Reflective About Blended Learning

My Experiences:

In this 5 weeks I have learnt a lot with blended learning in Future Learn platform. I can explore how blended learning allows us to leverage the best of all worlds. “Old School” classroom experiences to cutting edge 3D immersive worlds. I would say that I will go for it and try something new. I will push myself to be creative, to keep my teaching fresh, and student-focused.  

Strengths

·         Use of multimedia and external links was useful to understand the subject. Posting class materials (PowerPoint presentations), assignments for formative and summative assessments and instructions for presentations and external links for reference, tutorials and self-directed learning topics saved classroom time.

• Advanced collaboration tools. Online discussions, quick messages and feedback from the instructor and peer students.
• Increased accessibility. Courses can be accessed 24/7 – any time from any location.
• Improved communication. Better connection between lecturers and part-time students.
• Assessment 2.0. Facilitated student evaluations with comprehensive online testing and granular reporting. Automatic grading offered by many learning systems is also a great relief for the teacher.
• Personal approach. Caters to each student’s pace and learning style, creates a more comfortable environment for both slow runners and sprinters. If the learners are struggling with a particular topic, they can reach out to complementary web resources or get quick help from their instructor.
• It’s just fun! Blended learning courses have proven to be more engaging for various student groups – from elementary school to post-graduates and advanced trainees.
• Students learned some of the material independently and helped them to apply the learning in a more facilitated learning environment.
• BL provided engaged the students more and that facilitated a more interactive classroom environment. The students opined that the length of the actual classroom time was reduced, thus reducing exhaustion, at the same time, classroom interactions were more productive through pre-work.
• The blended format encouraged them to use the out-of-classroom time in meaningful activities.
• Online quizzes helped students identify those areas that they need to review; questions, which gave immediate feedback on student answers, were helpful. Submitting homework, viewing course material, course objectives and reading material online was convenient.
• BL created a dialogue outside of the classroom among students and teachers, by discussions and forums provided in the software.

 

Weaknesses

·         The technology challenge. Infrastructure

Acquiring software technology and hardware for your blended learning program can be costly. Even more so if you are dealing with a large campus or multiple branches.

• The technology challenge. Mentality

The other issue is IT literacy, which may be a significant barrier for teachers rather than students. The availability of solid tech support and trainers is an absolute must. Old school supporters always have an ace up their sleeve: a long track record and verified methodology.

·         The plagiarism and credibility problem

 

Naturally, once your class is officially Internet-friendly, it’s hard to withstand the temptation of looking up things on the web or getting instant tips from fellow students. This may affect fair assessment and quality of course work. Besides, the teacher needs to make learners aware of the perils of unverified online resources, such as bias, distortion and misrepresentation of facts.

·         Negative impact on teachers. Overwork

It’s hard to disagree that there’s a significant amount of extra teacher’s work involved in the primary stages. Paradigm shift is not exactly a trifle. A teacher adopting blended learning has to pick the right syllabus, the right ratio between face-to-face and online learning, and to the best of my knowledge, there’s no universal recipe to it. The WebQuest model might be worth checking out, as a sample of successful ‘hybridization’. Also, technical training is key. The broader your horizons, the easier to find a best-fitting solution.

Recommended ideas for improvisation

Every learning methodology has its pros and cons. As always, you need to measure your requirements against existing options. Will the combination of e-Learning technology with face-to-face instruction and self-paced training benefit your audience? Do the rewards outweigh the risks? Are your students ready to embrace the new way of thinking and learning? An unrestrained and versatile educational environment may be an invaluable motivational factor for some, and a source of cognitive dissonance for others.