“Blended Learning”: The best of both worlds?
By: Leah Nadich Meir
Can “Blended Learning”, which combines face-to-face and online learning, give students “the best of all possible worlds”? This approach is now widely-used by schools that are dipping their toes into the waters of online learning.
I recently participated in a webinar sponsored by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) in which Michael Horn (one of the authors of “Disrupting Class”) and Tom Vander Ark described six models of blended learning that they’ve observed in a recent study they conducted. Their full report is available on http://www.innosightinstitute.org. As you’d expect, the models run the gamut from quite traditional (i.e. face-to-face) to fully technological (i.e. all teaching and learning is done online).
A synopsis of the models:
1) Face-to-face teachers deliver most of the curriculum using online resources, e.g. Rosetta Stone language curricula.
2) Students rotate on a fixed schedule between online and face-to-face learning, within the same course, e.g. Carpe Diem e-Learning Community in Arizona.
3) A “flex” model in which most of the curriculum is delivered via an online platform. Live teachers provide as-needed support through small groups and individual tutoring, e.g. .
4) The “online lab” in which the entire course is delivered via an online platform and paraprofessionals facilitate the in-school discussion and support, e.g. Florida Virtual School of the Miami Dade County Public Schools.
5) The “Self Blend” model, in which individual students register for online courses in an “a la carte” fashion, without an entire class in their school being registered for the same course. The teaching is entirely remote, e.g. Michigan Virtual School.
6) The entirely online model, delivered through an online platform and remote teacher. Students work remotely, with a face-to-face “check-in” at school required by some schools and optional at others, e.g. Albuquerque e-cademy.
Horn and Vander Ark recognize some of the very real challenges to effective Blended Learning:
> Insufficient technology in many schools
> Pressure to cut costs, but not raise the quality of learning. Technology is not simply a way to reduce costs – it should be, first and foremost, a way to improve learning.
> State requirements based on students’ completing a required number of hours in the classroom, rather than reaching a certain level of achievement.
> Providing more than just online textbooks, but a personalized and student-directed method of learning. That requires investment of money and skill.
Can Blended Learning humanize student learning through technology, the way that Sarah Kass described in her April 6th post on this blog? Can Jewish day schools turn to Blended Learning to make their students’ learning more customized, more student-centered and more relevant to the 21st century as well as more cost-efficient to the schools?
What if Jewish day schools as a “network” turned to for advice? Are there other ways for Jewish day schools to share their knowledge and resources in Blended Learning? Could this be a win-win for everyone who cares about how our students are learning?
For more resources on Blended Learning, see http://cybraryman.com/blendedlearning.html.
Tom Vander Ark recently blogged on the Huffington post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-vander-ark/the-idea-economy-requires_b_829670.html.