iz
Colorado
Blended Learning Roadmap

July 2017

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 Roadmap produced by

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 Table of Contents
Executive Summary......................................................................................................................... 1
Destination: Student Success .......................................................................................................... 3
Case Studies .................................................................................................................................... 4
Creating the Roadmap .................................................................................................................... 6
Priority Pathways ............................................................................................................................ 8
Human Capital................................................................................................................................. 9
Policy and Funding ........................................................................................................................ 12
Technology + Digital Resources .................................................................................................... 15
Tracking Roadmap Progress.......................................................................................................... 18
Additional References and Resources .......................................................................................... 19
Appendix A: Roadmap Goals, Objectives and Strategies
Appendix B: Summary of Outreach Findings
Appendix C: Summary of Statewide Meetings and Online Survey
Appendix D: Summary of Outreach to other States

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 Executive Summary
Blended learning holds tremendous potential for
enhancing student achievement and preparing
graduates for postsecondary and workforce readiness
by advancing equity and personalized learning.
Blended learning is a teacher-led instructional method
or strategy that combines classroom and digital
learning, and through which students have some
control over when, where, and at what pace they
learn.1
While some schools and districts across Colorado are
already utilizing blended learning, there is a rising
demand and interest in innovative instructional
strategies across the state. The promise and potential
of blended learning prompted the Colorado General
Assembly to commission a statewide blended
learning roadmap through House Bill 16-1222.
The roadmap details successes, challenges, and
opportunities for implementation of blended learning
across Colorado. The roadmap highlights priority
goals, objectives, and strategies related to human
capital, policy and funding, and technology and digital
resources.
The development of the roadmap was led by Colorado Empowered Learning (CEL) — a division of
Colorado River BOCES and a state-funded initiative that aims to harness the talents and knowledge of
educators across the state to enhance equity and access in K-12 education through blended learning —
along with a core team of blended learning experts. Roadmap development included statewide outreach
to teachers, school and district leaders, and families.
The table on the following page outlines the priorities and goals of the roadmap for Colorado schools
and districts to support the implementation of blended learning through human capital, policy and
funding, and technology and digital resources. The intent of the roadmap is to provide a pathway to
support schools and districts that wish to implement blended learning strategies. The roadmap
recognizes and respects the autonomy of local districts to provide the education that best meets the
needs of their students.
Achieving success will require collaboration among many partners statewide. CEL will help foster this
collaboration and track progress. Approaches to tracking progress are based on existing funding,
feasibility and privacy requirements for performance monitoring.

1

www.christenseninstitute.org/blended-learning-definitions-and-models/

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 COLORADO BLENDED LEARNING ROADMAP
PURPOSE: Provide a pathway to support schools and districts that wish to implement blended learning strategies by
identifying statewide priorities, goals, objectives and strategies.
VISION: Enhance student achievement and prepare graduates for post-secondary and workforce readiness through
blended learning strategies that offer equitable, personalized, competency-based, and project-based learning.
PRIORITY

1

HUMAN CAPITAL
Blended learning and its benefits are widely understood and championed by key constituencies.
▪

Create support for blended learning among all stakeholders.

Educator leaders and teachers are prepared to effectively implement blended learning strategies in
their classrooms.
▪
▪
PRIORITY

2

POLICY and FUNDING
State, district and school policies allow flexibility to support innovative instructional models.
▪
▪

PRIORITY

3

Increase the capacity of educator leaders and teachers to utilize blended learning instructional
methods and strategies.
Support the creation of local plans for systemic sustainability of blended learning.

Assist schools and districts to work within the current funding and policy models to promote greater
innovation to expand opportunities for students.
Increase access to blended learning opportunities across the state through improved funding
models that catalyze innovation and through state and local policies that consider innovative
instructional models.

TECHNOLOGY and DIGITAL RESOURCES
All students and teachers have access to quality technology and tools to enable blended
learning.
▪
▪
▪
▪

Connect stakeholders with resources that support efforts to ensure equitable, affordable, and
accessible technology and tools for blended learning.
Promote equitable and affordable pricing of connectivity, hardware, software, and digital resources
for all districts.
Establish, enhance, and advance statewide open educational resource (OER) platforms to enable
ease of access, usability, and affordability of digital content.
Promote development of high quality content through new partnerships.

For additional information or to learn more about blended learning, visit www.colorado.gov/cel

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 Destination: Student Success
Imagine a Colorado where students can access
personalized coursework and top-notch instruction
on a variety of topics — from math to science and
English literature to foreign languages — regardless
of where they live. Imagine a future where students
spend classroom time actively engaging with
teachers and focused on demonstrating
competency and applying concepts rather than
filling a seat. Imagine a learning model that best
prepares graduates who are ready for college or the
workforce. Imagine a truly equitable education
system in which students across the state have
equal access to content and materials and where
teachers are given the support they need to meet
students’ varied needs and proficiencies through a
combination of innovative classroom instruction
and digital resources.
Blended learning — a teacher-led instructional
method that combines classroom and digital
learning, and through which students have some
control over when, where, and at what pace they
learn — offers a strategy to help realize this vision.
While blended learning is not the only means to
achieve these outcomes, it is an important tool for
tailoring instruction to the needs of all students.
Walk into a blended classroom and you will see
students engaging in learning in a variety of ways:
receiving direct instruction from a teacher in small
groups or as a full class, working in groups
collaboratively on a project, rotating between
teacher-led instruction and individual work on
computers, or working independently on
supplemental blended courses. Blended learning
can take many forms and is customized to meet
student needs. 2 While blended learning utilizes
digital and online strategies, it combines them with
face-to-face, classroom-based education and thus
should not be confused with solely online learning.
From the Western Slope to the Eastern Plains and
along the Front Range, teachers, schools, and
2

http://www.blendedlearning.org/models/

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 districts are beginning to implement blended learning in the classroom. Blended learning is helping
schools across the state offer new opportunities and choices to students, equipping educators with
innovative new teaching strategies, and addressing budget constraints and teacher shortages. It also
ensures students — regardless of where they live, which school they attend, or what needs they have —
can access quality and engaging education on a wide variety of topics.

Case Studies
Many schools and districts are already demonstrating
how blended learning can complement and enhance
efforts underway to improve student achievement,
provide vital resources and tools to teachers, and
promote a more equitable, accessible approach to
education statewide. Their success stories and the
promise blended learning holds moved educators,
policymakers, and citizens to support the creation of
this roadmap, which charts a course for supporting
blended learning across the state.

“Our students are able to access
content that speaks directly to
them and their aspirations.”
— Alan Dillon, Superintendent
De Beque School District 49-JT

Burlington School District RE-6J
Blended learning offers schools an ability to meet the personalized pacing needs of students, including
those working at an advanced or accelerated level. The Burlington School District has utilized blended
supplemental courses to assist students seeking to graduate early. For example, the district worked with
Colorado Digital Learning Solutions to help a Burlington High School junior access an increased number
of advanced courses, ultimately allowing the student to graduate early by earning additional credits with
flexible scheduling.
De Beque School District 49-JT
De Beque has pioneered the use of blended learning to
ensure students have access to a wide array of
coursework despite its small size. De Beque has enrolled
an entire eighth grade class in U.S. History. The local
teacher works in conjunction with the supplemental
instructor. The local teacher manages the course pacing
and schedule and provides direct classroom support
while the online instructor provides support as needed to
students. This provides a blended experience for the
students with support both virtually and in the classroom,
while building on existing, strong content that the
teacher can modify when necessary..
Denver Public Schools – Grant Beacon Middle School
The Beacon Network has been using blended learning
strategies to turn around struggling schools, including
Grant Beacon Middle School. Grant Beacon focuses on
blended and personalized learning, right down to
furniture and classroom design. Students receive

“Blended Learning has transformed
my vision of what is possible within
a classroom. It has allowed me to
initiate and practice the values that
I feel are very important in how
students learn. Those values
include: student choice in terms of
type of learning, length/pace of
learning, individual versus
group/partner work and other types
of differentiation dependent on
interest, challenge, and needs.”
— Kerri Courtney, Teacher
Longmont High School
St. Vrain Valley School District

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 targeted, direct instruction from a teacher; small groups of students receive instruction from a teacher;
groups of students work collaboratively; students work individually at computers to complete researchbased online programs or varying levels of teacher-created online activities; and the schools utilize
project-based activities3. This model is being replicated into a network of blended learning schools. This
YouTube video, published by Denver Public Schools, demonstrates how blended learning being
implemented at Grant Beacon.
Ellicott School District 22
The Ellicott School District utilizes blended learning strategies to support its special education programs.
Teachers in the district use supplemental blended courses in middle school math and language arts to
support a blended delivery of content to students in their classrooms. Ellicott instructors work with
Colorado Digital Learning Solutions online instructors to customize the scope, sequence, and pacing of
material to meet students’ individual needs. Supplemental instructors provide support as required while
following the lead of on-site instructors in classrooms to ensure that students are engaged and making
progress based on their needs and abilities.
JeffCo Public Schools
Blended learning has helped JeffCo Public Schools
expand student access district-wide through a wide
variety of supplemental blended courses. This has
helped middle school and high school students take
courses not available at their neighborhood schools,
including classes that meet the needs for students with
special or accelerated needs.

“Without this program, our
students would have limited access
to a variety of courses and would
not be able to be competitive with
students on the Front Range.”
— Dianna Chrisman, Superintendent
Yuma School District – 1

For example, supplemental blended courses enabled a
student at Drake Middle School to take high-school-level Spanish class despite limited classroom space.
The student took the advanced Spanish course through a teacher-led, blended format. This
arrangement, which is commonly offered throughout the district, allows students the flexibility to
manage time, place, and pace, accommodating their learning needs, learning preferences, and athletic
extracurricular schedules.
St. Vrain Valley School District
St. Vrain is preparing its teachers to implement blended learning through the creation of professional
development courses including the Blended Badges Cohort, Blended Collaborative and the Blended
Masters program. The trainings themselves are blended — offering a digital training component
combined with face-to-face training led by district leadership, during which participants share lessons,
strategies, ideas, insights, and challenges. This approach has supported nearly 100 educators in their
efforts to bring blended learning to the classroom.
Yuma School District – 1
As a small district, Yuma has historically been limited in its ability to meet student demands for a wide
range of courses. Blended learning, specifically supplemental blended courses, has enabled the district
to meet student needs and expand available coursework for students — including classes like American
Government, Life Science, and Professional Photography.

3

https://beaconnetworkschools.org/gbms/cornerstones/blended-learning/

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 Creating the Roadmap
As seen in case studies across the state, blended learning holds tremendous potential for helping
students and teachers alike. Blended learning helps to promote and support equitable access and
personalized learning, enhance student achievement, and prepare graduates for success in
postsecondary education and workforce readiness.4 This roadmap meets the charge of House Bill 161222 by identifying critical priorities, goals, objectives, and strategies to help support statewide
integration of supplemental online and blended learning. The roadmap sets out key steps toward
supporting school districts, charter schools, and BOCES to the extent that each determines whether and
how to implement blended learning in their educational approaches.
Colorado Empowered Learning (CEL)5 led the development of the roadmap in partnership with a core
team of blended and supplemental learning experts from across the state. CEL is a state initiative
established in response to House Bill 16-1222. It is actively working to harness the talents and
knowledge of educators across the state — and expertise and learnings across the nation — to enhance
equity and access in K-12 education through blended learning. CEL partners with educators and
organizations throughout the state to catalyze innovation in education through services provided by
nonprofit organizations: iLearn Collaborative and Colorado Digital Learning Solutions. Through these
partners, CEL provides supplemental blended courses, professional development for educators, and
consulting for schools and districts.
To ensure the roadmap reflects the opinions of a diverse array of communities, CEL partnered with
Keystone Policy Center6 to hold outreach meetings in 13 communities across Colorado along with two
virtual meetings, and an online survey.7

4

For more information on the potential of blended learning, see the resources section of this roadmap.
www.colorado.gov/cel
6
www.keystone.org/
7
See Appendices B, C, and D for more information on outreach and engagement.
5

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 The outreach meetings and online survey gathered the perspectives of Colorado educators, school and
district leaders, families, and community members with regards to their vision for education in Colorado
as well as key barriers and priorities for blended learning (Appendix C). Interviews and research with ten
states also revealed lessons learned from their blended learning programs (See Appendix D). Feedback
gathered through these outreach efforts provided the foundation for the development of roadmap
priorities, goals, objectives, and strategies. Key themes from the outreach are summarized in the graphic
above and are further detailed in Appendices B, C, and D.
Stakeholders across the state emphasized the potential for blended learning to enhance equity and
support personalized learning. Stakeholders also emphasized the importance of a consistent definition
and understanding of blended learning, professional development for educators, community and
leadership support, improved funding policies, access to broadband and Wi-Fi inside and outside the
school, access to quality course content, and adequate hardware and software to support blended
learning.
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 Priority Pathways
The roadmap describes goals, objectives, and strategies for three key priority areas representing critical
pathways towards successful statewide implementation of blended learning. These are:

Human capital – ensuring the skills, support, and sustainability
needed among teachers, school leaders, and community members
Policy and funding – ensuring adequate funding and supportive state
and local policies
Technology and digital resources – ensuring equitable access to
quality technology and tools

Stakeholders across Colorado emphasized the importance of addressing human capital issues —
especially educator training and professional development followed by leadership support — as the top
priority for the roadmap; this was reflected in outreach meetings and survey results from across the
state (See Appendix D). Human capital was followed by priorities related to seat time policies.
Participants ranked issues related to technology and digital resources further down on the list of
priorities for the roadmap. However, addressing each of these priorities is ultimately integral to blended
learning success and will involve different strategies, partners, and resources. Each pathway can and
therefore should be pursued in parallel while placing greater emphasis on the higher-ranking priorities.
Each priority area is further detailed below, followed by mechanisms for tracking progress of the
roadmap at large.

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 Human Capital
The issue: Successful implementation of blended learning requires: (1) educators with
skills to deliver instruction complemented by digital tools and students ready to learn
through blended instruction and (2) support and leadership from a wide range of
stakeholders.
The current situation and need: The term blended learning is interpreted in many different ways;
different programs have different definitions and understandings. This ambiguity leads to confusion and
misinterpretation of what blended learning is and what it is not. Blended learning can be confused with
online-only education, even though they are different methodologies of instruction, with one depending
entirely on utilization of online instruction and the other (blended learning) utilizing a variety of
instructional delivery models including face-to-face instruction in classrooms and digital learning.
Effective communication and widespread, common understanding of blended learning is an integral
component to creating the needed ownership from school administrators, teachers, students, and the
community.
Additionally, with an increasing number of classrooms using blended learning models there is an
increased need for effective educator training and professional development. Many educators have
never been exposed to blended learning, including effective deployment of digital tools in the
classroom, and require additional professional development to effectively transition from traditional
teaching models to blended models. Teaching in a blended learning format calls for a shift in mindset as
well as additional skills and competencies beyond traditional classroom models. These new
competencies may include technical skills, data practices, coaching techniques, change management,
and learning path customization among others.
Roadmap priorities: Throughout the state, participants in the blended learning roadmap outreach
process ranked human capital as the highest priority for statewide action. The roadmap thus prioritizes
building widespread support from stakeholders, providing teachers and educators with training and
professional development, and helping to support local plans for the sustainability of blended learning
models.

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 HUMAN CAPITAL
The Issue: Successful implementation of blended learning requires (1) educators with skills to deliver instruction
complemented by digital tools and students ready to learn through blended instruction and (2) support and
leadership from a wide range of stakeholders.
GOAL
1

BLENDED LEARNING AND ITS BENEFITS ARE WIDELY UNDERSTOOD AND
CHAMPIONED BY KEY CONSTITUENCIES.
CREATE SUPPORT FOR BLENDED LEARNING AMONG ALL STAKEHOLDERS.
Provide dialogue, tools and resources to effectively communicate about and create support for
blended learning across the state, e.g.:
•
•
•
•
•
•

Create a multi-media representation of blended learning to share with parents, teachers,
community, policy makers, etc. Use this to provide clarification and create understanding
about blended learning.
Create flexible communication plan templates that can be tailored to different audiences —
superintendents, community, school board, teachers, etc.
Hold community forums/listening sessions/symposia with parents to talk about effective
blended learning models and strategies.
Present about blended learning at already scheduled meetings of school districts. Set up a
system for effective networking and learning among these champions.
Identify, nominate and recognize/acknowledge “lab sites” around the state to showcase
effective blended learning strategies and provide tours of these sites.
Create a virtual networking community of sharing between district and school leaders with
subgroups in each specialty area.

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 GOAL
2

EDUCATOR LEADERS AND TEACHERS ARE PREPARED TO EFFECTIVELY IMPLEMENT
BLENDED LEARNING STRATEGIES IN THEIR CLASSROOMS.
INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF EDUCATOR LEADERS AND TEACHERS TO DELIVER BLENDED
LEARNING INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND STRATEGIES.
Provide professional development for educator leaders and teachers in blended learning strategies:
• Identify exemplars and leaders in Colorado. Pair and share local experts with district and
school leaders.
• Foster coaching, mentoring, and support for teachers using schools that have implemented
successful blended learning programs as proof points.
• Build a cohort of blended learning teachers and champions to share lessons learned.
• Arrange district and school visits for exposure to successful programs.
Advocate for blended teaching models in teacher prep programs:
• Work with higher education on a strategic plan for what incorporating blended learning in
teacher prep programs would look like.
• Look at teacher programs already connected to K-12 districts and how to incorporate
blended learning models in their courses.
SUPPORT THE CREATION OF LOCAL PLANS FOR SYSTEMIC SUSTAINABILITY OF BLENDED
LEARNING.
•
•
•
•

Provide consulting and templates for planning.
Create cohorts of local expertise and affordable resources.
Offer leadership/professional development training programs.
Identify and showcase classroom, school and district best practices to leaders.

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 Policy and Funding
The issue: Although schools are finding pathways to work within existing polices to
enable flexibility for innovative instruction, a legislative review of Colorado’s education
financing system would be beneficial. Schools and districts would benefit from funding
policies with enhanced systemic flexibility that adequately and efficiently allow for more innovation at
scale. Blended learning can be responsive to and support other policies at the state, district, and school;
schools and districts may benefit from assistance in understanding how to align blended learning with
existing state and local policies.
The current situation and need:
Funding models: Colorado’s current educational funding model is based solely upon an annual October
count, i.e., schools and districts count pupils in attendance as of the school day nearest to October 1.8
The current count system does not fully accommodate real trends of student mobility, creates
disincentives to appropriately serve disengaged and other academically at-risk students, and can result
in systemic inequities in the types, diversity, and quantity of courses that different sized schools and
systems can offer their students due to differences in available funding. Unlike in many other states,
funding per student in Colorado cannot be split into course-level increments to allow students to take
advantage of different education opportunities; this approach also limits flexibility to adapt to the needs
of students and the evolving education system. Colorado also audits district funding by requiring
documentation of seat time, which can further limit personalization and competency-based learning,
whereby a student may demonstrate mastery of a topic and readiness for other learning in a lesser
amount of time and/or through modes other than seat-based learning.
To the best of its ability within current statute, the Colorado Department of Education (CDE) currently
works cooperatively with districts and schools to provide flexibility to accommodate student, school and
district needs. However, further alignment of state funding policy with current educational practices is
needed. Increases in flexibility, changes to seat time models, and changes in the increments by which
students are counted under the current system could all more effectively enable implementation of
blended learning and innovative instructional models at scale across the state. Strengthened accounting
procedures would also better support blended learning by providing more clarity on how funding
models can be applied for these models as well as a more precise understanding of levels of
participation in blended learning and alternative educational models.
Other policies: In addition to the state policies associated with seat time and the October count day,
there are a wide range of policies at the state, district, and school level that must be considered when
implementing blended learning models and other innovative instructional models. Each school and
district has different policies designed to meet local needs. Examples of state and local policies relevant
to blended learning include:9
• State policies:
o Student data privacy policies ensure the protection of student data and information
that may be contained in digital content. Districts can address privacy requirements

8

https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdefinance/fy2015-16brochure
While national policies also can drive issues around personalization, quality, and equity at the student level, these
are not a focus of the Colorado Blended Learning Roadmap.
9

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 •

through their contract language with vendors of technology, learning management
systems, and digital content that support blended learning environments.
o Accountability policies at the state level guide how student success is assessed; blended
learning models would benefit from policies that support competency-based learning
while enabling flexibility in how competency is achieved and demonstrated.
District and school policies:
o Graduation policies set requirements for student graduation. Blended learning can
support these policies in various districts.
o Staffing policies guide the hiring and funding of teachers. Blended learning strategies
may help to inform staffing policies by identifying policies and practices to address
teacher shortages, identifying needed positions or skills related to blended learning
instruction, and leveraging expertise to provide additional content and courses.
o 1:1 and “bring your own device” policies at the district and/or school level may
drastically improve student access to hardware (laptops, tablets, etc.) to support
blended learning.

Navigating existing state and local policies to ensure innovative instructional models meet requirements
can require in-depth knowledge and experience with these policies. The good news is that these policies
can often be successfully navigated to include blended learning and other models. Perceived barriers to
implementation can often result from perceptions of the flexibility (or lack thereof) of existing policies
rather than the policies themselves. In most cases, blended learning models and strategies can be
supported within existing school and district goals, strategic plans, and other policies. CEL helps districts
and schools align blended learning in support of these various policies.
Statewide, there is an opportunity to assist schools and districts in becoming more aware of how
policies can be successfully applied and adapted with the goals of meeting and supporting existing
policies as well as the implementation of additional innovative instructional models. While policy change
may be helpful in some cases — and it is important that state and local policies consider innovative
instructional models — it is often the case that schools and districts can start implementing blended
learning without having to make significant policy changes.
Roadmap priorities: Stakeholders throughout the state consistently cited funding and seat time as
barriers effectively for implementing blended learning models. The roadmap prioritizes supporting local
schools and districts in understanding and aligning blended learning models with current funding
policies as a first step. The roadmap also emphasizes the importance of exploring new funding models
and contributing to future state and local policy discussions, to better support innovative instructional
models in the future.

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 POLICY AND FUNDING
The Issue: Colorado’s education financing system lacks flexibility to adequately assist schools and districts with
innovation to propel blended learning and achieve equitable course access for all students. Other policies at the
state, district, and school level can intersect directly or indirectly with blended learning models.

GOAL

STATE, DISTRICT AND SCHOOL POLICIES ALLOW FLEXIBILITY TO SUPPORT
INNOVATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL MODELS
ASSIST SCHOOLS AND DISTRICTS TO WORK WITHIN THE CURRENT FUNDING AND POLICY
MODELS TO PROMOTE GREATER INNOVATION TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS.
•

Create pathways to understand existing funding models and how they can be applied to
effectively implement blended learning. Specifically, highlight case studies and opportunities
at the school and district level succeeding with current resources.

•

Through a digital concierge or clearinghouse function, provide access to information,
exemplars, and — where appropriate — guidance on how innovative instructional models
such as blended learning align to various school, district, and state policies such as policies
on seat time, graduation, student data privacy, staffing, technology, and concurrent
enrollment.

INCREASE ACCESS TO BLENDED LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS THE STATE THROUGH
IMPROVED FUNDING MODELS THAT CATALYZE INNOVATION AND THROUGH STATE AND
LOCAL POLICIES THAT CONSIDERS INNOVATIVE INSTRUCTIONAL MODELS.
•

Support and be involved in statewide conversations to address Colorado’s school financing
models, including how funding can be more equitably addressed statewide.

•

Contribute to other policy discussions on the vision for Colorado’s education future,
accountability, et al., where appropriate. Networking, marketing, and communication as a
pathway toward ensuring that blended learning voices are included in these conversations.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Colorado Blended Learning Roadmap   14

 Technology + Digital Resources
The issue: Blended learning relies on (1) student access to adequate hardware and
connectivity at school, in the home, and in the community and (2) teacher and student
access to affordable, high quality digital content (e.g., instructional course content and
accompanying software).
The current situation and need:
Bandwidth and connectivity inside and outside of schools: Colorado school districts have made
progress in expanding bandwidth to enable sufficient connectivity in classrooms through multiple
efforts. Some efforts were statewide while others are more regionalized. However, connectivity
challenges remain, particularly in rural school districts which face difficulties building out the “last mile”
to reach schools in a cost-effective way. Further, employees in rural school districts are wearing multiple
hats and may not always have the capacity and support to solve these problems.
Education SuperHighway,10 a nonprofit focused on upgrading internet access in every public-school
classroom in America, has set a standard of connectivity to support sufficient access for learning in a
digital environment. According to Education SuperHighway, as of 2016, 396,888 students in Colorado
need more bandwidth to meet the minimum connectivity goal; 78 percent of school districts reported
sufficient Wi-Fi in all classrooms; and 66 percent of school districts are maximizing the bandwidth they
are getting for their budgets based on the amount of money being spent to provide broadbrand to the
district.11
Bandwidth is not consistently identified as the most significant challenge for schools and districts
interested in utilizing a blended learning approach. Network architecture12 also can be a barrier. Some of
these issues can be addressed through in-school models that avoid having students connected all the
time, and through hardware for digital learning that does not require constant Wi-Fi access and/or
power sources. Discrepancies in pricing for fiber and hardware in different districts also create
challenges for access and equity. Districts do not always know how to best evaluate the costs, quality,
necessity, and opportunities for price negotiation for the products they are interested in purchasing.
In addition, districts are in different stages of determining how to institute and implement policies
related to hardware (e.g., computers, tablets, and other devices), including 1:1 (student: device) and
“bring your own” device policies. There is no statewide data collection on hardware accessibility. There
are also a variety of learning management support systems that schools and districts must choose
among to support digital content and courses.
Finally, some students face bigger hurdles in accessing adequate connectivity outside of school hours.
Digital content: A plethora of providers offer digital content at varying prices and varying degrees of
quality to schools and districts across Colorado. Navigating the complex world of digital content can be
10

www.educationsuperhighway.org/
stateofthestates.educationsuperhighway.org/?postalCd=CO
12
Network architecture refers to the layout of the network, consisting of the hardware, software, connectivity,
communication protocols, and mode of transmission, such as wired or wireless. ccm.net/faq/2761-what-isnetwork-architecture
11

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 difficult, especially without the time and expertise to understand where to find the resources, what to
look for as an indicator of quality, what to pay, and how to use it to enhance instruction and learning.
Most small and medium size districts cannot offer adequate school and district level support for these
decisions. As a result, the burden falls to many individual teachers to create and curate content. The
expense of content also makes it difficult to scale blended learning strategies. Colorado educators need
solutions for curation, quality, cost, and ease of access so they can more easily and effectively move
from the textbook to the digital age.
A digital resource warehouse — often referred to as “open educational resources” (OER) — can help
provide a solution. Open Educational Resources are freely accessible, openly licensed documents and
media that are useful for teaching, learning, and assessing as well as for research purposes. OER is a
leading trend in education that leverages the advantages of using quality, curated technology to support
districts and schools. An OER enables access to vetted, high quality, whole course content that
educators can draw individual lessons from to incorporate into their blended learning strategies. This
content requires curation, i.e., organization and indexing for easy accessibility, and should be
continuously reviewed, updated, and refined. To be truly effective, an OER needs to be accompanied by
an effective learning management system, teacher training, staff and funding to sustain curation, and
district support. In other words, investing in human capital is a key step to realizing the benefits of
investing in digital content. Investing in educator training that results directly in the creation of digital
content to be shared through OER is mutually beneficial for districts, educators, and students.
Beyond OER, other opportunities include working across the state to achieve equitable and affordable
pricing of connectivity, hardware, software, and digital resources for all districts, regardless of size.
Collective procurement and consortium pricing approaches can help achieve lower costs on necessary
tools and technologies. New partnerships can also enhance development of course content.
Roadmap Priorities: The roadmap sets a goal for all students and teachers to have access to quality
technology and tools to enable blended learning. To support this goal, the roadmap identifies statewide
strategies to connect stakeholders with information and resources that support local decisions on
connectivity, hardware, and software. The roadmap also prioritizes collaborative efforts to increase
access, enhance quality, and reduce costs of these technologies. The roadmap prioritizes connecting
schools and districts with the information they need to make decisions on, navigate, and troubleshoot
options related to technology and digital resources for blended learning. It also prioritizes advancing
affordable, equitable pricing through collective procurement strategies and consortium pricing. Finally,
it promotes the ongoing development and curation of high quality, free content through Colorado’s OER
platform (provided by CEL) and the development of new content through private sector partnerships.

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 TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL RESOURCES
The Issue: Blended learning relies on (1) student access to adequate hardware and connectivity at school, in the
home, and in the community and (2) teacher and student access to affordable, high quality digital content
(e.g., instructional course content and accompanying software).
GOAL

ALL STUDENTS AND TEACHERS HAVE ACCESS TO QUALITY TECHNOLOGY AND TOOLS
TO ENABLE BLENDED LEARNING.
CONNECT STAKEHOLDERS WITH THE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES THAT SUPPORT
DISTRICT AND SCHOOL EFFORTS TO ENSURE EQUITABLE, AFFORDABLE, AND ACCESSIBLE
TECHNOLOGY AND TOOLS FOR BLENDED LEARNING.
Create and market a digital information hub (e.g., a “Blended Learning iHUB”) including technology
and connectivity resources. Vet, organize and link to existing resources and initiatives on topics
including:
1) Guidance, checklists, and decision support for choosing technology, tools and hardware to
support blended learning
2) Pricing options to cost-effectively address connectivity and hardware issues
3) Community case studies on expanding access to Wi-Fi
4) Support resources for addressing issues related to bandwidth, network architecture, integrated
information systems and networks
PROMOTE EQUITABLE AND AFFORDABLE PRICING OF CONNECTIVITY, HARDWARE, SOFTWARE,
AND DIGITAL RESOURCES FOR ALL DISTRICTS, REGARDLESS OF SIZE.
Work with stakeholder groups to enhance existing efforts to increase bandwidth, hardware, learning
management systems, and digital content for districts statewide. This includes supporting efforts to
reduce overall costs to school districts (e.g., through strategies to maximize collective and/or
statewide procurement and consortium pricing).
ESTABLISH, ENHANCE, AND ADVANCE STATEWIDE OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE (OER)
PLATFORMS TO ENABLE EASE OF ACCESS, USABILITY, AND AFFORDABILITY OF DIGITAL
CONTENT.
Create capacity and funding to sustain curation of courses to ensure quality resources in the CEL
OER platform. Raise funding to sustain creation of new OER courses via teacher training.
PROMOTE DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH QUALITY CONTENT THROUGH NEW PARTNERSHIPS.
Solicit, leverage, and enhance private partnerships to create high quality full course content on
specific topics. Develop marketing collateral and criteria; identify key networks and events for
recruitment.

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 Tracking Roadmap Progress
Achieving success will require collaboration among many partners statewide. CEL will help foster this
collaboration and track progress.
The roadmap is based on a theory of change that a coordinated statewide approach will result in
increased access to and use of blended learning strategies, which ultimately will lead to greater equity,
personalization, competency-based learning opportunities, and post-graduation success for students.
However, the meaningful measurement of these end-goal outcomes/impacts would require significant
resources above current allocations that would need to be dedicated to the establishment, tracking, and
dissemination of corresponding metrics.
The following approaches to tracking progress are selected based on existing funding, feasibility, and
privacy requirements for performance monitoring. They also acknowledge that, as a local control state,
Colorado’s schools and districts will ultimately determine their level of participation in blended learning
as well as in data collection processes. CEL and other partners will also continue to monitor, share, and
adapt to new research and case studies documenting the relationship between blended learning models
and these end goals.

TRACKING ROADMAP PROGRESS
ANNUAL CEL REPORTING
Legislatively-required CEL annual reports will continue to document consultation, professional
development, supplemental course offerings, and enrollment specifically offered through CEL. In
addition, they will be expanded to provide a qualitative scorecard on implementation of roadmap
strategies and activities.

EXPLORING SYSTEMIC DATA COLLECTION
CEL will work in partnership with Colorado Department of Education, districts and schools, and
additional stakeholders to explore additional mechanisms for tracking blended learning progress
systemically, including the potential to enhance existing CDE data collection processes to capture
information on blended learning course offerings, participation and completion, policies and
planning, technology and digital resources, human capital, and case studies and lessons learned.

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 Additional References and Resources
The following resources and references provide a sampling of information available for further
exploration of blended learning.

Organizations:
Blended Learning Universe (BLU). (2017). www.blendedlearning.org/resources/
The Blended Learning Universe is a comprehensive online hub, curated by the Clayton Christensen
Institute, providing blended learning resources including practical guides, video tutorials, downloadable
worksheets, and a directory of blended learning programs worldwide.
Buck Institute for Education (BIE). (2017). www.bie.org/resources
BIE is a mission-driven nonprofit that creates, gathers, and shares high-quality project-based learning
instructional practices and products and provides services to teachers, schools, and districts.
Clayton Christensen Institute. Personalized & Blended Learning. (2017).
www.christenseninstitute.org/blog/topics/personalized-blended-learning/
The Clayton Christensen Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank dedicated to improving the
world through disruptive innovation. The Institute offers a framework for understanding issues around
education, healthcare, and economic prosperity.
Colorado Digital Learning Solutions (CDLS). (2017). www.coloradodls.org
CDLS is the state-supported provider of supplemental coursework for Colorado students. The goal of
CDLS is to use state funds to build a sound, self-sustaining supplemental model for students and schools
in Colorado.
Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). (2017). www.cosn.org
CoSN is a professional association for school system technology leaders.
Education Superhighway. (2017). www.educationsuperhighway.org
Education Superhighway is focused on upgrading Internet access in every public school classroom in
America so that every student has the opportunity to take advantage of digital learning.
eNet Learning. (2017). www.enetlearning.org
eNet Learning is a project of the Colorado BOCES Association and Foundation in partnership with the
Centennial BOCES. eNet Learning’s mission is to provide high-quality content, professional development,
and resources that support the evolving needs of educators and student learning.
iLearn Collaborative. (2017). www.ilearncollaborative.org
iLearn Collaborative seeks to advance the practice of student-centered learning by integrating
technology with strong instructional practice to ensure equal access to education for all.
International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL). (2017). www.inacol.org
iNACOL’s mission is to catalyze the transformation of K-12 education policy and practice to advance
powerful, personalized, learner-centered experiences through competency-based, blended and online
learning.
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 KnowledgeWorks. (2017). www.knowledgeworks.org
KnowledgeWorks is a national organization committed to providing every learner with meaningful
personalized learning experiences that ensure success in college, career and civic life.
State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA). (2017). www.setda.org
SETDA is a membership association launched by state education agency leaders to serve, support and
represent interests and needs with the use of technology for teaching, learning, and school operations.

Articles and Studies:
Adams Becker, S., Freeman, A., Giesinger Hall, C., Cummins, C., and Yuhnke, B. (2016). NMC/CoSN
Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition. Retrieved from: http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2016-nmc-cosn-horizonreport-k12-EN.pdf
Bonnot, L. (2015). Open Educational Resources (OER) Stories, Policies, and Resources. International
Association for K-12 Online Learning. Retrieved from: https://www.inacol.org/resource/openeducational-resources-oer-stories-policies-and-resources/
Cadran, A., and Soots, B. (2016). OER: Instructional Materials and Promising Practices for Teachers.
International Association for K-12 Online Learning. Webinar. Retrieved from:
https://www.inacol.org/resource/oer-instructional-materials-and-promising-practices-for-teachers/
Chuong, C. and Mead, S. (2014). A Policy Playbook for Personalized Learning: Ideas for State and Local
Policymakers. Bellwether Education Partners. Retrieved from:
https://bellwethereducation.org/sites/default/files/PolicyPlays_Final.pdf
Consortium for School Networking (CoSN). (2017). Advancing Digital Equity and Closing the Homework
Gap: The Need to Connect Students at Home. Retrieved from:
http://cosn.org/sites/default/files/Digital_Equity_Homework_Gap_5.11.17.pdf
Education Elements. The Positive Power of Personalized Learning: Education Elements Impact Report
2015 – 2016. Retrieved from: https://www.edelements.com/hubfs/Impact-report-201516/EducationElements_Personalized_Learning_ImpactReport_2015-2016.pdf
Evans, J. (2017). Speak Up 7 for 2017: Top Digital Learning Trends in K-12 Schools Today. Speak Up. Blog.
Retrieved from: http://blog.tomorrow.org/index.php/2017/05/10/speak-up-7-for-2017-top-digitallearning-trends-in-k-12-schools/
ExcelinEd. (2017). Competency-Based Education & School Finance: Lessons from Online and Community
Based Courses. Retrieved from: http://www.excelined.org/wpcontent/uploads/2017/05/ExcelinEd.Competency-BasedEducationAndSchoolFinance.May2017.pdf
The Hechinger Report. Blended Learning. (2017). http://hechingerreport.org/special-reports/blendedlearning/

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 Jones, R., Fox, C. and Weeks, T. (2017). Navigating the Digital Shift II: Implementing Digital Instruction
Materials for Learning. State Educational Technology Directors Association (SEDTA). Retrieved from:
http://www.setda.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Navigating_the_shiftII_final_June242017.pdf
Jones, R. and Fox, C. (2016). State K-12 Broadband Leadership: Driving Connectivity and Access. State
Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA). Retrieved from: http://www.setda.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/04/Broadband_2016.4.11.16_updated.pdf
Kim., A. (2015). Personalized Learning Playbook. Education Elements. Retrieved from:
https://www.edelements.com/hubfs/PL_Playbook/FINAL.Complete.PL.Playbook.Revised060615.pdf
KnowledgeWorks. (2017). Traditional Education vs. Competency-Based Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.knowledgeworks.org/sites/default/files/u1/cbe-versus-traditional-education.pdf
Matsuoka, C., Marks, E., Leveine, J., and Goodwin, R. (2013). The Role of Leadership in the
Implementation of Successful Blended Learning Programs. International Association for K-12 Online
Learning. Retrieved from: https://www.inacol.org/resource/the-role-of-leadership-in-theimplementation-of-successful-blended-learning-programs/
Murphy, R., Snow, E., Mislevy, J., Gallagher, L., Krum, A., and Wei, X. (2014). Blended Learning Report.
Michael and Susan Dell Foundation. Retrieved from: https://www.msdf.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/01/MSDF-Blended-Learning-Report-May-2014.pdf
Nagel, D. (2017). Is Effective Ed Tech Implementation Extremely Important? Depends Who’s Being
Asked. The Journal. Retrieved from: https://thejournal.com/articles/2017/05/10/is-effective-ed-techimplementation-extremely-important.aspx
National Center on Time & Learning. (2014). Supporting Student Success through Time and Technology.
Retrieved from:
http://www.timeandlearning.org/sites/default/files/resources/timeandtechnologyguide.pdf
Pane, J. F., Steiner, E. D., Baird, M. D., and Hamilton, L. S. (2015). Continued Progress: Promising
Evidence on Personalized Learning – Report. RAND Corporation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Retrieved from: http://k12education.gatesfoundation.org/resource/continued-progress-promisingevidence-on-personalized-learning-2/
Sturgis, C. (2017). In Pursuit of Equality: A Framework for Equity Strategies in Competency-Based
Education. iNACOL National Summit on K-12 Competency-Based Education. Retrieved from:
http://www.competencyworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/CompetencyWorksInPursuitOfEquality-AFrameworkForEquityStrategiesInCompetencyBasedEducation.pdf

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