Blended Learning: Challenges and Promises to the field of Education

Blended Learning brings a fresh approach to the learning experience of learners. It helps learning & development professionals and their counterparts that are their students do away with the problems faced by traditional learning. However, blended learning is not free from challenges. In this article, we will look into what makes blended learning successful, its impact on students, how it is transforming the learning environment, and many more things related to blended learning.

How can blended learning be successful?

A great technique alone without proper execution cannot deliver the desired result. Similarly, to make blended learning successful, there are a few things that need to be considered and kept in mind with its implementation. What are they? Let’s find out!

• First thing first, when we start learning something, our learning goals must be clear. This makes the process simple for the learners to understand what they are learning, for teachers to monitor the learning process, and for the manager of the course.
• Identifying and balancing the ‘blend’ of contents for Online learning and trainer-based learning is important for blended learning. Finding the right balance is also important to keep the learners engaged with their study materials.
• Millennials prefer to be mobile more than accessing a PC or a laptop. Hence, keeping the online content mobile-friendly is vital. It should also be available anytime anywhere, and provide learning for those who are willing to learn.
• Keeping the content short, Microlearning is another approach to keep learners from disengagement.

Impact of Blended Learning on Student’s Performance

Blended learning is a Learner-centered approach to learning that combines traditional face-to-face learning and computer-aided learning experience. Learning is an active process, and it requires active participation from students. Blended learning, with its inclination towards constructivism, provides multiple opportunities for students to practically use their knowledge. Various exercises such as automated-response-system, case-based-study, think-pair-share, etc. allow learners to test the skills learned by them. It is also helpful in developing critical thinking and improving learning outcomes.

A study done by Pierce and Fox reported improved performance and more active participation of learners associated with video podcasts and case-based discussion in a renal pharmacotherapy module under blended learning.

Challenges in Engaging Students with Blended learning

There are certain challenges in the field of blended learning that is keeping its progress checked. This is also affecting the student’s engagement with the learning process.

Expensive Technology: Since Blended learning is a technology-induced learning system, it requires a proper supply of the technologies involved in the process. In Blended learning, every teacher and student requires a laptop, computer, or mobile, which is not available to every student. This hinders students’ engagement with blended learning.

Teacher’s Authenticity: Half of the blended learning is online which involves online classes and lectures. We often see that teachers who start blended learning slowly shift to recorded lectures. The loss of active human participation causes students to lose interest in the class and the courses.

Self-Paced Learning: In blended learning, students are not under direct check and control by a teacher and this requires them to be self-disciplined and to keep themselves accountable on their own. However, not all students are good at maintaining self-discipline and that’s where they get disengaged with the process.

Benefits of the Blended Learning Environment

Blended earning is beneficial on various counts. Besides, taking a departure from the age-old traditional method of learning and being technology friendly, it is also available to students at their convenience at their homes. In today’s times when the world is trying to get its nerves back after being badly hit by Covid-19, Blended learning provides students with a safe environment to learn. This saves students from the need to go out and also from the fear of catching the virus. It allows students to spend more time on studies rather than spending their valuable time traveling from one place to another.

Difference between e-Learning and Blended learning

E-Learning is a medium of learning where students learn the whole course in one single format that is online. The whole course is designed in a similar pattern. Students learn the course on the online platform only irrespective of where the teacher is teaching from. It could be a live class or even a recorded video lecture.

Blended learning, on the other hand, is a technique that involves both online and offline mediums of learning. Here, students learn from online classes and can also attend offline face-to-face classes with their teachers. Here the study materials are available in both formats that are hard-copy and soft-copy also.

Blended learning Impacting the Teaching and Learning Environment

As said earlier, Blended learning is a technology-induced revolution, and it has brought a huge shift in the teaching and learning environment for the people involved in this field all over the world. With the help of Blended learning, teachers are now more capable of understanding the strengths and weaknesses of students and guiding and supporting them accordingly. For students, Blended learning has opened doors for active learning where they not only learn but also get a platform ready to test their knowledge and improve themselves as per the results. It is helping both teachers and students push their limits and develop new skills every day.

Four Models of Blended learning

Blended learning does not follow a one-size-fits-all approach and hence, it comes with 4 different models of learning. These are –

The Rotation Model- In this model, the models of learning are rotated on a fixed schedule. The mode of learning may include group work, online work, pen and pencil work, assessment, project assignment, etc.

The Flex Model- Flex model is more flexible. In this model, though the students remain on the campus, the contents are primarily delivered to the students online. They attend face-to-face lectures, follow group instructions and participate in small breakaway rooms under the guidance of an educator.

Self-Blended Model- Here students, if they want, can supplement their studies with an elective online module that is provided and supported by the school. Online courses are not compulsory. It is totally on a student’s will, when and how he wants to follow them.

Enriched Virtual Model- This model is like Flipped classroom model where students are given both class lectures and self-study videos. Students can also attend offline classes if they want, or they can complete the whole course online.

As we discussed above, blended learning is a mode of learning that is transforming the field of education like never before. Though there are certain challenges that blended learning is facing, we are hopeful that which advancing technology these challenges can be dealt with with ease. Certainly, blended learning is here to stay.