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The Definition of Blended Learning

Blended learning combines both traditional in-person classroom learning and online digital learning. It allows students to learn in a flexible environment that combines online educational materials and tools with traditional in-person interactions with teachers and peers. Blended learning has been shown to improve student outcomes compared to only online or only in-person learning. While it has benefits, blended learning also requires teachers and students to adapt to new approaches and technologies for learning.

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Edilbert Bonifacio Gayo
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101 views3 pages

The Definition of Blended Learning

Blended learning combines both traditional in-person classroom learning and online digital learning. It allows students to learn in a flexible environment that combines online educational materials and tools with traditional in-person interactions with teachers and peers. Blended learning has been shown to improve student outcomes compared to only online or only in-person learning. While it has benefits, blended learning also requires teachers and students to adapt to new approaches and technologies for learning.

Uploaded by

Edilbert Bonifacio Gayo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Definition Of

Blended Learning
What is the definition of blended learning?

Think for a moment about some related practices and phrasing: Blended education.
eLearning. Remote learning (and remote learning tips). Hybrid learning. Flipping the
classroom.
All of these practices involve learning, the concept of place or distance, and the use of
technology. Whatever one chooses to call it, blended learning combines classroom and
online education. And because of improvements in both school curriculum and digital
technology, as a learning model it continues to gain momentum. While education
experts continue to debate the efficacy of hybrid learning, its existence has challenged
them to re-evaluate not just technology’s place in (and out of) the classroom, but also
how to reach and teach students more effectively.

That alone is one of the major benefits of blended learning (and a common focus
of blended learning resources).
The Definition Of Blended Learning
Oxford Dictionary Definition Of Blended Learning: a style of education in which students
learn via electronic and online media as well as traditional face-to-face teaching.

Defining hybrid or blended education is a trickier task than one might think–opinions
vary wildly on the matter. In a report on the merits and potential of blended education,
the Sloan Consortium defined hybrid courses as those that “integrate online with
traditional face-to-face class activities in a planned, pedagogically valuable
manner.” Educators probably disagree on what qualifies as ‘pedagogically valuable,’ but
the essence is clear: Hybrid education uses online technology to not just supplement,
but transform and improve the learning process.
That does not mean a professor can simply start a chat room or upload lecture videos
and say he is leading a hybrid classroom. According to Education Elements, which
develops hybrid learning technologies, successful blended learning occurs when
technology and teaching inform each other: material becomes dynamic when it reaches
students of varying learning styles. In other words, hybrid classrooms on the Internet
can reach and engage students in a truly customizable way. In this scenario, online
education is a game-changer, not just a supplement for the status quo. But what does
this theoretical model actually look like in practice?

The Definition Of Blended Learning: Blended learning is an approach to learning that


combines face-to-face and online learning experiences. Ideally, each (both online and
off) will complement the other by using its particular strength.
Context: While generally seen as a ‘trend’ in ‘progressive learning,’ Blended Learning
can also be viewed as a kind of relic symbolic of the gap between ‘traditional education’
(for the last century or so in brick-and-mortar schools and classrooms) and connected
and digital learning. This, of course, implies that digital-only is the future and the
ultimate incarnation of learning, which is a short-sighted view. The point, though, is that
blended learning is a mix of old and new as much as it is a mix of physical and digital
learning.

Types of Blended Learning: The Flipped Classroom, Hybrid Learning You can read
more about the most common types of blended learning, if that’s useful.
Contributing Factors: Rise of digital and mobile learning technology

Related Educational Concepts: Project-Based Learning, Growth Mindset, Design


Thinking, Robotics

Related Cultural Trends: eLearning and distance learning; the shift from ‘television’ to
‘YouTube’, growth of social media, working from home/remote offices

Blended Learning Tools & Resources: Google Classroom, YouTube, Zoom, Microsoft
Teams, Skype, Moodle, Blackboard

Examples of Blended Learning: Students doing face-to-face group work in a classroom,


then going home to analyze that work and turn in a video as an assessment form; taking
a course online, then receiving face-to-face tutoring between online lessons

In the course of higher education, blended or hybrid learning is a snazzy, yet relatively
new tool and not all professors use it the same way. Trends have emerged,
however.For instance, most professors in blended classrooms use some version of a
course management system application to connect with students online. Blackboard
and Moodle are perhaps two of the best known LMS applications used today but slowly
are being supplemented–or bested–by cloud-based content and learn ing management
systems. Through platforms like these, students can access videos of lectures, track
assignments and progress, interact with professors and peers, and review other
supporting materials, like PowerPoint presentations or scholarly articles.
Even if all professors used the same platform, however, they could each integrate them
into their classrooms differently. According to a report on the subject by the Innosight
Institute, professors could supplement traditional coursework with online media in the
classroom, or simply alternate between online and classroom instruction. Perhaps one
of the most recent–or at least most widely covered–hybrid teaching models is what
Innosight calls the ‘online driver’ method, or, as it has come to be known, ‘flipping.’
How Hybrid Classrooms Are Redefining Education
Years ago, NPR and other media outlets caught wind of a relatively new education
model called ‘flipping,’ which is really just an adaptation of the definition of blended
learning. In a traditional classroom, instructors use class time to lecture and disseminate
support materials. Students then review these materials and complete any assignments
at home, on their own time. With some luck, teachers will review those assignments in
class the following day, or at least host office hours so that they can field questions and
offer support.

‘Flipping’ defies these conventions. In this method, teachers and professors use online
media to deliver notes, lectures, and related course materials. Students review these
materials at home and at their own pace. Classroom periods are then transformed into
hands-on work periods where the teacher–who will have already delivered his or her
lecture digitally–is free to field questions, engage class-wide discussions or offer other
means of support. ‘Blended learning seems to reinforce student-centered learning,
allowing students to master content in an individual way. But is it effective?

Can blended learning–whatever the application–truly transform education as we know


it?

Does Blended Learning Work?


Not all students learn the same way. This is not a particularly novel concept, but it is an
important one. The tech publication PFSK notes that even early childhood education
programming, like Sesame Street, recognizes this, and therefore design programming
in a way that reaches auditory, visual, and kinetic learners alike. Students never
outgrow their learning styles, so why do traditional college classrooms fail to engage all
of them?

This is blended learning’s real strength: it transforms a largely transmissive method of


teaching–say, a professor lecturing for what feels like an eternity–into a truly interactive
one. The definition of blended learning sounds ideal on paper, but does it work? A 2010
meta-analysis published by the U.S. Department of Education suggests it does.
According to the report, students exposed to both face-to-face and online education
were more successful than students entirely in one camp or the other.

Is There A Catch?
Of course, no educational model is one-size-fits-all, and some hybrid classrooms are
probably more effective than others. According to a scientific literature review published
by the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education, a number
of factors impact the success of hybrid learning. Teachers must be committed to and
well trained in blended and hybrid education and its technologies, and students must
have a clear understanding of what is expected of them in this new environment.

Source: https://www.teachthought.com/learning/the-definition-of-blended-learning/

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