{"id":5608,"date":"2016-08-19T10:40:31","date_gmt":"2016-08-19T10:40:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/?p=5608"},"modified":"2016-08-19T10:40:31","modified_gmt":"2016-08-19T10:40:31","slug":"getting-started-with-blended-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/2016\/08\/19\/getting-started-with-blended-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting started with blended learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What is \u201cblended learning\u201d?<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/ufv\/8042515604\" title=\"UFV Graphic and Digital Design program\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/c5.staticflickr.com\/9\/8033\/8042515604_0d4e210223_n.jpg\" align=\"right\" width=\"280\" alt=\"UFV Graphic and Digital Design program\"><\/a>\u201cBlended learning\u201d is an umbrella term, referring to learning activity that happens across contexts. The \u2018blend\u2019 is usually between learning activity happening inside and outside the classroom, or between learning that happens in real-world and online environments (or both!). Many of us learn in this way every day, informally \u2013 we might look up information in books and online, discuss it with peers over coffee and via email, draft new ideas on paper and on the laptop. As technology becomes ubiquitous, we need to be able to take advantage of both physical and virtual learning opportunities, to recognise the strengths and weaknesses of each, and to synthesise learning from different contexts. The challenge for educators is to design the right \u2018blend\u2019 of activity \u2013 both to support specific learning, and to help students to develop their independent learning skills for the future.<\/p>\n<p>There are two key principles to remember if you\u2019re new to blended learning. The first is to <strong>start with the right task for the learning<\/strong>, and then find the right tool (don\u2019t choose a tool and then try to find a use for it!).<\/p>\n<p>The second principle is the \u2018blending\u2019 part. The idea of this is that <strong>one type of learning activity supports and feeds into the other<\/strong>, and connections and transferability are clear. <\/p>\n<h2>Getting started with blended learning<\/h2>\n<p>You can \u2018blend\u2019 almost any kind of teaching, by starting to add in activities that help students bridge the learning they are doing inside and outside taught sessions. There is no \u2018one size fits all\u2019 approach, because each learning activity will depend on what you want to achieve. Starting small, with one type of activity or tool, can help you and your students build confidence and skills, and figure out what works well and what doesn\u2019t. Here are some tips for designing learning activities online:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify learning that can be done outside class time. Sometimes the best way to do this is to think about what you would really like to be able to do with your students in the classroom, and work backwards. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/2015\/10\/26\/demystifying-the-caiero-stage-2-the-storyboard\/\" title=\"Demystifying the CAIeRO: Stage 2, the storyboard\" target=\"_blank\">Storyboarding<\/a> can help with this.\u2028<\/li>\n<li>Design the right activity to support the learning. What should the student be doing in order to learn this? Who else should be involved? What resources will they need? Prompts like the <a href=\"http:\/\/addl.ulster.ac.uk\/odl\/hybridlearningmodel\" title=\"Hybrid Learning Model, Ulster University\" target=\"_blank\">Hybrid Learning Model cards<\/a> can help you to frame different kinds of learning activities.\u2028<\/li>\n<li>Once you have a clear idea of what you want to happen, then choose the right tool to support this type of activity. The University provides a <a href=\"https:\/\/mypad.northampton.ac.uk\/nileguides\/staff\/\" title=\"NILE help\" target=\"_blank\">core set of tools<\/a> that we have vetted for you. Beyond this there are <a href=\"http:\/\/c4lpt.co.uk\/top100tools\/\" title=\"Top 100 Tools for Learning\" target=\"_blank\">hundreds of possibilities<\/a>! All of these have strengths and weaknesses, but don\u2019t worry, you don\u2019t need to be a tech guru. The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.northampton.ac.uk\/about-us\/services-and-facilities\/learning-technology\/\" title=\"Learning Technology\" target=\"_blank\">Learning Technology team<\/a> can help with this.\u2028<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jisc.ac.uk\/blog\/minimising-pain-maximising-gain-top-tips-for-supporting-learners-affected-by-dsa-changes-19-feb\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/college-students_0-300x148.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"148\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5792\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/college-students_0-300x148.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2016\/08\/college-students_0.jpg 710w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Many people begin by transferring a learning activity that they already know works well into the online environment. For example, if you would usually ask your students to discuss a contentious idea, or defend a position in a debate, you could do this in an online forum, or if you would usually demonstrate something for the students, you could do this using video. If you\u2019re a little more confident, you might want to think of some ways that technology can extend your teaching and allow you to do things that you couldn\u2019t do in a traditional face to face setting. You might use it to connect students to resources, peers or external experts. You might use it to provide visualisations of text-based materials, or to build knowledge checks that provide students with instant feedback, or to create spaces where they can pool their own resources and ideas to inform their work.<\/p>\n<h2>Tips for success<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Be clear about the why and the how<\/strong>. Sometimes staff who try blended learning for the first time find that students don\u2019t engage as they had hoped with the online activity. <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/2016\/08\/18\/designing-e-tivities-some-lessons-learnt-by-trial-and-error\/\" title=\"Designing e-tivities: some lessons learnt by trial and error!\" target=\"_blank\">Student feedback tells us<\/a> this is usually because either they don\u2019t understand it, or they don\u2019t see the value. When introducing online tasks, it helps to make it clear why they are being used, and how they will help students to achieve the learning outcomes. It\u2019s also a good idea to explain any unfamiliar tools or processes in advance, just as you would when introducing a new task in the classroom. If you can, get a student perspective on your design before you launch it \u2013 and maybe try some online courses yourself, to see what it\u2019s like on the other side!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Be realistic<\/strong>. Be aware that creating online resources and supporting online activity might require slightly different skills to the ones you use in the classroom, so allow yourself time to develop these. Think too about the ratio of effort to impact for your module \u2013 creating complex professional-looking resources requires a big investment of time in advance, although this may be worth it if there is one sticky concept that students really struggle with early in their studies. On the other hand, you may be able to get the same effect by using existing resources on that topic and asking students to critique them, or even by asking students to research the topic and share their own key resources. You don\u2019t need to be a computer genius (or spend months learning complex software) to create that lightbulb moment! <\/p>\n<p><strong>Learn from others<\/strong>. Working in a team can really help here \u2013 not just in terms of sharing the workload and learning new skills, but also in setting consistent expectations for students across different modules on the same programme. If you\u2019re stuck for ideas, have a look of some of our <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/category\/un-case-studies\/\" title=\"UN case studies\" target=\"_blank\">case studies<\/a>, or ask around to see what colleagues are trying. <\/p>\n<h2>Do one thing<\/h2>\n<p>Ready to give it a try? If you want help figuring out what to blend, at a session, module or even programme level, the <a href=\"mailto:LD@northampton.ac.uk\" title=\"Learning Design\" target=\"_blank\">Learning Design team<\/a> can help. If you already have an idea for an online activity, but you\u2019re not sure about the technology, the <a href=\"mailto:learntech@northampton.ac.uk\" title=\"Learning Technology\" target=\"_blank\">Learning Technology team<\/a> can help. Get in touch and we\u2019ll help you get started!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is \u201cblended learning\u201d? <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/ufv\/8042515604\" title=\"UFV Graphic and Digital Design program\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a>\u201cBlended learning\u201d is an umbrella term, referring to learning activity that happens across contexts. The \u2018blend\u2019 is usually between learning activity happening inside and outside the classroom, or between learning that happens in real-world and online environments (or both!). Many of us learn [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[41],"class_list":["post-5608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-learning-design","tag-blended-learning"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Getting started with blended learning - Learning Technology Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.northampton.ac.uk\/learntech\/2016\/08\/19\/getting-started-with-blended-learning\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Getting started with blended learning - Learning Technology Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is \u201cblended learning\u201d? \u201cBlended learning\u201d is an umbrella term, referring to learning activity that happens across contexts. 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