First Definition:
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.
The majority
of blended-learning programs resemble one of four models:
1. Rotation
model — a course
or subject in which students rotate on a fixed schedule or at the teacher’s
discretion between learning modalities, at least one of which is online
learning.
a. Station
Rotation — a course
or subject in which students experience the Rotation model within a contained
classroom or group of classrooms.
b. Lab
Rotation – a
course or subject in which students rotate to a computer lab for the
online-learning station.
c. Flipped
Classroom – a
course or subject in which students participate in online learning off-site in
place of traditional homework and then attend the brick-and-mortar school for
face-to-face, teacher-guided practice or projects.
d.
Individual Rotation – a course or subject in which each student has an individualized
playlist and does not necessarily rotate to each available station or modality.
2. Flex
model — a course
or subject in which online learning is the backbone of student learning, even
if it directs students to offline activities at times. Students move on an
individually customized, fluid schedule among learning modalities. The teacher
of record is on-site, and students learn mostly on the brick-and-mortar campus,
except for any homework assignments. These variations are useful modifiers to
describe a particular Flex model.
3. A La
Carte model — a course
that a student takes entirely online to accompany other experiences that the
student is having at a brick-and-mortar school or learning center.
4. Enriched
Virtual model — a course
or subject in which students have required face-to-face learning sessions with
their teacher of record and then are free to complete their remaining
coursework remote from the face-to-face teacher.
Second Definition
Blended learning is a term increasingly used to describe the way e-learning is
being combined with traditional classroom methods and independent study to
create a new, hybrid teaching methodology. It has already produced an offshoot
– the
flipped classroom – that has quickly become a distinct approach of its own.
A learning model in three parts
There is a general consensus among education
innovators that blended learning has three primary components:
·
In-person
classroom activities facilitated by a trained educator.
·
Online
learning materials, often including pre-recorded lectures given by that same
instructor.
·
Structured
independent study time guided by the material in the lectures and skills
developed during the classroom experience.
An
individual semester of blended learning may emphasize classroom time at the
beginning, then gradually increase the amount of work that students do online
or during independent study. Many argue that class discussion boards, for
example, are far more useful if the participants have met face-to-face first.
The
“flipped” classroom, a more
recent coinage, refers to classes that are structured almost exclusively around
a reversal of expectations for lectures and homework. Students are expected to
watch lectures online at home, and do homework while they are in class.
Blended learning redefining teaching roles
In some
situations, the move to blended learning has inspired educators to redefine
traditional roles. The word “facilitator” has emerged as an alternative to
“teacher,” bringing with it a slightly different focus. The facilitator places
an emphasis on empowering students with the skills and knowledge required to
make the most of the online material and independent study time, guiding
students toward the most meaningful experience possible. Facilitators focus on
four key areas:
·
Development
of online and offline course content.
·
Facilitation
of communication with and among students, including the pedagogy of
communicating content online without the contextual clues students would get in
person.
·
Guiding
the learning experience of individual students, and customizing material
wherever possible to strengthen the learning experience.
·
Assessment
and grading, not unlike the expectations for teachers within the traditional
framework.
By putting an emphasis on learning
through supervised activities, blended learning has proven to be very adaptable
to what some corporations are calling blended
training. Trainers can shift their focus from the delivery of knowledge to
its application, and companies spend less flying trainers around to oversee all
instruction in person.
However, Blended Learning Education system is one of the alternative method to combine between tradition method (face to face) and e-learning activity (online). If teacher or lecturer can manage the combination in this method, the classroom will not lost the comfort in learning and there will be no boring class. (M. Ali Azhar)
