"If you set goals and go after them with all the determination you can muster, your gifts will take you places that will amaze you."
– Les Brown

Last week, I wrote on setting a vision for blended learning implementations. Vision, alone, however, never gets the job done. We need two sets of goals, high-level goals written to inspire and guide us toward that vision and tactical, short-term goals detailing the discrete milestones. Without both sets, we lose direction, focus, creditability, and end up with no way to turn the vision into action.

Well-written strategic goals for blended learning:

• Provide a realistic assessment of the current environment
• Spell out the projected (desired) blended learning environment
• Are both realistic and achievable
• Spell out how we will know when we’ve reached them
• Cover 3-5 years

Generally, strategic goals require time to achieve. They cannot turn on a dime or change based on the whim and wind of educational arenas or community feedback.

Tactical goals for blended learning:

• Detail the "How"
• Cover shorter timeframes – often 3 to 18 months
• Describe "hands-on" activities
• Include measurable objectives
• Allow periodic course corrections

Again, implementing 1:1 or BYOD across a district is tactical, not strategic (directional). As educators, we study the instructional standard and objective. For years, we have chanted religiously, "the learner will be able to…" Instead of going through a long, laborious, committee-driven process to define the strategic goals, perhaps we should apply the same principle to writing the high-level blended learning goals for our district. Here’s one example:

All courses/classes include student use of technology-based activities that are meaningful, engaging, relevant, and connected to students' interests and previous knowledge.

Notice that the measure moves beyond a number (all). The goal includes the quality of the online activities and how well they relate to individual students. Ideally, for every strategic goal related to blended learning (or any other focus), the district/program will define the tactical goals and, in some cases, the potential student-level goals.

Whenever we create a common focus and language, from top-to-bottom, administrator-to-child, we increase the chance for positive change. Again, we're focused first on the student.

Today's Challenge:

Take your vision for blended learning, whether it resides at the district/college level or just with you personally. List out the long-term goals, the tasks (tactical goals), and then, most importantly, how you will translate those into goals that you or your teams set with their individual students.