Thoughts on blended learning - Topic 4
According to a film “Will it blend? – iPad” (and other
devices being blended) (1) anything can be blended if we: try very hard,
have a good background (knowledge and stuff), have a positive attitude and of
course if we make use of appropriate technology (in the case of the film –
blender 😊). However making a good e-learning course is not
that easy. There are some ground rules to be followed and we have to think
through all the steps very carefully. ADDIE model (2) divides the e-learning course
cycle into 5 stages: analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation.
In my opinion, a crucial stage of the course cycle is planning (analysis) – if we
don’t analyse everything properly prior to designing the course, our structure will
not stick together, and the possibility of total failure seems very much real.
Just like the building without solid foundation – it will split into pieces
during first earthquake.
During planning stage “identification and
prioritisation of the teaching needs and requirements of your students” (2) is
quite necessary. Setting the learning objectives not only according to your whim
is also important– you have to create something that others would appreciate (analyse
the target audience very carefully!), and what is somehow needed. You have to
think also how to decrease the drop-out rate. You would like the students to
stay, wouldn’t you? You have to decide how much time you can devote for
facilitation, and then verification of course outcomes. And also, remember that
e-learning tools are “just” tools – they cannot dim the teaching process, they
have to support it effectively.
During our PBL discussions on the blended learning, we
also thought that getting to know each other before the course starts is a good
idea (it might be obvious for others 😉). We all knew that emotions, connections that appear
between people, play a huge role in the learning/teaching process. So why not
start to introduce ourselves before the final date? The same thing was
suggested by Martha Cleveland-Innes during the ONL172 webinar (3). We also thought
that creating teachers’ portfolio (not a dull and boring one) and sending it to
course participants would help to create some kind of a bond (4). We might try
this out during the courses we are planning to make next year (5), and we will
see how it works. In fact, I feel better prepared to make blended courses – or maybe
I know what I don’t know yet! I have to dig through the material once again and
analyse our courses with other FOCUS colleagues. For sure we will:
- try very hard
- have a good background
- have a positive attitude
- try to make use of appropriate technology
- ………… any more
suggestions?
It will be very interesting to see how this can be implemented in the FOCUS courses next year. I wonder if you are tempted to continue blogging about your work. It's a great way to create a living cv. You can include links to articles, projects etc as well as reflecting on your current work. Maybe easiest to continue in Polish but that depends on what you want to do with the blog and who you want to reach.
OdpowiedzUsuńThank you Alastair for your comment! I think I might consider continuing the adventure of blogging, but definitely in English - all activities included in the ONL172 course, were a great language practise!
OdpowiedzUsuńThe balance between the knowledge and new tools to "sell" this knowledge is trully smth important to remember! For sure we will have meaningfull collaboration ;)
OdpowiedzUsuń