Asalamu Alakum from the UAE.
Blended learning to me is a mixture of face to face learning and online learning. Ideally you take the best of each format and intertwine it some way to make it more effective than face-to-face learning or online learning. It sounds simple, but I imagine that the actual creation of this format can be time consuming and hard work. So I guess an advantage is that you can take the best of face-to-face teaching and online learning and use both in a blended learning format. A disadvantage I envision is the initial time it will take to set up the new course in a blended learning format.
I currently teach face-to-face with pre-kindergarten students. Similar to Mylan, non of my students speak English. I am sure it is possible, but I am unsure how I would apply a blended learning model to my class. What may be more useful for my school is some kind of blended learning professional development (PD) training for the teachers. I work in a small town outside of Al Ain, UAE. Professional development is hard to come by out here. We do most of our PD independently by taking online courses in our own time like this course. Designing a blended learning PD for teachers may be useful as you could tailor the course to suit each teacher, avoiding the ‘one-size-fits-all’ situation that many of us experience during PD training in-house.
Masalama for now.
Jo (Joanne Livingstone)
