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Blog #10: Blended Learning




Buzzword Bingo: Blended learning = Formal education progra… | Flickr

The process of blended learning as of now does not have a definite definition. But blended learning is combining computer based learning, problem base learning and in class learning together. Like you do with a smoothie, you place all the ingredients you want in a blender and you mix it up to create something totally new! Or when you mix different colors together to create a new color! 

Free photo Blending White Gold Beauty Mixture Paint - Max Pixel


Computer based learning + problem base learning + in class learning = BLENDED LEARNING 

With blended learning, a portion of the traditional face-to-face instruction is replaced by web based learning (computer and technology).

Before taking this Instructional Technology course I really had no idea what Blending Learning even was, I thought it was just an online class day. But something that surprised me about Blending Learning is that it has no real technical definition because it is still in the early stages of creation. Although I am still a little confused about Blended Learning, I do know what Blended is not.


Blended Learning is NOT:
  • Just using technology in the classroom 
  • An online class
  • A quick process, creating a functioning Blended Learning class takes time to create


The best part about blended learning is that since this is your own learning environment as an educator, you can tailor it to fit the needs of you (the teacher) and your students. This is your own creation! With that being said, with blended learning you can move at the pace of each individual learner which allows students to guide their own learning.  

Some other benefits of Blended Learning are:
  • Immediate feedback
  • Personalized learning
  • You are able to adopt new learning environments that work better for students and teachers
One of the most important things about Blended Learning is that since student are working at their own pace then students need to be held more accountable for their learning. 

In this class we have used the blended class on a few different occasions. An example of this would be the providing additional resources to help us grasp and reinforce the concepts we learned in class a little better, such as: videos, blogs and articles. Along with that, we given a time frame to complete each assignment which allows us to work at our pace.

Although we have the tradition class learning of lecturing I do not think we incorporated the activity portion of blended learning. I would have liked for there to be more activity and movement involved. But like I stated above it takes time to get a functioning blended class and every class is different. This blended learning may have worked for one class while a different way worked better for another. 



Education is Not Limited to the Classroom - ICT's in Miss ...

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