Best practices in designing a blended learning course

Best Practices in Designing a
Blended Learning Course
Dr. David Asirvatham
Director,
Centre for Information Technology
University of Malaya

What will be covered?
 Introduction to UM
 Reshaping of Education
Why Blended Learning
Blended, MOOC and Flipped Classroom
 Best Practices
 #1: Learning Outcomes
 #2: Which Model
 #3: Delivery Mode
 #4 Role of Teacher
 #5 Class Size
 #6 ICT Skills
 #7 Content Development *
 #8: Assessment
 #9 Professional Development
 #10 Student Engagement
2

• Located in Kuala Lumpur
• 1st in Malaysia
• 3rd in South East Asia
• 29th in Asia
• 146th in the world
Introduction to University of Malaya
3

Facts and Figures
12 Faculties
2 Academies
6 Institutes
5 Centres
8 Research Clusters
Faculties & Academies
Medicine
Science
Engineering
Economics & Administration
Business & Accountancy
Education
Languages & Linguistics
Law
Sport
Dentistry
Computer Science & IT
Arts & Social Sciences
Islamic Studies
Malay Studies
Total no of Students ~ 27,000
Undergraduates ~ 13,000
Postgraduates ~ 12,000
International ~ 3,000
Total No of Staff ~ 6,000
Academic ~ 2,500
Non-Academic ~ 3,500
4

Globalisation of Education
Efforts to develop a Global citizen
Globalisation puts continuous pressure on the educational system to
explore and to do better
6

Universities in a globalised world
Universities are expanding to serve beyond their
boundaries.
Greater Competition
Compete for the best students globally
Universities want to achieve world class status
Universities want to create top-tier research
7

Classrooms to Digital Learning Space
8

11
Traditional F2F
Lecture
MOOC
E-learning
Blended
Traditional vs Blended Learning

Chalk-and-talk has long
ruled the classrooms
o will not be eliminated
o Less emphasis
“Digital” Learning
o greater emphasis on MOOC
o on demand learning
o networked Learning
MOOC, e-Learning, Blended and Flipped
12

Definition of Blended Learning
“integrate online with traditional face-to-face
class activities in a planned, pedagogically
valuable manner.”
14

Blended Learning – Some of the possibilities
15

Blended Learning – Syn. vs Asyn.
16

There is a need to re-think how we teach
17

18
20 years experienced history teacher:
My school is going through the process of adopting the
Common Core, and there is a tremendous push to create
student-driven classrooms using technology. In short, I am
overwhelmed and fear that I am too old, too used to the way
I have taught to make the change

Balanced Blended with Flipped Approach
20

Blended with Flipped
Blended may not be sufficient
Blended with Flipped
21

MOOC is a course
 Start and End Time
 Video Lectures
 Assignments & group work
 Projects
 Discussions and Forums
 Reading materials
 Assessments
 Certification
22

Growth of MOOC
Source: https://www.edsurge.com
23
Why MOOC is growing in popularity?

To MOOC or not to MOOC, is no longer a question to
ask; How to MOOC better is a more relevant
question to ask.
MOOCs are very demanding compared to traditional
courses content development
(Alario-Hoyos et al. 2014)
24
To MOOC or not to MOOC?

MOOC & Blended Learning
MOOC is a course
Most MOOC courses do not have face-to-face element
Blended Learning is an approach to teaching and learning
You can use MOOC content within a face-to-face
environment
Students can go through a MOOC course and attend a
face-to-face classroom sessions for discussions or class
activities.
25

Why design a Blended Learning Course?
27

Blended course design requires a willingness to
step back and consider the goals and range of
possibilities, strategies, techniques and tools.
28
Garrison and Vaughan, 2008

Balancing between Online and F2F
Need to find the equilibrium between online and F2F
High work load:
Online Learning can be put great pressure on teacher.
It can drain on one’s time and effort
Can have a negative impact
A proper “balance” is need to have a positive impact
29

#1 Learning Outcome
Focus on Learning Outcome and not Technology
Learning Objectives must take precedence in the design
Are the learning outcomes specific, attainable, and
measurable?
All activities must focus on the Learning Outcome
30

# 3 Which Delivery Mode is Best?
There is a need to balance online
delivery with F2F delivery
50:50; 30:70 or 80:20 ??
Topic, learning strategy, class size,
technology, etc.
Which Topics/Activity – Which
mode?
70:20:10 Model -
20:10 – Blend social learning with
formal
Promote informal learning
32

Which delivery mode?
33
Blended Learning—Current Use, Challenges and Best Practice, Report 2013

#5 Right Class Size
Class size has an impact on online teaching domain.
Class size will determine the types of activities,
assignments, evaluations, and feedback that will be used.
There is a need to balance these activities according to
class size
Research indicates that online class size should be limited
to 20-30 students (Orellana, 2006; Roby, Ashe, Singh, & Clark, 2013).
35

#6 Students’ ICT Skills Level
Not all students have good ICT skills
Teacher will need to recognise their needs, challenges and
opportunities
Support, Helpdesk, User Manuals, etc.
New students may need more support and monitoring
(Allen, 2000; Grover, 2006; Schrum & Hong, 2002)
Advanced or veteran online students may require less one-
on-one attention (Hachey, Wladis, & Conway, 2012, 2014).
36

#7 Balancing Content Development Time
Online course preparations can be very time intensive,
requiring considerable research, creativity, and planning
(Dahlgran, 2008; Meyer, 2012).
Not necessary online mode save on teaching time
(Bender, Wood, & Vredevoogd, 2004; Cavanaugh, 2005; Lazarus, 2003)
Teaching online can actually provide teachers with more
flexibility (Meyer, 2012).
37

#8 Assessment/Feedback
Grading papers/assignments & online class
discussions/feedback can take up most of the teachers’
time (Mandernach, 2013)
Technology can help to leverage efficiency in grading and
content delivery, but it can be time-intensive to implement
(Sheridan, 2006)
 A balanced strategy for grading is necessary (Sheridan, 2006)
38

#9 Time for Professional Development
Professional development: opportunity to attend
conferences/ workshops, participate learning communities,
learn new e-learning techniques and keep abreast of
discipline-specific research and pedagogy.
Professional development is often less of a priority given
the other demands in the teaching domain (Dede, Ketelhut,
Whitehouse, Breit, & McCloskey, 2008).
39

#10 Student Engagement is Key
 Get Student’s Attention – Innovative ideas
 Social Presence and belonging
 Clear Content Structure
 Clear Instructions
 Challenging Activities
Timely Feedback
 Personal Touch – Chat, E-mail, etc
40

Does Blended Learning really works?
 Pennsylvania’s Spring City Elementary Hybrid Learning School (SCEHLS)
 Implemented blended learning in Fall 2012
 Teachers were given 9 days of training
 Before the school began
 Teachers redesign classrooms to fit blended mode
 Basic technology was introduced
 Station Rotation Model
 3 Stations (20 min each station)
 Individual Learning
 Collaborative Learning
 Direct Instruction
41

Experiment Results
42
Source: iNACOL, The International Association for K–12 Online Learning, http://www.inacol.org/

Why Blended Learning?
Best of both
Worlds
Learner
Engagement
Deeper
Learning
Extended
Learning
Better
Achievements
Creative
Collaborative
Learning
Flexible &
Motivating
43

Possible Barriers to Blended Learning
Infrastructure – Classroom, Network, Internet Access, WiFi,
etc.
Hardware and Software – PCs, Notebooks, LMS,
Integration, etc.
Lack of Skill (Training)
Cost and Time
Mindset Change – Teachers, Students and Parents
44

Challenges in Designing Blended Course
45

Summary: Essentials for Blended Mode
1. Good Infrastructure – Bandwidth, technology, learning
space, etc.
2. Go 1:1 - each student to have the own device
3. Good LMS – Schoology, Canvas, Facebook like, etc.
4. Digital Learning Space
5. Promote teamwork and collaborative learning
6. Promote MOOC Courses as electives & content
7. Determine the right formula for your course
8. Focus on Learning
47

Human Touch
We learn to make eye contact, to become aware of another
person's posture and tone, to comfort one another and
respectfully challenge one another -- that empathy and
intimacy flourish. We learn who we are.
by Professor Sherry Turkle
48

Technology Touch
Technology has the power to engage students and make
learning more fun. So much of learning happens outside of
the classroom; we need to connect our in-school activities
with our kids' out-of-school interests. Maybe they develop a
love of writing poetry, producing music videos, or solving
hard problems in their communities.
Philips Andover
49

Take this quiz?
https://b.socrative.com/login/student/
Room: KELANA
1. Who will resist most in adopting Blended Learning?
 Students
 Administrators
 Lecturers
2. In your opinion, which will be your preferred mode of learning?
 MOOC-style (fully online)
 F2F (fully classroom-based lectures)
 Blended Mode
3. Will Blended Mode be a threat to universities/schools that do not adopt it?
 Yes
 No
 Not Sure
51

Best practices in designing a blended learning course

Related slideshows

More Related Content

Best practices in designing a blended learning course