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Origin of Blended LearningWhile the concept of blended learning has probably been around for ages, the term was not coined until the late nineties. The earliest reference that I could locate was a press release on March 5, 1999 in which Interactive Learning Centers announces a name change to EPIC Learning. The article reads in part -- "The Company currently operates 220 on-line courses, but will begin offering its Internet courseware using the company's Blended Learning methodology" (PR Newswire).Because elearning did not turn out to be the silver bullet that many of its proponents were harkening it to be, they needed another silver bullet to add to it, thus the concept of blended learning. In its early stages, blended learning meant the mix of classroom (brick) and e-learning (click). Defining Blended Learning"There are brick and mortar options, such as coaching, classes, and mentoring. Then there are electronic options, ranging from e-learning classes, to on-line help systems, to templates, decision support tools, and knowledge bases. E-learning gurus Elliot Maisie and Brandon Hall recognize the many options and encourages combined systems, which they call 'brick and click,' or 'blended' learning" (Rossett & Kendra Sheldon, 2001, p.281).Most definitions of blended learning follow the concept that it is a "blended" solution between e-learning (on-line or click) and classroom learning (face-to-face or brick):
Blended Learning can combine the positive aspects of the two learning environments, classroom-based learning and e-Learning (Bonk & Graham, 2006).However, some experts are now taking a broader view in that it goes beyond elearning and classrooms:Blended learning is a mix of delivery methods that have been selected and fashioned to accommodate the various learning needs of a diverse audience in a variety of subjects. This method can include any combination of any of the above delivery methods (McSporran & King 2002).Blended Learning is the use of two or more distinct methods of training. This may include combinations such as (The ASTD eLearning Handbook):
Why Blended Learning?Learning requires some sort of "experience" to take place. And the experience may be quite different for each learner in that we have to consider differences in interest spans, needs, aptitudes, achievements, variations of time needed to master a specific learning task, abilities to deal with abstractness or concreteness, degree to which a learner needs to be guided, abilities to deal with complexities, abilities to manipulate objects (such as equipment or machines), the degree to which imaginations can be involved, degrees to motivate creativity, problem solving differences, etc. (Banathy, 1968).Banathy further writes that a systems approach is multi-directional, in that it not only allows feedback, but it also has feed-ahead or feed-forward strategies for selecting learning experiences (p. 61). Paul Saettler notes that "A systems approach to instruction implies a scientific study of the kind of instruction required by each learner, the time when it is needed, and the appropriate design, organization, and operation of a system which can achieve behavioral goals. In its broadest sense, an instructional system is a set of interrelated components (not aids or adjuncts) in mutual interaction" (1968, p. 271). Thus, good instruction provide individual learning experiences within the learning environment with a mixture of media, strategies, and methods. These learning experiences promote interactions that allow the learners to recall information so that it may be remembered and combine it with other experiences so that new knowledge bases may be formed. Again, going back to the roots of ISD, Meredith P. Crawford (1962) wrote, ". . . it may be observed that an ideal solution might provide a program adapted to the interests, aptitudes, and motivations of each learner. The experienced instructor, thoroughly familiar with the material and with the general and specific characteristics of the learner, has been recognized as the most efficient programmer, ever since the enunciation of the well-known statement about Mark Hopkins and the log" (see note 1).
Notes1. The statement comes from U.S. President James Garfield in a speech he gave to Williams College alumni in 1871: "I am not willing that this discussion should close without mention of the value of a true teacher. Give me a log hut, with only a simple bench, Mark Hopkins [who was president of Williams College at the time] on one end and I on the other, and you may have all the buildings, apparatus and libraries without him.²ReferenceBanathy, B. (1968). Instructional Systems. Palo Alto, California: Fearon Publishers.Bonk, C.J. & Graham, C. R. (2006). The Handbook of Blended Learning. San Francisco: Pfeiffer. Crawford, M. P. (1962) "Concepts of Training" in Psychological Principles in Systems Development. Edited by Robert Gagne, (p.332). McSporran, M. & King, C. (2005). Blended Is Better: Choosing Educational Delivery Methods. Retrieved October 21, 2007 from http://hyperdisc.unitec.ac.nz/research/KingMcsporranEdmedia2005.pdf Rossett, Allison & Sheldon, Kendra (2001). Beyond the Podium: Delivering Training and Performance to a Digital World. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer. Saettler, Paul (1968). History of Instructional Technology. New York: McGraw-Hill.
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