ready. Attention issues students can break the class down into smaller chunks, bipolar students can put off the work until they are in a mood to do the work, Behavior issues students can be removed and still have the ability to progress in the class. A pure online class can be used to teach home bound students. I have seen this used many times in my experience in alternative brick and mortar schools.
 In science classes the largest barriers is the issue of labs. Labs in a traditional class room can be a big plus to student understanding, often being a great way to differentiate the lessons to fit all students. This can be replaced with some of the online tools such as gizmo labs, I would like to be able to send a kit home so students can do hands on labs there. I am developing great online classes for the night and online school now, but I often think a lab could be a quicker easier way to get content to students.