Blended learning combines online and in-person learning experiences. It allows students to learn about the same topics both online and in class, with the online and in-person experiences complementing each other. There are various models of blended learning, including the flipped classroom model where instructional content is accessed outside class and class time is used for projects and help. Blended learning has benefits like extending reach, optimizing costs, and allowing students to learn at their own pace, but critics question whether students get enough guidance and supervision without teachers.

1. BLENDED LEARNING
Blended learning models, Blended learning benefits
Ausyak Ivanyan

2. WHAT IS BLENDED LEARNING
The term blended learning is generally applied to the practice of
using both online and in-person learning experiences when
teaching students. In a blended-learning course, for example,
students might attend a class taught by a teacher in a
traditional classroom setting, while also independently
completing online components of the course outside of the
classroom. In this case, in-class time may be either replaced
or supplemented by online learning experiences, and
students would learn about the same topics online as they do
in class—i.e., the online and in-person learning experiences
would parallel and complement one another.
Also called hybrid learning and mixed-mode learning, blended-
learning experiences may vary widely in design and execution from
school to school. For example, blended learning may be provided in
an existing school by only a few teachers or it may be the dominant
learning-delivery model around which a school’s academic program
is designed. Online learning may be a minor component part of a
classroom-based course, or video-recorded lectures, live video and
text chats, and other digitally enabled learning activities may be a
student’s primary instructional interactions with a teacher. In some
cases, students may work independently on online lessons,
projects, and assignments at home or elsewhere, only periodically
meeting with teachers to review their learning progress, discuss
their work, ask questions, or receive assistance with difficult
concepts. In other cases, students may spend their entire day in a
traditional school building, but they will spend more time working
online and independently than they do receiving instruction from a
teacher. Again, the potential variations are numerous.

3. Over the past decade, digital- and online-learning
options have become more popular and more
widely used in public schools, although many
schools have been slow or reluctant to adopt
new technologies for number of complex
reasons, ranging from inadequate funding,
technologies, and computing networks to
general organizational recalcitrance and
resistance to change. Given the fact that the
internet and most digital learning technologies
are still relatively new, instructional
alternatives such as blended learning could be
seen as de facto reform strategies—i.e., by
incorporating blended learning, schools and
teachers are forced to change the ways in
which they have historically instructed and
interacted with students. For example, if
students begin learning both in-person and
online, it might lead schools to reexamine
their traditional school schedule and rethink
how the typical school day is structured. In
many cases, blended learning is one
component of a larger reform initiative in a
school or district.

4. Advantages and Disadvantages
Generally speaking, blended learning offers many potential advantages
and disadvantages that will largely depend on the quality of the
design and execution of a given blended-learning model. Advocates
may argue that blended learning gives students the benefits of
both online learning and in-person instruction. For example,
students can work independently and at their own pace online, but
still have access to the personal attention of a teacher and all the
assistance, knowledge, and resources such an educator provides.
At the same time, teachers can structure courses and deliver
instruction more flexibly or creatively than in a traditional
classroom setting. That said, advocates of blended learning may
also argue that online learning, on its own, is insufficient without
in-person or one-on-one interactions with a teacher.
Critics of blended-learning experiences may also question whether the
practice can provide students with enough personal attention,
guidance, and assistance from teachers, especially for students
who may not be self-directed, self-disciplined, or organized enough
to learn effectively without regular supervision from teachers and
adults. Without in-person supervision, for example, students could
easily spend more of their study time using social media and
chatting with friends than doing their schoolwork. Critics also
question whether teachers have received or will receive adequate
training in how to instruct students effectively in a blended-
learning context, given that the practice requires teachers to use
new technologies and, possibly, more sophisticated instructional
practices.

5. Benefits of blended learning
The Benefits of Blending
Blended learning is not new. However, in the past,
blended learning was comprised of physical classroom
formats, such as lectures, labs, books, or handouts. Today,
organizations have a myriad of learning approaches and
choices. Some of these are shown in Table 1.
The concept of blended learning is rooted in the idea
that learning is not just a one-time event—learning is a
continuous process. Blending provides various benefits
over using any single learning delivery medium alone
Extending the Reach
A single delivery mode inevitably limits the reach of a
learning program or critical knowledge transfer in some
form or fashion. For example, a physical classroom training
program limits the access to only those who can
participate at a fixed time and location, whereas a virtual
classroom event is inclusive of remote audiences and, when
followed up with recorded knowledge objects (ability to
playback a recorded live event), can extend the reach to
those who could not attend at a specific time.

6. Optimizing Development Cost and Time
Combining different delivery modes has the potential to
balance out and optimize the learning program
development and deployment costs and time. A totally
online, self-paced, media-rich, Web-based training content
may be too expensive to produce (requiring multiple
resources and skills), but combining virtual collaborative
and coaching sessions with simpler self-paced materials,
such as generic off-the-shelf WBT, documents, case
studies, recorded e-learning events, text assignments, and
PowerPoint presentations (requiring quicker turn-around
time and lower skill to produce) may be just as effective or
even more effective. Evidence that Blending Works
We are so early into the evolution of blended learning
that little formal research exists on how to construct the
most effective blended program designs. However,
research from institutions such as Stanford University and
the University of Tennessee have given us valuable insight
into some of the mechanisms by which blended learning is
better than both traditional methods and individual forms
of e-learning technology alone. This research gives us
confidence that blending not only offers us the ability to be
more efficient in delivering learning, but more effective.

7. Models of Blended Learning
Blended Learning is a big concept, an umbrella term, that
contains several other sub-methods. Below are the four models
that are most used in schools today. The definitions together with
the accompanying videos featured here are taken from Blended
Learning 101 course. This course is offered by Khan Academy (
one of the leading protagonists of blended learning approach) in
partnership with the Clayton Christensen Institute and the Silicon
Schools Fund.
1Flippedclassroom
Flipped classroom or flipped learning is a methodology, an
approach to learning in which technology is employed to reverse
the traditional role of classroom time. If in the past, classroom
time is spent at lecturing to students , now in a flipped model, this
time is utilized to encourage individualized learning and provide
one-on-one help to students, and also to improve student-
teacher interaction. While the instructional or teachable content
is still available in class, however this content is mainly designed
in such a way to be accessed outside class which is a great way for
struggling students to learn at their own pace.
Check out this page for more resources on Flipped Learning.
2 Station Rotation Model
In a station rotation model, within a given course or subject ,
students rotate at fixed points in time between different learning
stations, at least one of which is an online learning station. Other
stations might include activities such as small-group or full-class
instruction, group projects, individual tutoring, and pencil-and-
paper assignments. Some implementations involve the entire
class alternating among activities together; whereas others divide
the class into small-group rotations. In the Station Rotation
model, students rotate through all of the stations.

8. 3- Lab Rotation Model
In a lab Rotation model, students rotate at fixed points in time
between a classroom and computer lab, in which students learn
predominantly online. The classroom is generally reserved for other
learning activities.
Difference between Lab rotation model and Station rotation
model:
In station rotation model students are rotating within a given
classroom whereas in the lab model they are actually rotating out to
a learning lab where they are doing their online learning.
Watch to see how Navigator Schools use this model in their
instruction.
4- Flex Model
In the Flex model, online learning forms the backbone of a student's
learning, even if it directs students to office activities at times, and
students are able to move flexibly through different learning
modalities with the goal of optimizing their learning experience
based on their specific needs. Each student in essence has a
customized, fluid schedule among learning modalities. The teacher
of record is on-site, and the teacher-of-record or other adults
provide face-to-face support on a flexible and adaptive as-needed
basis through activities such as small-group instruction, group
projects, and individual tutoring . Some implementations have
substantial face-to-face support, and others have minimal.
Watch how Summit public schools is using the Flex model in their
instruction.

9. VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
Physical or Virtual Classrooms?
The main difference between the physical classroom and the
virtual classroom is those of location, time and spaces required by
students and teachers to access and partake in classroom activities.
In the physical classroom a physical location must be visited at a
fixed time in order to participate, while a virtual classroom is not
physically accessed and has no real fixed time or location which is a
great boon.
The manner in which a teacher delivers educational material
remains an important factor in the success of both classrooms.
Though both the classrooms employ similar learning theory,
curriculum design and pedagogy, live face-to-face interaction is
missing in the VCR method, which may have a negative influence.
May be the solution is the blended method where physical
classroom training is combined with the virtual classroom training,
thus accommodating a wider range of student needs.
As teaching in both the physical and virtual classroom is learner-
centered, students learn by engaging in group work, projects,
discussions, and other content relating to real-world contexts. The
VCR is used to provide additional communication and material,
along with the learning that occurs in the physical classroom.

10. VIRTUAL CLASSROOM TOOLS
E-mail
Discussion boards
Chat rooms
Whiteboards
Video/audio conferencing
Instant messaging
Podcasting/podcasting
Teleconferencing
Weblogs
Wikis

11. COMBINATION PHYSICAL CLASSROOM
WITH VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
Collaboration in learning
Teacher and students collaborate in the physical
classroom.
Teachers and students collaborate online via audio,
video, and text chat.
It’s hard to address the needs of different levels of
learners in a single class. If there aren’t additional
resources available for groups such as slower or
gifted students, they often have to make do with a
one-size-fits-all average class.
It’s easier to work with different learner types. Divide a
single virtual classroom into breakout sessions, and
let students of different levels work at their own
pace, while the teacher moderates and facilitates.
Usually one teacher per class. Difficult to bring in guest
speakers due to physical and travel constraints.
Easier to involve multiple teachers, and to bring in guest
speakers from anywhere in the world.
Mostly single subject learning due to space and
scheduling constraints.
Inter-disciplinary and off-beat subjects easy to teach and
learn, thanks to lack of space and fewer scheduling
constraints.

12. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Written expression with a focus on German grammar is
achieved through a blend of in class and online tasks
and through tasks that rely on collaborative knowledge
construction in group projects. Students develop
grammatical and vocabulary skills through writing
practice and discussion on topics of everyday life as
well as on political, social and cultural aspects of
German-speaking countries. This course balances
classroom contact with face to face interaction among
students and with the instructor, small-group meetings
outside of class time, individual consultations with the
instructor during office hours and on the other
technology-mediated discussions and exchanges.
Collaborative activities are central to the course and all
students engage in three small group projects: the verb
project, the noun project and sentence project. Each
group creates a grammar card a text on one of three
topics given and a portfolio.

13. In the flipped classroom lectures or other
materials are delivered online for some classes
or tutorials and students use these materials to
prepare for active learning in the classroom. The
in-class activities often involve peer learning or
small group activities to engage students in
discussion or problem solving.
Blended reading instruction with technology
provides powerful and meaningful tools for
literacy instruction.
 Text-reading Software
 Fundamental Skills Software
 Word play and phonics-based games
 Leveled reading and Digital Text Resources
 Dictionaries,Thesauari and Vocabulary

14. BLENDED LEARNING AND TEACHING LANGUAGES
Blended learning is an innovative teaching
method that offers students with a flexible
teaching environment. The assumption that
blended learning would contribute to the
enhancement of vocabulary knowledge is in
principles underlying vocabulary learning.
First of all, the student has a chance to work
on all aspects of knowing a word, the
spelling, the meaning, the phonological
representation and the grammatical
knowledge. The acquisition of the written
form is promoted through encounters with
the written form in the letters and the
ability to produce them when replying.
The blended approach also encompasses all
the necessary for establishing vocabulary
knowledge, namely noticing,
repetition/retrieval and generative use.

15. Thank you for attention