How can blended learning make things better for teachers? See Improving Conditions & Careers: How Blended Learning Can Improve the Teaching Profession, part of the Digital Learning Now! Smart Series, which Bryan Hassel and Emily Ayscue Hassel, Public Impact’s co-directors, wrote with John Bailey of Digital Learning Now! and Carri Schneider and Tom Vander Ark of Getting Smart.

In the report and accompanying infographic, the authors show how blended learning models, including some of Public Impact’s Opportunity Culture designs, can create better opportunities for teachers through more differentiated job models, more time for teacher collaboration, and meaningful teacher development. And the report takes a close look at how an Opportunity Culture uses the benefits blended learning can offer to let excellent teachers:

• extend their reach in person to more students and to other teachers aspiring to excellence;
• teach remotely, letting them reach students anywhere and have more flexible careers;
• have opportunities for “boundless instruction,” expanding their impact by sharing content they create online.

With these possibilities come the need to remove policy barriers to blended learning; the report discusses items policymakers should consider in funding, evaluation, pay/career options, operations, timing and scalability, and performance incentives.