Hello everyone!
It was good to hear all of your voices last week; I am looking forward to learning with you this semester.
I believe blended learning is a combination of face-to-face interaction and remote computer-mediated activities. I have the sense that there are a myriad of different combinations in this approach to learning. I suspect that the design of a blended model of learning would come down to resources and learner objectives.
Blended learning could provide a very personalized and self-directed learning environment. Essentially, it could change the role of the student and the teacher, in the sense that each would have control over the learning process. Students could become adept at meta-cognitive abilities, using the tools of E-learning to help them understand what they know now and what they need to do next. Teachers would be there to facilitate this process, and would probably be learning alongside their students much of the time.
The challenges of blended learning are rethinking course designs, adopting a new approach to teaching, managing two learning environments, and preparing students (and parents) for the blended learning experience.
Upon completing my MED, I hope to find work in the area of professional development for teachers. Recently, I have become aware of several start-up companies that are using learning analytics to assess professional development needs and then develop customized programs of study. I believe using this technology, along with a mentoring/coaching/facilitating face-to-face component, could deliver a very rich result for individual teachers. This is something that I would like to be involved in.
Best,
Elaine
