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Blended Learning Goes Mainstream!

Blended Learning Goes Mainstream!

by Michael -
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Blended Learning Infographic

Next to MOOC's, "Blended Learning" is probably one of the most often heard yet confusing terms in education today. I first starting using the term some time in 2005 after reading a White Paper by IBM. At the time I used the term to describe a curriculum delivery method where a teacher a classroom delivered instructional materials and activities via an online environment like Moodle or a website. The teacher could deliver the content in a traditional fashion and students could follow the teacher, or students could log in and interact with the materials individually. Students and teachers could continue interaction once the class ended either in a group or alone. I knew instinctively that "Blended Learning" would become a main stream concept as Internet connectivity increased and device access multiplied. I think the day has come when I can say that every face-to-face learning experience should be a "Blended" experience whereby students can access and interact with the learning materials after the face-to-face session is over. While much research is yet to be done, one fact about Blended Learning has been verified and that is the ability of the learner to revisit the content at will, in their own time and at their own pace. It seems like a simple enough idea, a student can go and review content when they wish, but it has profound implications that I became aware of years ago. Blended Learning now has more than one meaning and is being used to describe a number of different methods of combining classroom and computer mediated education. This Blended Learning Infographic from Knewton does a nice job of identifyind and describing the terminology and practices most often associated with the term today. I think I can safely say that Blended Learning has arrived as a mainstream concept and in the future all learning will be blended1