A few weeks back, when I was asked to be a part of a teaching team which is responsible for designing and launching an online course, I was caught off guard. Even though the idea seemed interesting, I was not prepared for the task and doubted if I would make a reasonable contribution. Attending an online course where educators from different countries across disciplines did sound a good idea. Reflecting on the discussions I had within my PBL group and the ONL 181 forum, I have gotten rich information about online learning and how it works. More importantly, I have learned a lot about the motives, and drives of my fellow participants. Even though we share the ‘common goal’ learning something new, one cannot deny the fact that we all have come with different expectations and learning objectives in mind. This made me question if online learning is the right arrangement for me to achieve the specific goals I have.
Educators and other stakeholders, the media, and researchers acknowledge the influence of online learning particularly in higher educational settings. For instance, Garrison and Kanuka (2014) argue that online education has compelled educators to re-examine their existing assumptions on the teaching-learning practice. It is no surprise that considerable attention is given to the designing and provision of online learning given the proliferation of information and communication technologies.
However, looking back to the three topics and going through the literature, I have noticed that no single learning method (face-to-face, or online) can be considered effective by its own. For instance, recent developments in the transformation of learning environments have raised the significance of introducing different approaches to teaching and learning. Here, I concur with Young (2002) for calling blended learning “the single greatest unrecognized trend in higher education today”. I recognize that a transformation in the learning environment can only be achieved when we combine the benefit of learning together and apart. As I mentioned in my last blog, studies have shown that online learning arrangements such as collaborative online learning bring a long list of challenges for learners and educators alike. However, the increasing introduction of a combination of text-based asynchronous Internet-based learning with face-to-face approaches—also referred to as blended learning.
After spending some time reading about both online-, blended, and face-to-face learning, I found myself entangled with the long list of merits and shortcomings of these learning methods. In the end, I have come to notice that the benefit of each of the learning approaches come from how robust the design is in terms of helping students achieve their learning goals. I have to admit that I am leaning more towards the blended learning approach.
For those interested to read more about the different learning approaches and how they should be designed, I suggest the following articles :
References
Garrison, D. R., & Kanuka, H. (2004). Blended learning: Uncovering its transformative potential in higher education. The internet and higher education, 7(2), 95-105.