Towards Blended Learning

1
Towards Blended Learning

• Rita Headington
• University of Greenwich

2
Setting the scene

• Getting to grips with e-learning
• EBR Programme
• Participants trainees, tutors
• QTS standards
• Teaching, learning and assessment
• Potential role of e-Learning

3
Scribbens and Powell (2003)
4
Blended learning

• Bringing together traditional resources with
  ILT-based opportunities to create a coherent
  planned approach across a whole programme or
  towards a given learning outcome Scibbins and
  Powell (2003)

5
Issues from the 2004 pilot

• New ways of tutoring
• Quality and regularity of participation
• Tutor as model
• To assess or not to assess?
• Does it blend?

6
Developments for 2005-06

• Fortnightly f2f sessions
• Introduction of new OLC areas
• Editing it myselfwith support!
• Introduction of OLC to trainees
• Parallel OLC for tutors

7
Difficulties during 2005-06

• Late start
• Non-attendance of mentors
• Non-involvement of tutors
• Technical hitches

8
Evaluation methods

• Statistical information
• Questionnaires
• Unstructured interviews

9
Statistical information

• Trainees OLC
• Used mainly at weekends
• Regular participants
• Many more lurkers
• 2 tutors weekly, others viewed occasionally
• Tutors OLC
• Not used!

10
Questionnaire findings - trainees

• Increased and regular participation
• Used mainly for
• individual learning
• community support
• information gathering

11
Interviews with tutors whod used it ()

• Very useful resource
• Good to see students sharing
• Participants used workshops well
• Links with taught sessions
• No lost dates and resources
• Transferable to other programmes

12
Interviews with tutors whod used it (-)

• Use immediately after training
• Time for use needs to be built in
• Problematic for appendices
• Didnt exploit Submission Centre
• Wouldnt be happy to mark on-line
• Not useful for emergencies

13
Comments from tutors who didnt use it

• Couldnt get in so I gave up
• Screen kept freezing
• Dont have the time
• What was the password again?

14
What weve got right

• Introduction with task for immediate involvement
• Built into the programme
• Supporting learning community
• Adapting to changing needs
• One-stop-shop for resources and current
  information

15
What we need to work on

• Technical hurdles
• Enhancing trainees learning experiences
• Increasing tutor involvement

16
Everard and Morris (1990)
17
What next?

• Tutors as e-learners
• Broadening the palette of teaching skills
• Critical mass
• trainees - on the way
• tutors - some way to go

18
Towards blended learning?

• Bringing together traditional resources with
  ILT-based opportunities to create a coherent
  planned approach across a whole programme or
  towards a given learning outcome Scribbins and
  Powell (2003)