Analytic Quality Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Citation reference: Harvey, L., 2004–8, Analytic Quality Glossary, Quality Research International, http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/

This is a dynamic glossary and the author would welcome any e-mail suggestions for amendments or additions.

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Blended learning

core definition

Blended learning is a flexible approach that combines face-to-face teaching/learning with remote (usually internet-based) learning.

explanatory context

Blended learning has similarities with distributed learning that comes from distributed education.

analytical review

New South Wales Department of Education and Training (2002) provides a simple definition:

Blended Learning is learning which combines online and face-to-face approaches.

Kurtus (2004) states:

Blended learning is a mixture of the various learning strategies and delivery methods that will optimize the learning experience of the user. Classroom training sessions, Computer-Based Training (CBT) via a CD-ROM, Web-Based Training (WBT) can be combined as a way to train the learners. WBT can be on demand or at a specific time with an instructor and other students involved.

According to Reid-Young (undated)

Blended learning is simply a flexible approach to learning delivery that recognises the benefits of delivering some training and assessments online, but also uses other modes to make up a complete training delivery service. These other modes may range from classroom sessions to mentoring arrangements, or the support of a subject matter expert in the same office or area.

Rovai and Jordan (2004) note:

According to Colis and Moonen (2001), blended learning is a hybrid of traditional face-to-face and online learning so that instruction occurs both in the classroom and online, and where the online component becomes a natural extension of traditional classroom learning. Blended learning is thus a flexible approach to course design that supports the blending of different times and places for learning, offering some of the conveniences of fully online courses without the complete loss of face-to-face contact. The result is potentially a more robust educational experience than either traditional or fully online learning can offer.

Smith (2004) suggests:

Blended learning is a fairly new term in education lingo, but the concept has been around for decades. Essentially, blended learning is defined as a method of educating at a distance that uses technology (high-tech, such as television and the Internet or low-tech, such as voice mail or conference calls) combined with traditional (or, stand-up) education or training.

associated issues

Course design

Rovai and Jordan (2004) suggest:

From a course design perspective, a blended course can lie anywhere between the continuum anchored at opposite ends by fully face-to-face and fully online learning environments. The face-to-face component can be either on the main university campus or the professor can travel to a remote site in order to meet with students. Martyn (2003) described a successful blended learning model. It consists of an initial face-to-face meeting, weekly online assessments and synchronous chat, asynchronous discussions, e-mail, and a final face-to-face meeting with a proctored final examination.

Dziuban and Moskal (2001) reported that blended courses at the University of Central Florida replaced face-to-face class time with online learning so that a three-hour course occupied only one hour of actual face-to-face classroom time. Such courses allowed the weekly operation of multiple classes in a classroom previously occupied by only one course, thus making more efficient use of existing university infrastructure. Moreover, they reported that blended courses, when compared to traditional courses, had equivalent or reduced student withdrawal rates as well as equivalent or superior student success rates.

Voos (2003) suggested that it is unlikely that the blendedness makes the difference in such courses, but rather the fundamental reconsideration of course design in light of new instructional and media choices and the learning strengths and limitations of each. Joyce Neff (1998, p. 154), a professor of writing, found that teaching a blended course had profound effects on her teaching. She wrote: “[t]he ways I perceived and manipulated the medium, the ways I imagined the subjectivities of my students, and the ways intermediaries affected my authorities all influenced… my writing pedagogy”.

Privateer (1999, p. 72) summarized the direction needed with the following passage: ‘Opportunities for real change lie in creating new types of professors, new uses of instructional technology and new kinds of institutions whose continual intellectual self-capitalization continually assures their status as learning organizations’.

Smith (2004) argues that blended learning is widespread that:

If, for example, you have offered the following kinds of continuing education sessions, you are using the concepts of blended learning in your educational options:

· Traditional workshops or seminars in conjunction with a teleconference feature

· Traditional courses with a continuing e-mail connection or ongoing dialog with the participants