Is blended teaching-learning passe?

The WHY of Blended Teaching-Learning

Blended teaching-learning and its various hybrid forms were once the latest buzzwords. Today I ask, "Is blended teaching-learning passe?" Blended teaching-learning programs are perhaps the highest impact, lowest cost way to drive major initiatives. Education is charged to find unique and powerful combinations of methodologies for selecting the right media to solve a given business/education problem. The biggest challenges a business faces include technology and the change management and business processes required to roll out major programs. Results: Blended learning solves the problem of speed, scale, and impact and leverages e-learning where it is most appropriate, without forcing e-learning into places it does not fit. It sounds so simple mixing e-learning with other types of delivery. But now that Web 2.0 Internet teaching-learning is so widespread, where does it fit? What are the best ways to blend delivery types? Will the term blended or hybrid learning disappear from e-learning?

One can categorize the information you want/need to deliver into four information type categories: 1. Broadcast, 2. Transfer, 3. Develop, and 4. Certification. With that in mind, then we need to consider what the learner will need in order to effectively acquire that information. Finally, we decide whether tracking activities is required and which tool(s) are best suited for delivery of said inofrmation in order to achieve our stated goals and objectives.





Think of blended teaching-learning as F2F or e-learning on steroids. By adding an Internet connection, LMS/LCMS and Web 2.0 tools to a classroom, value is added to F2F and e-learning standalone sessions because they bring to learners the incremental ability to share and collaborate, both formally and informally. Interactive, visual content, Web cam images, and interaction are not limted to a local student body and one or a few instructors but provides interaction with a global classroom constituency that empowers learners to easily exchange private/public video/audio text messages, collaborate on a white board, work on the same document or file, conduct polls, lead Web site tours, share applications/simulations for training or demonstrations and a host of other features that support the interactions that are many times limited in a physical setting.


The HOW of Blended Teaching-Learning

There are several questions to answer when deciding to blend. How do you blend? What do you blend? Is there a model? What does good blended learning look like? Here are a few suggestions:


Conclusion

Learning occurs through multiple pathways: auditory, visual, sensory and kinesthetic. Hence, BLENDING is a viable way to SEE HEAR & DO! People retain 5-10% of what they hear, 10-20% of what they read, 30% of what they see, 30-50% of what they hear AND see, 70% when they "learn experientially" and 90% when they "do". In a sense, by offering all of these "see, hear, and do" functions web conferencing picks up where faxes, emails ,voice mails, e-learning and conference calls leave off. Blended learning is no longer considered some kind of mix between Face-to-Face (F2F) and Web 2.0-based learning, especially those tools which can be considered “basic ingredients” for blended learning; the new definition is a mix of many different types of media and various interactivities that are carefully chosen for the appropriate type of learning. So, blended teaching-learning is NOT passe!


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