Defining Online and Blended Learning
I’ll admit, when I started the Learning Design and Technologies program, friends would ask me, “What are you studying?” and I would respond, “You know those training courses that your work has you take online? It’s how to make those.” Abashedly, I realize now that that is probably one of the worst ways to talk about online learning. Too many people (including me) have had ill-fated experiences with such courses and I should be touting the amazing possibilities of online and blended learning in work and academic settings. This brings me to the question, “If I am asked to define online and blended learning, should I define what it often is or what it should be?” While not denying what it often is, I choose to focus this post on what it should be.
Online and blended learning should be the skillful employment of technology to provide learner-centered virtual courses (with blended learning incorporating face-to-face instruction). This includes meeting the needs of learners by using technology to provide quality learning experiences in a convenient manner with open lines of communication between learners and instructors.
Quality learning experiences through technology:
Any learning experience, whether face-to-face, online, or blended, is only as good as its design. Conceição & Howles (2020) encourage empathetic design by viewing an online course from the learner’s perspective of the content and structure (p. 11). I have had excellent learning experiences in online learning environments, for instance, a course that focused each unit on one hands-on assignment, with multiple steps toward bringing that assignment to completion through peer review and editing. The hands-on assignments gave us practical experience, peer review and editing permitted us to learn from one another and improve our projects, and focusing each unit on one assignment allowed us to hone our skills in a specific area. This instructor employed empathetic design by using the learner’s time and attention to the fullest.
Convenience through technology:
Technology affords so many conveniences. Courses can be asynchronous in which learners determine when they interact with the materials online (McPherson & Bacow, 2015, p. 138); this can cater to nontraditional students (McPherson & Bacow, 2015, p. 149) but can appeal to all types of learners. Asynchronous courses permit learners to work at their own pace. I happen to be a night owl with a self-inflicted busy schedule, so I appreciate that I can review course materials and work on assignments whenever fits my schedule. Asynchronous online learning also means that learners can access a repository of resources at any time. As needed, I continue to review materials from past courses and I can bookmark and organize materials for easier review in the future. In addition, fully online courses don’t require that learners use time or money to travel for instruction. If I had to add travel time to my current learning experiences, I would not have enough hours in the week to fit everything.
Communication through technology:
Although one might suppose that communication with instructors would be hindered in online learning, I find it to be more accessible than a traditional course, when done well. According to Conceição & Howles (2020), “In this dynamic learning ecosystem, learners have access to experts such as instructors who facilitate their learning and encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning” (p. 3). I have truly experienced this “access to experts” in online learning courses. While instructors of traditional courses might say that you can contact them outside of instruction hours, if I ever did so, I felt as though I was bothering them. In contrast, online learning instructors encourage virtual communication at any time of day by initiating conversations online and responding to inquiries quickly. I have experienced this in more than just academic environments. I have been taking a course through a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) website in which the instructor encouraged learners to ask questions. I reviewed the Question and Answer (Q&A) board for the course with the instructor’s responses and, when I had a question, I didn’t hesitate to ask and I received a quick response.
The future of online and blended learning:
As learning designers increasingly embrace advancing technology, I believe the future of online and blended learning will include embracing Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a learning partner and provider of feedback. I predict that learners will be encouraged to learn and instructed in how to use AI to improve their learning experiences. McPherson & Bacow (2015) suggest that adaptive learning systems could adjust the content and pace of a course based on a learner’s comprehension (p. 142). At present, it seems that AI is too untested to be relied on in this manner and learning designers do not have the experience (or permission) to incorporate it. But, as with many technologies, society will adapt and AI will advance to a point where it can be a help instead of a hindrance (or feared). As Conceição & Howles (2020) assert, “Institutions that fail to innovate will be left behind” (p. 2) and “Creating new types of learning experiences requires an open mind and an exploratory attitude toward using innovative technologies” (p. 3). While I am a slow adapter of AI, I have already seen its benefits in learning environments. In one course, I asked AI to summarize an article before I read it so I could have the structure and main points of the article in mind as I read. I look forward to finding new ways to enhance my own learning through technologies such as AI as well as incorporating them into online and blended learning in the future.
