How we got started...
Tracy's story
My introduction to blended classrooms came as an Enhancing Education Through Technology (EETT) grant recipient. We used Moodle as the class platform, and I wanted to be able to use Moodle with students - some day. My chance came sooner rather than later; I was assigned a high school class. In the past, I had worked with middle school students, but a gap in the high school schedule suddenly made me a high school teacher. I've taught four different classes in four years; Writing Research, Modern Geography, Survey of Sociology, and Psychology. I haven't had a text book until this year. Moodle is the perfect platform for my blended classes, because I can add resources for my students which meet the content topic, and are current, relevant, and hopefully interesting to the sophomores, juniors, and seniors in my classes. The material may have changed with each of my classes, but my overall goals have not - I want my students to collaborate, communicate, and use 21st century tools and skills, and the blended class model is how I accomplish my teaching goals.
Sue's story
I was introduced to Moodle several years ago through my work as district technology coordinator and later as an EETT peer coach. I tried it out with my 6th graders and middle school technology classes, with the idea of students collaborating--and to put assignments and resources in a centralized location. While I still love using Moodle for chats and forums, particularly in my reading class, I'm gradually shifting to Edmodo. It lacks some of Moodle's features, but is more attractive to middle school students and more intuitive to the Facebook generation. It also allows us to collaborate globally, instead of within the confines of our small, rural classroom.