What Your Education IT Customers Need To Offer "Blended Learning"
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Blended learning is generally applied to the practice of using both online and direct instruction when teaching, blending technology and traditional practices. Also called hybrid learning and mixed-mode learning, blended-learning experiences may vary widely in design and execution from school to school.
According to Christensen Institute blended learning is a formal education program in which a student learns: (1) at least in part through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace; (2) at least in part in a supervised brick-and-mortar location away from home; (3) and the modalities along each student’s learning path within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience.
As the opportunities for incorporating technology into educational pedagogy increase, it will become more important for educators and their solutions providers to understand the options in order to craft the best overall learning environment for their students.
Some of the strategies for engagement through blended learning are suggested by Andrew Miller, educational consultant and online educator, in this blog post from Edutopia. Among the strategies Miller proposes are to leverage virtual class meetings with collaborative work; create a model of learning where student see relevance and need to do the work; reflect and set goals for tasks; differentiate instruction to individualize learning through online work; and utilize tools for mobile learning, with apps like BrainPop or the Khan Academy.
Miller states, “Successful blended learning educators and schools are focusing on engagement as they work towards student achievement. We have the unique opportunity to not replicate a system that has not served all students. Instead, we need to look at flexible time and place to innovate through blended learning.”
Some of the tools that can be applied to the blended learning model include learning management systems (LMSs), learning apps, wikis, blogs, online forums, and other online materials. Blackboard and Moodle are perhaps two of the best known classroom management systems (CMS) applications used today, and allow students to access video of lectures, track assignments and progress, interact with professors and peers, and review other materials.
Solutions providers can help schools find the appropriate balance of technology and face-to-face instruction by offering a variety of tools to help manage their technology needs and determine which applications and classroom management systems are best for their environment.
As author Bill Tolley suggests in this article from Education Week, integrating blended-learning techniques means finding the proper infrastructure, online delivery methods, applications, and video.