Blended Learning

According to Ryan and Tilbury (2013), pedagogic flexibility is tied to digital education; academia is under pressure to broaden learning opportunities (Barnett, 2014). “Blended learning” describes a mixture of face-to-face/on-site classroom and virtual learning (Pokorny and Warren, 2016). Alternative names include “hybrid learning” and “flexible learning”. Interestingly for this research, Rouse (2010) uses the term “distributed learning” to describe learning that is ICT-mediated but involves any form of physical interaction. Blended learning is intrinsically ICT-facilitated but not ICT exclusive. (“Distance learning”, on the other hand, is entirely remote and, these days, inevitably occurs in virtual learning space.)

Academics are required to support students through curriculum designs that harness the advantages of online technologies (Pokorny and Warren, 2016). Such technologies enable collaborative dialogue and enhance classroom learning (Webb, 2009; Hmelo-Silver et al, 2013). Although audio-visual technologies can support different learning styles (Coffield et al, 2004), overreliance on technologies (such as PowerPoint) can create mechanistic habits that weaken teaching (Kinchin et al, 2008). [1]

[1] This is possibly symptomatic of an overarching pedagogic concern that is beyond the scope of this project but undoubtedly important, i.e. the possibility that the medium is shaping the message. This is a matter that deserves deeper consideration and investigation.