Charles Darwin University presentation

1. Blended Learning: The
Future of Higher
Education
Professor Mike Keppell
Professor of Higher Education
Director, The Flexible Learning Institute
Charles Sturt University
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 1

2. Overview
Assumptions and principles
What is blended learning?
Benefits of blended learning - from an activity,
subject, course, university perspective
Paradigms of blended learning - enabling,
enhancing, transforming
Affordances of learning spaces
Examples of blended learning
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 2

3. Assumptions
Universities value and seek to inculcate the skills
essential for lifelong and life wide learning,
producing graduates who will continue to develop
intellectually, professionally and socially beyond the
bounds of formal education.
Universities believe that programs, services and
teaching methods should be responsive to the
diverse cultural, social and academic needs of
students, enabling them to adapt to the demands of
university education and providing them with the
cultural capital for life success.
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 3

4. Higher Education Principles
Equivalence of Learning Outcomes ethical obligations
traverses physical,
Student Learning Experience blended and virtual
learning spaces
learning outcomes,
subject, degree
Constructive Alignment
program, generic
attributes
specific needs of
Discipline Pedagogies
disciplines
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 4

5. What is Blended Learning?
Combination of face-to-face teaching and learning with
online teaching and learning
“It is a design approach whereby both face-to-face and
online learning are made better by the presence of
each other” (Garrison & Vaughan, 2008, p.5).
“Thoughtful fusion of face-to-face and online
experiences” (p.5).
“Combines the properties and possibilities of both to go
beyond the capabilities of each separately” (p.6)
“It is a complete rethinking and redesign of the
educational environment and learning experience” (p.x)
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 5

6. What is Unique about
Blended Learning?
Convergence of classroom and communications
technology
Transformation of how we approach teaching and
learning
Synchronous and asynchronous communication
Diversified range of learning spaces that are both
physical and virtual
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 6

7. Activity-Level Blended
Learning
Activity-level blending
Includes both face-to-face and online Discussion / Project/ Reflection /
components. e.g online debate and Debate Topic Posted
face-to-face debate; off-line reading and
online discussion.
Individual Response Posted
Blackboard Platform
Student-Student Interaction: React
to Three Responses from Peers
Results
Synthesis of Discussion (e.g.
85% peers agreed) Collaboration
Products (e.g., Top five best)
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 7

8. Activity-Level Blending in
Practice
Student Resources Resources
Instructor Role Assessment
Role (Content) (Services)
Allocate reading.
Some
Ask students to
Read discussion
read required
Off-line reading and post respective Reading about topic in
chapter face-to-face
summary in
class
LMS
Feedback from
Post a one
Student peers in online
paragraph
and discussion.
summary
instructor Discussion Feedback from
Online Facilitator and
posts in forum instructor in
comment
discussion online
on two
forum discussion
other posts
forum.
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 8

9. Subject and Course
Level Blending
Subject-Level Blending
One of the most common
Distinct face-to-face and online activities as part of
course/subject.
For example designing learning resources (50/50
blended approach)
Course-level blending
Degree program level
Teaching Fellowship Scheme
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 9

10. Paradigms of Blended
Learning
Enabling blends
These address issues of access and equity and add
flexibility. This might include the same opportunities in
face-to-face, online and blended learning environments.
Enhancing blends
These focus on incremental changes to the pedagogy in
both the face-to-face and online components.
Transforming blends
Transformation of the pedagogy. Major redesign of
teaching and learning e.g. online PBL.
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 10

11. Problem-based
Traditional model
learning model
Content Problem
Teacher Student Coach Problem
solver
Tan (2003) p.12
11
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 11

12. Wednesday, 21 July 2010 12

13. What are Affordances?
When you first see something you have never seen
before, how do you know what to do?
“An affordance is the design aspect of an object
which suggests how the object should be
used” (Norman, 1988).
Determined by context, culture, instinct, mental
model e.g. hyperlinked text on website.
When designers make use of affordances the user
knows what to do just by looking
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 13

14. Diversity of Learning Spaces
Physical Blended Virtual
Formal Informal Formal Informal
Mobile Personal
Outdoor
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 14

15. Learning Space Affordance Example
Face-to-Face
Oral feedback to a
Teaching and Oral communication
question
Learning
Information access
Learning Subject outline
Interactive learning
Management Multimedia forum
Networked learning
Systems project
Materials development
Discussion about
Learning Commons Informal learning lecture
Peer learning
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 15

16. Learning Space Affordance Example
In-depth group Discussion of reading
Tutorial discussion Discussion of
Peer learning presentation
Practical work
Peer interaction Practical work on IT
Residential School
Sense of belonging to networks
university
Authentic learning
Applied learning in
Practice Community of Practice
discipline
Mentor/mentee
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 16

17. An Example of Blended
Learning - Critical Decisions
What are the learning goals?
What are the learning activities?
What are the affordances of the technology?
What should be off-line and online?
What is the assessment?
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 17

18. An Example of Blended
Learning
Postgraduate Diploma in Education
Programme
(Professional and Vocational Education)
Module IIT5078 - Designing Learning Resources
Blended learning (Five face-to-face classes of four
hours duration - 20 hours and 10 hours of online
Approach discussion activities). Emphasis on peer learning,
project-based learning and learning-oriented
assessment.
In this module it was essential for the student to
interact within the Blackboard LMS as the online
Essential
component was designed to be a significant
component of the module.
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 18

19. Learning Design
Problem-based
Project-based
Authentic Learning Cases
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 19

20. Project-based Learning
Howard, (2002)
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 20

21. Interactivity Decisions
Information access
Interactive learning
Networked learning
Materials development
(Oliver & Herrington, 2001)
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 21

22. Information Access
CONVEY INFORMATION ALONE TO THE
LEARNER
Examples Rationale
Module outline information accessibility
Assessment outline timely delivery of information
PowerPoint slides review of content
Task outlines administrative efficiency
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 22

23. Information Access Examples
Announcements weekly announcement to students
teaching schedule document
module outline document
Module Information weekly topics document
module assessment document
project assessment rubric document
Staff Information lecturer background and contact details
Books reading list
Resources websites
Course Material for
powerpoint files, etc
Five Classes
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 23

24. Interactive Learning
INCREASED LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT WITH
RESOURCES
Examples Rationale
Search and review
independent learning
documents
Database searching independent learning
External links to websites independent learning
simulations of real life
Simulations
activities
tutorial type activities and
Multimedia
immediate feedback
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 24

25. Interactive Learning
Examples
Problem-based learning cases
Project-based learning videos
Interactive concept maps
Synchronized audio-lecture and PowerPoint files
Online Survey
Online encyclopedia: Wikipedia
Encyclopedia of Educational Technology
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 25

26. Networked Learning
PROVIDE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN
STUDENTS AND TEACHERS
Examples Rationale
Announcements one way communication in Bb
initial communication with
Staff information
students
Email one-to-one, one-to-many
Discussion forums, group tasks social construction of knowledge
Online debates social construction of knowledge
Real-time chats social construction of knowledge
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 26

27. Networked Learning
Examples
Four online discussion groups
related to module readings
Two in-class discussion groups
Discussion forums for module-
related questions
Group spaces for projects
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 27

28. Materials Development
DEVELOPING AND PRESENTING PRODUCTS
AND ARTEFACTS
Examples Examples
Stories/digital stories Portfolios
Reflective journals Teaching practice journals
Reports Concept maps
Presentations Interviews
Photographs/video/audio Projects
> Combined with discussion forums
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 28

29. Materials Development
Examples
The group project provided an
opportunity to apply principles and
skills in the module to create a
learning resource (i.e. needs
analysis, concept map, video,
photos, report, presentation)
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 29

30. 1. 4.
2. Criteria 3. Needs 5. Student
Authentic Concept
- Rubric Analysis Presentation
Task Map
Feedback Feedback
as feed- as feed-
Assessment
forward forward
AS learning
task
Teacher feedback
Teacher feedback - Verbal
Student feedback - Written Peer feedback -
- Verbal Verbal
Needs analysis
6. Learning Concept map
Students as Digital learning
self-evaluators Resource resource
Report
30
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 30

31. Conclusion
Blended learning is a combination of face-to-face
teaching and learning with online teaching and
learning
Examples of blended learning include problem-
based, project-based and authentic learning tasks
Benefits of blended learning expound from an
activity, subject, course, and university perspective
Paradigms of blended learning include enabling,
enhancing, transforming
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 31

32. Professor Mike Keppell
mkeppell@csu.edu.au
Wednesday, 21 July 2010 32

33. Wednesday, 21 July 2010 33