This semester I feel like I am swimming (think refreshing, not drowning) in blended learning. I am taking a course (in pursuit of my instructional design master's degree at UMass Boston), and I am participating in the BlendKit2012 online course offered by UCF. Earlier this week I did an IT-sponsored workshop for faculty on thinking about what should be online and what should be F2F in a blended course. Finally, I am "blending" my core accounting course (that I am teaching to new MBA students) with 25% of the F2F classes being replaced by online activities. By the end of this semester, I hope to know a great deal more about what to do and what not to do when teaching a blended course!
What I absolutely know is this: there are many great resources to help us get better at this! A recent article from the Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks provides some "best practices" that are definitely worth reading. Here are some examples from the article:
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Category
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Best Practice
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Design Process
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The best strategy begins with clear course objectives. Don't shortcut here!
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Pedagogical Strategies
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Varied interactivity and prompt feedback are key to
student engagement.
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Technology Utilization
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The main tools promoted in the literature are discussions
and wikis.
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Assessment Strategies
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Effective practices are divided on when and where
assessments should occur, but the preference is for assessment to be
conducted online.
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Course Implementation
Student Readiness
(addressed together in the article)
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Communication of the blended design, expectation, and
process is key for student success. A F2F orientation is a good way to start!
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McGee, P. & Reis,
A. (2012). Blended course design: A synthesis of best practices. Journal of
Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(4), 7-22.
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