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From DSC:
I post this here — with higher ed included in the tags/categories — because if the trend within K-12 continues (i.e. that of using such technologies as the iPad, digital textbooks, mobile learning devices, etc.), students’ expectations WILL be impacted. When they hit our doorsteps, they will come with their heightened sets of expectations. The question is, will we in higher ed be ready for them?
The Benefits of Blended Learning Explained — from Faculty Focus
When talking to administrators, point out that blended learning…
When talking to faculty, point out that blended learning….
When talking to students, point out blended learning…
Learning and the State of Business in 2011 — from Chief Learning Office by Bob Lee
As the pace of business continues to accelerate and mobility within the workforce continues to rise, virtual communication and collaboration in support of learning becomes more and more essential. Blended approaches that combine the best of traditional learning models with online learning are gaining momentum because they help decrease costs and meet the needs of an increasingly dispersed and mobile business workforce. A blended learning approach offers faster and more affordable ways to arm an organization with the knowledge and skills needed to adapt to changes and achieve business goals.
eLearning predictions for 2011 and beyond — from Web Courseworks.com by Jon Aleckson
Excerpts:
This summer I attended the 2010 Distance Teaching and Learning Conference in Madison, Wisconsin. Some very interesting topics came up in the facilitated Think Tanks, and I wanted to share some of the predictions that were developed from these active group discussions regarding where eLearning will go in the next ten years.
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Below you will find a table that summarizes the different opportunities and challenges that were predicted to arise in the next ten years by the participants in the conference Think Tanks and by [Jon Aleckson].
| Opportunities | Challenges | |
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| K-12 Instruction |
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| Corporate Training |
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| Content |
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| Learning Environment |
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| Faculty |
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| Administration & Management |
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| International Perspectives |
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11/9/10
Abstract:
HyFlex is a course design model that presents the components of hybrid learning in a flexible course structure that gives students the option of attending sessions in the classroom, participating online, or doing both. Students can change their mode of attendance weekly or by topic, according to need or preference. Models like HyFlex, which present multiple paths through course content, may work well for courses where students arrive with varying levels of expertise or background in the subject matter. Courses built on the HyFlex model help to break down the boundary between the virtual classroom and the physical one. By allowing students access to both platforms, the design encourages discussion threads to move from one platform to the other.
The “7 Things You Should Know About…” series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use these briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.
From DSC:
Sounds like “Air Play” for learning to me! 🙂
eSchoolNews Special Report: Blended learning on the rise — from eSchoolNews.com by Jennifer Nastu
Combining the best elements of face-to-face and online instruction, these six schools have adopted various blended learning models successfully. Here’s how.
“With a hybrid model, we can tailor their learning, using technology and face-to-face learning, in a way that we might not be able to in a pure traditional model.”
Tomorrow’s college — from The Chronicle by Marc Parry
The classroom of the future features face-to-face, online, and hybrid learning. And the future is here.
Jennifer Black isn’t a fan of technology. Until college, she didn’t know much about online classes. If the stereotypical online student is a career-minded adult working full time, she’s the opposite—a dorm-dwelling, ballet-dancing, sorority-joining 20-year-old who throws herself into campus life here at the University of Central Florida.
Yet in the past year, the junior hospitality major has taken classes online, face to face, and in a blended format featuring elements of both. This isn’t unusual: More than half of the university’s 56,000 students will take an online or blended class this year, and nearly 2,700 are taking all three modes at once.
As online education goes mainstream, it’s no longer just about access for distant learners who never set foot in the student union. Web courses are rewiring what it means to be a “traditional” student at places like Central Florida, one of the country’s largest public universities. And UCF’s story raises a question for other colleges: Will this mash-up of online and offline learning become the new normal elsewhere, too?
The secret government plan to transform education — from EdNet News by Thomas W. Greaves
Tucked away on page 79 of the absolutely splendid National Educational Technology Plan 2010 is a gem known as Grand Challenge 4:
4.0: Identify and validate design principles for efficient and effective online learning systems and combined online and offline learning systems that produce content expertise and competencies equal to or better than those produced by the best conventional instruction in half the time at half the cost.
It is a gem because if it comes to pass, it will be truly transformative. It will have the power and potential to solve our educational woes, improve our national security and, over the long term, provide a major boost to the economy. It must be a secret because if people know about it, they are not talking about it.
Since the microcomputer revolution began in schools around 1980, educators have been looking forward to the day when computer technology would become transformative. However, even schools with a 1:1 student-computer ratio have failed to accomplish this goal.
The root cause of this lack of transformation is that in the vast majority of cases, we have employed first-order change rather than second order-change.
Our problem is analogous to the Pony Express problem. We can breed faster, stronger horses. We can do research to find better horse feed. We can require that letters be written on tissue paper. No matter what we do, there is a limit to the improvement we can get. It will still take ten days to move a letter from St. Joseph, Missouri, to San Francisco. No amount of tinkering with the system, not even the use of an electric saddle for the horse could cut the time from ten days to five days or to one day. Nor would any of these changes cut the cost of delivering a letter in half.
One common term that describes incremental improvement efforts is first-order change. The special horses of the Pony Express were a first-order change. The corresponding term describing transformative change is “second-order change.” Moving from horses to trains or trains to airplanes is an example of second-order change.
From DSC:
Also relevant here is a posting that I did (on my archived website) back from Dec 2008 entitled, The Forthcoming Walmart of Education.
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Resource from George Siemens who mentions:
I recently encountered this group of 27 online teaching and learning video resources, featuring Curt Bonk. Each video runs approximately 10 minutes and serves as an introduction to key ideas in planning and delivery technology enhanced learning.
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Maintaining quality in blended learning: From classroom assessment to impact evaluation — from Educause
ELI’s online seminars offer an opportunity to hear from experts around the world on a specific teaching-and-learning-with-technology–related topic. The goal of this seminar is to examine one of the blended learning focus session topics in greater depth. With the help of the ELI community’s input, we’ve selected research and quality assurance of blended learning as the topic for our first online seminar.
With more faculty members teaching in the blended learning mode, effective course design is critical to maintaining quality while incorporating both face-to-face and online components. In this online seminar, participants will learn how to develop assignments that fit the learning objectives and align with the blended format of the course. In addition, participants will learn how course assignments can be used to provide evidence that students are meeting program goals. Finally, we’ll discuss the benefits of classroom-based research to evaluate the impact of technology on teaching and on students’ learning. Participants will learn how they can successfully accomplish scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) research and use it to improve course and program outcomes.
