Why blended learning is important

Blended learning can reduce the need for school-based facility costs, building repairs, and maintenance. Instead, students are using their own homes and public spaces like coffee shops more often. It can also reduce costs by shifting some instructional responsibilities to computers. Less burden on instructors could mean a higher teacher-to-student ratio and more effective use of time.

Admins can shift these savings in overhead and staff to investments in after-school programs, extracurricular activities, and enrichment programs.

Through blended learning, students can meet with instructors and other students whenever and wherever. And instructors can find better ways to collaborate with each other. Team teaching is much easier in an online environment, and instructors can leverage subject matter experts from anywhere in the world.

Students and teachers can collaborate better in groups with blended learning. Each student has the flexibility to work within their schedule and with anyone they want. And with online projects, there is more transparency because the entire group can see the progress. This could decrease the situations where one or two students do all the work while others watch.

Blended learning can keep students more engaged by introducing technology into the learning process. Some students find online apps and software more interesting than standard face-to-face approaches. Blended learning can break up the monotony of the traditional classroom by introducing information and concepts in different contexts. Sure, technology can be a distraction, but it can also present information in new and exciting ways.

Other methods, like online classes and webinars , are somewhere in the middle. The benefits of blended learning allow you to mix and match according to your needs. Some training methods are synchronous, meaning everybody participates together at a set time. Others are asynchronous, and participants do not need to adhere to a set time. Self-paced training , on the other hand, is more of an individual pursuit and gives the learner control over when to move ahead in the material.

Some training methods are aimed at learning in groups, while others are geared toward individual participation. A physical classroom with a whiteboard and paper hand-outs is on the low end of this spectrum, while an online classroom with VoIP and electronic books and virtual labs is clearly at the other end. A blended learning approach provides ultimate flexibility in presenting content. Complex topics can be presented in the classroom, while other subject matter can be available online.

With a well-planned blended learning strategy, you can efficiently and quickly deliver training to a broad audience. And with digital assets such as videos and recordings and eBooks, the potential for re-use is huge. You can easily help more people get up-to-speed after the initial rounds of training have passed. Most of us like strategies that can save our organization money. And blended learning is one of them! Including more online options in your training program saves on travel and missed work.

You can find out more about how technology impacts the classroom with our online course. However, that also means that several different forms of teaching relate to blended learning. These represent just some of the blended learning models available to educators. In our open step on the benefits of blended learning and a flipped classroom , a variety of educators discuss their experience with using these models. On the whole, there are several points they raise:.

You can find out more about developing a more inclusive style of education with our online course. Of course, as with many methods of teaching and learning, there is the potential for downsides when it comes to blended learning. Creating a blended learning model that works takes a lot of time and planning. This example is taken from our open step on training healthcare trainers and relates to a blend of learning routes used to teach the skill of cannulation:.

As you can see, the theoretical learning outcomes can be completed online, leaving time for face-to-face learning to show more practical elements. This example is taken from our open step on the different digital tools for different types of learning. Here, the instructor uses FlipGrid to help students rehearse their speaking skills.

They created a recorded and written version of the particular question, and students can then record a response. The teacher then offers personalised feedback for each one, and finally, they share their best examples with each other.

This example is taken from our open step on blended learning for practical work. It looks at how a teacher can get the most out of their class time, which focuses on group discussion and practical work. Students can prepare for the in-class activities by completing a pre-class learning experience.

The teachers create a straightforward type of activity that requires students to review some information and input a textual answer. They are required to engage with the material, helping them to later contribute in class discussions. The approach of combining online and remote activities with face-to-face learning can help both students and teachers. You can also find a range of courses on inclusive teaching that explore some of the different aspects of blended learning.

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