A Blended Learning Journey

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Showing posts from 2023

101. The Transformative Power of AI

- August 11, 2023

Folks, let’s face it. Our classrooms are going to look a little different this year. AI, specifically ChatGPT, is going to change the way we design learning experiences and assess student mastery. I’ll be honest, when I first explored the ChatGPT platform I was terrified. As I have dug deeper into the technology and its capabilities, I realized that while it does pose significant challenges — it also presents us with some pretty amazing opportunities. In this series, we will explore what AI is capable of, its implications in the classroom, and how it can benefit both teachers and students. Let’s start by examining where we have been, where we are currently, and looking forward to where we are going. Whether this is a trip you wanted to go on or not, the AI train has left the station and it is time for all of us to jump on board. From Card Catalogs to Artificial Intelligence I belong to the micro-generation called Xennial. Xennials are considered to be a “bridge” between Generation X a

100. Keys to Well-Being: Feeling Stressed?

- May 17, 2023

This is Part 8 in a series exploring behaviors that increase an individual's sense of well-being. Throughout this series, we will answer the questions: What does it truly mean to be happy? What are some ways that we can increase happiness? We will answer these questions through the lens of different "keys" to well-being such as meaning and purpose , flow and peak performance, compassion and empathy , religion and spirituality , stress and coping, physical health , and forgiveness among others. For each topic, we will define what is meant by each "key to well-being," explore the research, and identify specific interventions to increase well-being. The "40% Solution" At the beginning of this series, I shared the "Happiness Solution" developed by Sonja Lyubomirsky. In The How of Happiness, she shares three primary factors that determine one's happiness; a genetic set point, life circumstances, and intentional activity. She estimates

#99: Keys to Well-Being: Need Some TLC?

- May 02, 2023

This is Part 7 in a series exploring behaviors that increase an individual's sense of well-being. Throughout this series, we will answer the questions: What does it truly mean to be happy? What are some ways that we can increase happiness? We will answer these questions through the lens of different "keys" to well-being such as meaning and purpose , flow and peak performance, compassion and empathy , religion and spirituality , stress and coping, physical health, and forgiveness among others. For each topic, we will define what is meant by each "key to well-being," explore the research, and identify specific interventions to increase well-being. In the previous post , we explored the practice of flow. We learned about ways to increase flow experiences - and that flow might look different for different people at different times! In this post, we are going to switch gears and examine how Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes like diet, exercise, and even spending

98: Keys to Well-Being: Finding Your Flow

- April 21, 2023

This is Part 6 in a series exploring behaviors that increase an individual's sense of well-being. Throughout this series, we will answer the questions: What does it truly mean to be happy? What are some ways that we can increase happiness? We will answer these questions through the lens of different "keys" to well-being such as meaning and purpose , flow and peak performance, compassion and empathy , religion and spirituality , stress and coping, physical health, and forgiveness among others. For each topic, we will define what is meant by each "key to well-being," explore the research, and identify specific interventions to increase well-being. In this post, we will be looking at peak performance and flow. When I started this blog way back in 2018, I never intended for it to last 5 years - or span almost 100 posts! My inner critic at the time told me that I was not a writer, that I had little new to offer, and that no one would read it. And my inner critic w

97: Keys to Well-Being: Are You Kind?

- April 11, 2023

This is Part 5 in a series exploring behaviors that increase an individual's sense of well-being. Throughout this series, we will answer the questions: What does it truly mean to be happy? What are some ways that we can increase happiness? We will answer these questions through the lens of different "keys" to well-being such as meaning and purpose , flow and peak performance, compassion and empathy, religion and spirituality , stress and coping, physical health, and forgiveness among others. For each topic, we will define what is meant by each "key to well-being," explore the research, and identify specific interventions to increase well-being. In the previous post, we explored the practice of forgiveness. We learned that forgiveness is NOT ignoring, forgetting, denying, minimizing, or condoning the behavior. Instead, it is a gift that one gives themselves. It is a release of anger and resentment. There are a number of benefits to forgiving others but i

#96: Keys to Well-Being: Forgive and Forget?

- March 28, 2023

This is Part 4 in a series exploring behaviors that increase well-being. Throughout this series, we will answer the questions: What does it truly mean to be happy? What are some ways that we can increase happiness? We will answer these questions through the lens of different "keys" to well-being such as meaning and purpose , flow and peak performance, compassion and empathy, religion and spirituality , stress and coping, physical health, and forgiveness among others. For each topic, we will define what is meant by each "key to well-being," explore the research, and identify specific interventions to increase well-being. I n this post, we will be looking at the practice of forgiveness. In the previous post , we learned that spirituality can have a positive impact on overall well-being. Central to many spiritual practices is prayer. There are six identified types of prayer including prayers of adoration, thanksgiving, petition, confession, reception and obligatio

#95: Keys to Well-Being: Got God?

- March 13, 2023

This is Part 3 in a series exploring behaviors that increase well-being. Throughout this series, we will answer the questions: What does it truly mean to be happy? What are some ways that we can increase happiness? We will answer these questions through the lens of different "keys" to well-being such as meaning and purpose, flow and peak performance, compassion and empathy, religion and spirituality, stress and coping, physical health, and forgiveness among others. For each topic, we will define what is meant by each "key to well-being," explore the research, and identify specific interventions to increase well-being. In this post, we will be looking at the impact of spirituality and religion on the development of meaning and purpose. Values in Action In the last post , we explored how our meaning can direct our purpose. For your homework I asked you to create a LIFE LIST, identify the VALUES it represented and describe your personal STRENGTHS. If you missed out on

#94: Keys to Well-Being: What's Your Why?

- February 26, 2023

This is Part 2 in a series exploring behaviors that can help increase an individual's sense of well-being. Throughout this series, we will answer the questions: What does it truly mean to be happy? What are some ways that we can increase our own happiness, and that of our students? We will answer these questions through the lens of different "keys" to well-being such as meaning and purpose, flow and peak performance, compassion and empathy, religion and spirituality, stress and coping, physical health, and forgiveness among others. For each topic, we will define what is meant by each "key to well-being," explore the research, and identify specific interventions to increase well-being. In this post, we will be looking at the importance of meaning and purpose. Finding Meaning In my last post , we learned that a significant percentage (up to 40%) of our well-being is within our own control. For your homework, I asked you to Think about the world around you. The goo