Technology - Blended learning

  BLENDED LEARNING

     Blended learning is a new style of learning that combines online and face-to-face learning to create a more student-led learning experience. Blended learning help learners to meet their own educational goals and objectives more effectively by combining different learning modes and materials, and this benefits the learner to have some control over time, place and pace.

Q. How are teacher/ student role in blended classroom different from a traditional classroom?

● In the traditional model, the teacher is the provider of knowledge. But blended learning shifts the teacher's role from knowledge provider to coach and mentor. This shift does not mean that teacher play a passive or less important role in student's education, rather the teachers can have an even more profound influence and effect on student's learning. 

● Blended learning provide access to all kinds of multimedia and interactive contents that significantly expand classroom teaching materials. So students prefer blended learning over traditional learning because of the variety of online resource they can access to supplement their classwork.

                                             

●In blended classroom a teacher must opt for long-term planning of curriculum and instructions in advance. Curriculum planning as well as instructional strategies must be figured in advance even before the session starts.

● Blended teaching breaks free from the inflexibility of schedules and spaces of traditional teaching. It is flexible as it allows students to have instant access to information anywhere in the world, as long as the learner has a computer or a smartphone and an internet connection.

● In blended learning, students have greater control over their courses and can study at their own pace by reviewing the syllabus at any time and anywhere. It allows them to keep up with the pace in the classroom and reinforce what they have studied outside of class by using a variety of interesting content.

● In traditional classroom setting, learners are one of many. Their individual needs are not taken into account and they are merged into a  "one-size-fits-all" curriculum. But in blended learning the teachers provides individual instructions to each and everyone as per their needs on what is is relevant and important.

● In blended learning teacher provides opportunity for extention of learning. The teacher's role is immense here, she teaches her students to understand their own learning and evaluate their own confusion. And later she helps them identifying their challenges and successes by setting achievable, high goals.

 ● Blended learning provides productive collaborations between students by giving guidance and online collaboration programmes.

● In the traditional learning teachers are like 'sage on the stage'. But in era of blended learning students are highly accessible to internet and technology, so they can be called the active pursuers of knowledge and already informed about the content to be taught. So here the teacher's role is to function as a facilitator and a content expert. She must master in art of content creation and content utilization inorder to provide interesting and effective learning.

● Learner's can use their online program to practice vocabulary, expressions and structures, before they meet their tutor. This can speed up their learning process.

● Blended classrooms provide good quality interaction between teacher and the students without any time and space barriers. This deepens and strengthens student-teacher relationships and it in turns give insights into student's personal struggles and needs. So that the teacher could comfort and coach students through their challenges.

● By making the content customized, the teacher can takes the anxiety and fear out of students. Here, learners can ask any questikns directly to their tutors with confidence. This not only spares embarassment, but gives the learners more focused learning and feedback.

Conclusion:-

      Blended learning can be completed from anywhere at any time, and is ideally suited to all kind of students. Blrnded learning provides an appropriate balance between online  instruction, which iffers the interactive, tech-based learning, individualized pacing and privacy that keeps students continuously engaged and motivated, and teacher-led instruction which personalizes the learning experiences and adds the human elements of encouragement, compassion, and caring guidance that only a teacher can give.