Blended Learning: The Future of Higher Education

Blended Learning: The Future of Higher

Education

Professor Mike KeppellProfessor of Higher Education

Director, The Flexible Learning Institute Charles Sturt University

1Wednesday, 21 July 2010

OverviewAssumptions and principles

What is blended learning?

Benefits of blended learning - from an activity, subject, course, university perspective

Paradigms of blended learning - enabling, enhancing, transforming

Affordances of learning spaces

Examples of blended learning


AssumptionsUniversities value and seek to inculcate the skills essential for lifelong and life wide learning, producing graduates who will continue to develop intellectually, professionally and socially beyond the bounds of formal education.

Universities believe that programs, services and teaching methods should be responsive to the diverse cultural, social and academic needs of students, enabling them to adapt to the demands of university education and providing them with the cultural capital for life success.


Higher Education PrinciplesEquivalence of Learning Outcomes ethical obligations

Student Learning Experience traverses physical, blended and virtual

learning spaces

Constructive Alignment

learning outcomes, subject, degree program, generic

attributes

Discipline Pedagogies specific needs of disciplines


What is Blended Learning?Combination of face-to-face teaching and learning with online teaching and learning

“It is a design approach whereby both face-to-face and online learning are made better by the presence of each other” (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008, p.5).

“Thoughtful fusion of face-to-face and online experiences” (p.5).

“Combines the properties and possibilities of both to go beyond the capabilities of each separately” (p.6)

“It is a complete rethinking and redesign of the educational environment and learning experience” (p.x)


What is Unique about Blended Learning?

Convergence of classroom and communications technology

Transformation of how we approach teaching and learning

Synchronous and asynchronous communication

Diversified range of learning spaces that are both physical and virtual


Activity-Level Blended Learning

Activity-level blending Includes both face-to-face and online components. e.g online debate and face-to-face debate; off-line reading and online discussion.

Discussion / Project/ Reflection / Debate Topic Posted

Individual Response Posted

Student-Student Interaction: React to Three Responses from Peers

Synthesis of Discussion (e.g. 85% peers agreed) Collaboration

Products (e.g., Top five best)

Blackboard Platform

Results


Activity-Level Blending in Practice

Instructor Role Student Role

Resources (Content)

Resources (Services) Assessment

Off-line

Allocate reading. Ask students to read required

reading and post summary in

LMS

Read respective

chapterReading

Some discussion

about topic in face-to-face

class

Online Facilitator

Post a one paragraph summary

and comment

on two other posts

Student and

instructor posts in

discussion forum

Discussion forum

Feedback from peers in online

discussion. Feedback from

instructor in online

discussion forum.


Subject and Course Level Blending

Subject-Level Blending

One of the most commonDistinct face-to-face and online activities as part of course/subject.For example designing learning resources (50/50 blended approach)

Course-level blendingDegree program levelTeaching Fellowship Scheme


Paradigms of Blended Learning

Enabling blendsThese address issues of access and equity and addflexibility. This might include the same opportunities inface-to-face, online and blended learning environments.

Enhancing blendsThese focus on incremental changes to the pedagogy in both the face-to-face and online components.

Transforming blendsTransformation of the pedagogy. Major redesign of teaching and learning e.g. online PBL.


Traditional model

Content

Teacher Student

Problem

Problem-based learning model

Coach Problemsolver

11

Tan (2003) p.12


What are Affordances?

When you first see something you have never seen before, how do you know what to do?

“An affordance is the design aspect of an object which suggests how the object should be used” (Norman, 1988).

Determined by context, culture, instinct, mental model e.g. hyperlinked text on website.

When designers make use of affordances the user knows what to do just by looking


Physical Virtual

Formal Informal InformalFormal

Blended

Mobile Personal

Outdoor

Diversity of Learning Spaces


Learning Space Affordance Example

Face-to-Face Teaching and

LearningOral communication Oral feedback to a

question

Learning Management

Systems

Information accessInteractive learningNetworked learning

Materials development

Subject outlineMultimedia forum

project

Learning Commons Informal learningDiscussion about

lecturePeer learning


Learning Space Affordance Example

TutorialIn-depth group

discussion Peer learning

Discussion of readingDiscussion of presentation

Residential School

Practical workPeer interaction

Sense of belonging to university

Practical work on IT networks

PracticeAuthentic learning

Community of PracticeMentor/mentee

Applied learning in discipline


An Example of Blended Learning - Critical Decisions

What are the learning goals?

What are the learning activities?

What are the affordances of the technology?

What should be off-line and online?

What is the assessment?


An Example of Blended Learning

Programme Postgraduate Diploma in Education(Professional and Vocational Education)

Module IIT5078 - Designing Learning Resources

Approach

Blended learning (Five face-to-face classes of four hours duration - 20 hours and 10 hours of online discussion activities). Emphasis on peer learning, project-based learning and learning-oriented assessment.

EssentialIn this module it was essential for the student to interact within the Blackboard LMS as the online component was designed to be a significant component of the module.


Learning Design

Problem-based

Project-based

Authentic Learning Cases


Project-based Learning

Howard, (2002)


Interactivity Decisions

Information access

Interactive learning

Networked learning

Materials development

(Oliver & Herrington, 2001)


Information AccessCONVEY INFORMATION ALONE TO THE

LEARNER

Examples Rationale

Module outline information accessibility

Assessment outline timely delivery of information

PowerPoint slides review of content

Task outlines administrative efficiency


Information Access ExamplesAnnouncements weekly announcement to students

Module Information

teaching schedule documentmodule outline documentweekly topics documentmodule assessment documentproject assessment rubric document

Staff Information lecturer background and contact details

Books reading list

Resources websites

Course Material for Five Classes powerpoint files, etc


Interactive LearningINCREASED LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT WITH

RESOURCES

Examples RationaleSearch and review

documents independent learning

Database searching independent learning

External links to websites independent learning

Simulations simulations of real life activities

Multimedia tutorial type activities and immediate feedback


Interactive Learning Examples

Problem-based learning cases

Project-based learning videos

Interactive concept maps

Synchronized audio-lecture and PowerPoint files

Online Survey

Online encyclopedia: Wikipedia

Encyclopedia of Educational Technology


Networked LearningPROVIDE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN

STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

Examples Rationale

Announcements one way communication in Bb

Staff information initial communication with students

Email one-to-one, one-to-many

Discussion forums, group tasks social construction of knowledge

Online debates social construction of knowledge

Real-time chats social construction of knowledge


Four online discussion groups related to module readings

Two in-class discussion groups

Discussion forums for module-related questions

Group spaces for projects

Networked Learning Examples


Materials DevelopmentDEVELOPING AND PRESENTING PRODUCTS

AND ARTEFACTS

Examples Examples

Stories/digital stories Portfolios

Reflective journals Teaching practice journals

Reports Concept maps

Presentations Interviews

Photographs/video/audio Projects

> Combined with discussion forums 28Wednesday, 21 July 2010

The group project provided an opportunity to apply principles and skills in the module to create a learning resource (i.e. needs analysis, concept map, video, photos, report, presentation)

Materials Development Examples


Needs analysisConcept map

Digital learning resourceReport

1. Authentic

Task

2. Criteria - Rubric

3. NeedsAnalysis

4. Concept

Map

5. Student Presentation

6. Learning Resource

Student feedback - Verbal

Teacher feedback - Verbal

Peer feedback - Verbal

Teacher feedback - Written

Feedback as feed-forward

Feedback as feed-forward

Assessment AS learning

task

Students as self-evaluators

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ConclusionBlended learning is a combination of face-to-face teaching and learning with online teaching and learning

Examples of blended learning include problem-based, project-based and authentic learning tasks

Benefits of blended learning expound from an activity, subject, course, and university perspective

Paradigms of blended learning include enabling, enhancing, transforming


Professor Mike [email protected]


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Blended Learning: The Future of Higher Education

Education

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