Blended Learning

Blended Learning is an educational approach that combines traditional face-to-face classroom instruction with online learning activities. This method allows educators to leverage technology while maintaining personal interaction, enabling students to engage with content at their own pace. By integrating digital resources, Blended Learning can cater to diverse learning styles and preferences, fostering a more inclusive educational environment.

Typically, this model involves various formats, such as flipped classrooms, where students learn new material online before applying it during in-person sessions. It offers flexibility, making education more accessible to a wider range of learners, including those balancing work and studies. Additionally, Blended Learning encourages collaboration among students and enhances the overall learning experience through interactive tools and resources.

As such, it represents a modern evolution in teaching methodologies, aiming to enhance educational outcomes while embracing technological advancements. Overall, Blended Learning stands out as a dynamic solution that reflects the changing landscape of education in a digital age.

Published in: 2021

By: Zimmer, Scott

Subject Terms

Blended Learning

Abstract

This article describes the concept of blended learning, which has gained in popularity quite rapidly since its origins in the late 1990s. Blended learning refers to an educational experience that is not entirely conducted through in-person class meetings, nor through purely online interactions, but uses a combination of both of these strategies. Students meet in person from time to time, but between these meetings they also interact with one another and with their instructors online, using streaming video, e-mail, chat, and other forms of computer mediated communication.

Overview

Attempts at blended learning began almost as soon as the earliest incarnation of the Internet came on the scene, in the 1960s. Educators immediately realized the potential benefits that could be realized by incorporating technology into the delivery of instruction, in particular the economies of scale that could be achieved with a single instructor able to reach far more students that just those who could fit into a traditional classroom (synchronous learning). At first the main obstacles to blended learning were technological limitations and the expense required to overcome them; computers were slow and network bandwidth was in extremely short supply, so delivery of streaming video over a network was simply impossible. Some early forms of blended learning circumvented such issues by distributing course content on CD-ROM media or by using cable connections to transmit course content as a video feed.

These limitations have been largely transcended by the advent of the Internet and the drastic increases in available bandwidth throughout the 1980s and 1990s. It is now possible for instructors to teach in front of a webcam and broadcast their lectures live to an unlimited number of users who are located all over the world—anywhere that has Internet connectivity, including cloud computing. In addition to being available via this sort of live streaming, the lecture can also be recorded as it happens for later viewing by those who were not able to tune in as the instruction was delivered. This type of time-shifting of content delivery is known as asynchronous learning, because the instructor and the student do not have to be engaged with one another at the same time—the lecture can be given and posted online, and the student can access it hours, days, or weeks later.

The convenience of asynchronous learning is clear from this example, and is a major reason for the expanding popularity of blended learning. More and more students are choosing to pursue their education later in life, and must balance the demands of their coursework against other demands on their time from work and childcare. A blended learning model gives these students more flexibility as they strive to maintain this balance. Instead of having to be in class every Wednesday evening from six until ten, a student can log on to her course's learning management system at any time of the day or night and watch that week's lecture. This means that to a greater extent than ever before, students are able to structure their education around their lives, rather than having to do the opposite. What's more, competency based learning (CBL), an approach to asynchronous learning, relies on the demonstrated acquisition of relevant skills by students as a means of evaluating progress, rather than the accumulation of hours of instruction time. CBL is lauded for its flexible approach to education, which allows students to learn in their own ways and demonstrate that learning in their own ways as well.

Blended learning can take a wide variety of forms, depending on what technologies are being used (instant messaging, chat, video streaming, audio streaming, video chat, etc.) and how the instructor chooses to formulate the blend. Some instructors use technology as a minor support to their face to face lectures; an example of this would be distributing syllabi and other course materials by email or online, and accepting online submission of assignments, but otherwise delivering most instruction in person. This type of blended learning is the closest to traditional instruction, because the face to face component is still what drives the course.

At the other end of the continuum one finds classes in which everything happens online, from instruction to class discussion and collaboration on assignments. The only face to face meetings that occur in this type of scenario are those requested by the student or instructor for some special purpose. Between these two extremes there are several more balanced approaches; one of these is rotation, where class meetings alternate between in person and online. This style of blended learning can be especially useful for students who are not yet used to all of the possibilities that educational technology has to offer, because it lets them test out the new features while still relying on regular meetings in person. As students become accustomed to working online, they may choose to move toward what is known as a flex model, in which the majority of coursework happens online but in person meetings can be arranged if needed. Another popular approach is for students to organize themselves into lab groups, in which members meet at a designated location in order to work online at regular times. This lab format can be especially helpful for students who prefer online coursework but have a hard time staying focused or are easily distracted—the lab gives them a place that they have to be at a certain time, so they feel more accountable for getting their work done. One feature that all of these blended learning approaches have in common is that they give the student more responsibility for taking charge of their own learning and more power over when and how that learning will happen.

Further Insights

Blended learning is often assumed to be an all or nothing approach, but in fact it can be implemented in smaller steps and at specific levels of institutional engagement. The most basic and limited form of blended learning occurs at the level of individual activities within a course. For example, a traditional face to face course might incorporate an assignment that requires students to email their papers to one another for an informal peer review, and then return the papers with comments and recommendations for the author. Often this approach is used by instructors as they are first experimenting with blended learning.

Assuming that all goes well, their likely next step will be to expand the blended component so that it pervades the entire course. This course-level blending will then require that most, if not all, segments of the class, so that all major, graded components include both online and in person elements. The transition from activity level blending to class level blending often is the most jarring for new students and for instructors unaccustomed to modern technology. The next level of blending occurs at the program level, when a significant number of instructors in a department or program have successfully adopted a blended course model; at this point the program itself can be described as blended. Many such programs have begun to advertise this achievement in their marketing literature, proclaiming themselves as innovative or "hybrid course" approaches to education.

Finally, it is possible for an entire institution to adopt a blended approach to learning, although it is still somewhat rare. Those organizations that have achieved this level of blending tend to be corporations with locations all over the world, a configuration that demands training that is available from anywhere. There are also a moderate number of colleges and universities that employ institution-level blended models, with this most notable examples tending to be for-profit, online universities. Because this fully implemented blended approach is still the exception rather than the rule, society tends to view such organizations as either extremely modern and formidable (corporate training programs are seen this way) or as decidedly suspicious and unorthodox (in the case of blended and online universities). In the near future these impressions are likely to evolve, as people become more accustomed to moving back and forth between the online and the in-person realms.

Issues

One drawback to blended learning has long been the level of comfort with technology that participants must possess in order to experience its benefits. Because many of the technologies that blended learning is built upon are relatively new, there are many people who are unfamiliar with them. This can be a source of anxiety, particularly for older students who are returning to school after a long absence or who deferred their own education until after they had raised their children. These older students tend to be less comfortable with new technologies, and many of them are already anxious about whether or not they will be able to succeed academically when many of their classmates are decades younger than they are. The prospect of having to learn how to use new learning tools such as video chat and instant messaging, at the same time that one is adjusting to being in a classroom, can push some students over the edge and cause them to give up on the idea of completing their course of study. Some programs are constructed with an awareness of these potential forms of anxiety, and often these programs will try to ease students into the blended learning environment by structuring beginning classes to have a significant face to face component. Then, later in the program, after students have had time to adjust, additional forms of blended learning may be introduced.

Occasionally blended learning has encountered opposition when school officials seek to introduce it to their campuses. This tends to happen more often when it is used at middle school and high school levels than in colleges or universities. The most common objection arises amid concern that the hidden purpose for adopting blended learning is not to take advantage of the benefits of the latest technology, nor to make it easier for students with busy lives to balance their many obligations, but instead to operate the institution more efficiently in the hope of eventually being able to reduce the number of teaching staff by replacing some teachers with computers. Most research suggests that in the unusual circumstances when this is truly the goal, it is a goal that is not likely to be realized. Blended learning tends to allow education to proceed more efficiently in the sense that participants can communicate with one another over great distances and at varying times, but this efficiency does not often translate into a need for fewer instructors and support staff. Staff and instructors' duties are certainly changed by the introduction of blended learning, but those duties are rarely diminished. For example, instead of instructional support staff spending an hour printing, collating, and stapling the syllabus an instructor plans to distribute in a face to face class, they may spend the time organizing an email distribution list which contains the email addresses of all class participants so that the syllabus can be sent to them electronically.

Some observers have expressed concerns that blended learning, if not implemented properly, may exacerbate the so-called digital divide. The digital divide is a concept that describes the unequal access to technology that exists as a result of the stratification of society into different economic classes. Many families are unable to afford their own computers, tablets, smartphones, and similar gadgetry, and even when some of these devices are available (most libraries have computers for public use, for example) not everyone has the time or the educational background to be able to make use of them. This means that for a large segment of society, the potential benefits of blended learning either may be unavailable or may come at too high a price to be realistic options. This raises the question of proper implementation of blended learning, because if those responsible for launching a blended learning program apply sufficient forethought, there are frequently alternatives that can make the program available to participants regardless of their financial status. These can take the form of grants, scholarships, or the use of a lab-type blended learning environment as described above, where students use a shared computer lab facility in order to perform the online portion of their work. The benefits of establishing an equitable form of blended learning are many; not only does it promote the interests of fairness and justice, but it also enriches the instructional environment through the inclusion of the perspectives of those of lower socioeconomic status.

Terms & Concepts

Asynchronous learning: Asynchronous learning occurs when students and instructors can interact with one another at different times and from different places, rather than all gathering in the same place and interacting at the same time. Asynchronous learning is a typical methodology for online classes, where students log on and participate according to their own schedules rather than at a set time.

Blended learning: Blended learning refers to an educational experience which is not entirely conducted through in person class meetings, nor through purely online interactions, but which uses a combination of both of these strategies.

Cloud computing: Cloud computing is a form of technology service where the user's data and applications are stored in and run on a server which the user connects to over the Internet. This is in contrast to the traditional model in which both data and application are housed on the local machine that the user has physical access to.

Competency based learning: Competency based learning (CBL) is an approach to education that relies on the demonstrated acquisition of relevant skills by students as a means of evaluating progress, rather than the accumulation of hours of instruction time. CBL is lauded for its flexible approach to education, which allows students to learn in their own ways and demonstrate that learning in their own ways as well.

Digital divide: The digital divide is a concept that describes the unequal access to technology that exists as a result of the stratification of society into different economic classes. Many families are unable to afford their own computers, tablets, smartphones, and similar gadgetry, and even when some of these devices are available (most libraries have computers for public use, for example), not everyone has the time or the educational background to be able to make use of them.

Hybrid course: A hybrid course is usually thought of as a synonym for a course that uses a blended learning approach. The "hybrid" being referred to is the combination of in-person instruction with online or computer mediated instruction.

Synchronous learning: Synchronous learning is the opposite of asynchronous learning, described above. In a synchronous learning model, the instructor and students must gather together at an agreed upon time in order to interact with one another. This interaction can be in person or can be mediated by technology such as live videoconferencing or conference calls via telephone.

Bibliography

Demirer, V., & Sahin, I. (2013). Effect of blended learning environment on transfer of learning: An experimental study. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 29(6), 518–529. Retrieved March 22, 2015 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=91734755&site=ehost-live

Garrison, D. R., & Vaughan, N. D. (2008). Blended learning in higher education: Framework, principles, and guidelines. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Gecer, A. (2013). Lecturer-student communication in blended learning environments. Educational Sciences: Theory and Practice, 13(1), 362–367. Retrieved March 22, 2015 from EBSCO Online Database Education Research Complete. April 1, 2015http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=85466206&site=ehost-live

Nicolson, M., Murphy, L., & Southgate, M. (2011). Language teaching in blended contexts. Edinburgh, UK: Dunedin Academic Press.

Snart, J. A. (2010). Hybrid learning: The perils and promise of blending online and face-to-face instruction in higher education. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.

Stevens, M. (2016). Space for all: Middle level students in blended learning environments. Voices from the Middle, 24(2), 50–55. Retrieved December 14, 2016 from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=120089227&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Blended Learning

On this Page

Subject Terms

Blended Learning

Abstract

Overview

Further Insights

Issues

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

Suggested Reading