Information and digital literacy in education via the digital path

In higher education, the need for blended learning strategies will continue to grow. This resource guide will help you facilitate a fast change to engaging students in the face-to-face, online, or hybrid classroom using blended learning methodologies. From incorporating tools and resources that promote blended learning methods, you’ll gain specific insight from articles and seminars to guide your blended learning journey. Additionally, for instructors interested in exploring blended learning, such as deciding which course elements to teach face-to-face and which to address through online technology, these resources will address those questions and more – you’ll learn a framework for making those essential educational judgment calls. You’ll be confident that your selection of which materials to present online and which to present in the classroom will provide the best learning experience for your students in your blended course.

Social distancing and lockdowns have disrupted university study for the past 18 months. Students are understandably stressed as shown by a dramatic drop in student satisfaction across Australia reported in the annual Student Experience Survey. Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge has drawn attention to this in calling for a “return” to on-campus study.

But the world is increasingly digital. Old notions of lecture halls will not help graduates to thrive in their careers. We need university study that supports students to succeed by preparing them for a digital future.

Blended learning isn’t new to higher education, but the coronavirus pandemic has fueled a rapid expansion as colleges combine the flexibility of online instruction with the benefits of face-to-face interaction.

Increased reliance on blended learning highlights the need to optimize a delivery mode that’s unfamiliar to many instructors. 

The University of Central Florida, an early adopter of online education, was quick to recognize the benefits of a blended approach, says Kelvin Thompson, executive director of UCF’s Center for Distributed Learning. At UCF, hybrid courses consistently yield better outcomes than purely face-to-face or online courses, he says, including higher grades, fewer withdrawals and greater student satisfaction.

With many schools now practicing blended learning, it can be helpful for educators interested in blended-learning programs to know which edtech tools are being used. For over five years, we at the Christensen Institute have been collecting data on blended-learning schools from around the world. In 2016, we launched our redesigned Blended Learning Universe (BLU)—a hub for resources and research, including a directory of schools practicing blended learning.

Blended learning is a pedagogical approach to learning and teaching that marries digitality with classroom learning activities. It is both a mode of instruction and learning that has different models which according to Dreambox include: self-blend, online driver, face-to-face driver, rotation, and online lab.

Blended learning is not a new concept, but new digital technologies are redefining blended learning experiences for the modern learner. While in the past blended learning programs meant combining the best of classroom and online learning, today, blended learning experiences mean layering classroom learning and online learning with a wide variety of digital technologies and L&D practices. 

Any time I start work on a new learning project, someone always asks me how I think the learning content should be delivered. Should it be an eLearning course or instructor-led training? Should it be a how-to video or job aid? And while these questions are important to answer, my response is always the same: Why does it have to be one or the other? Why don’t we try designing blended learning?

Blended learning refers to the use of more than one delivery method to provide enhanced learning.  Originally, blended learning referred to the addition of an online segment to the traditional classroom courses. However, the evolution of technology has ensured a more or less equal share between online and offline methods. No matter which component weighs more than the other, the fact remains that blended learning uses more than one approach to learning to ensure better learning outcomes.

Blended learning is described by Garrison and Kanuka (Garrison and Kanuka , 2004) as ‘the thoughtful integration of classroom face-to-face learning experiences with online learning experiences’. This approach is particularly useful in building learning communities, and there is a reasonable body of supporting evidence for the benefits of digital learning technologies (Higgins et al., 2012).

However, it is important not to over-rely on digital technology. Studies suggest that physical cues in a book (spatio-temporal aspects, such as touch and page-turning) better support readers in navigating texts in an intuitive way (Jabr , 2013), and that longhand note-taking on paper is more effective than on a laptop (Mueller and Oppenheimer , 2014). With all this in mind, we developed and trialled our own approach to blended learning.

This piece is co-authored by Chelsea Waite, research fellow, education, at the Christensen Institute.

In February 2016, the Christensen Institute debuted the Blended Learning Universe (BLU)—an online hub of blended learning resources—in response to more and more schools across the U.S. implementing a blended-learning strategy for students. Researchers at the Institute define blended learning as a formal education program that must have three components: it must be part online, with students having some control over the time, place, path, or pace of their learning; it must occur, in part, in a brick-and-mortar location away from home; and the modalities along a student’s learning path must be connected to provide an integrated learning experience. While there is great diversity of practice, the Institute identifies seven common models leveraged by educators:

The educational practice commonly known as “blended learning” has been around for quite some time now, but a universally agreed upon definition is still hard to come by. So, what is blended learning?

At its most basic level, the term refers to the use of online learning methods and technologies to complement and enhance the traditional classroom experience. “Blended learning is one of the most powerful and influential innovations in education,” according to aeseducation.com, because it combines “the benefits of face-to-face education with the anywhere-anytime power of the Internet.”

“There’s just not enough time in class with students!” It’s a common faculty complaint and when students are provided quality course materials they can use outside of class, this blended learning approach gives faculty more time in class. There’s a variety of materials that can be developed for use outside of class. In this article we’d like to focus on creating video content that students use for a blended learning course.

A multitude of modes considering ‘blended learning’ in context Leo Havemann, Elizabeth Charles, Sarah Sherman, Scott Rodgers, and Joana Barros @leohavemann #RIDE2019 CDE RIDE conference, Senate House, University of London, 15 March 2019 goo.gl/bKPvpm Presentation at University of London Centr