Blended Learning

Blended Learning is the integration of online and offline work in a classroom. Using a Learning Management System (LMS), students and teachers are able to create an online classroom which augments their time spent during the regular school day. Student must learn part of the content via this digital medium. This redesign of the classroom routine allows the teacher to repurpose classroom time.

This format creates an increase in student-to-student and student-to-teacher collaboration. Online forums, discussions, feedback and the posting of work are all potential features of a Blended classroom. By presenting certain tasks to the medium in which they are better suited, whether online or face-to-face, Blended Learning can increase student engagement, involvement, as well as teacher efficiency.

Blended Learning offers options for the teacher to modify the pace of instruction, and gives students greater control over how and when they learn. This is particularly useful for stronger students who are looking to push ahead, but also for students who may require more time and repetition in order to understand more fully. Blended learning also gives the teacher more ability to differentiate for students who may require modified content or adaptations to the curriculum. While online, additional supports can be provided to these students as they complete the content. In class, while other students are continuing with the assignment, the teacher has the opportunity to work with these students in groups and provide the assistance they need.


The following are examples of Blended Learning at each of the elementary divisions.

Primary

In this example, the teacher combines online resources from the OERB and typical in-class resources such as Pearson’s Math Makes Sense textbook. The teacher integrated classroom discussions, online interactive activities, postings, and pencil-and-paper tasks.


The teacher notes the increased engagement for students of all abilities, and the opportunity for students to “work[] at their own pace.” According to this teacher, the unit also encouraged students to take risks and to provide peer assistance. The Blended format also reportedly increased student enjoyment of the unit.

Junior

At Grant Beacon, using Blended Learning throughout their school has made a tremendous impact on students. By combining digital and hard copy resources, discussions and group work, students are accessing curriculum content in a number of subjects through this new instructional method. Using Moodle as their learning platform, teachers are able to differentiate instruction for students at all levels. The video notes that students are able to self-direct using Blended Learning, moving at their own pace, and at their own level. The online format provides the teachers with more assessment data, which allows them to further modify instruction. Students also have the ability to access the lessons and instruction after it has taken place in order to review the content. The teachers recorded lectures and modelled examples and provided these to the students electronically.

Intermediate

Using Bitstrips for Schools, this grade 8 class was able to learn about and design webcomic stories about Empathy and Responsibility. Using this tool, the teacher was able to create a "student-centred" unit which gave students the opportunity to collaborate and assist each other. The teacher notes that the Bitstrips site "encourages all learning styles", which helped students of all abilities succeed. From the Bitstrips comic, students incorporated other media into a presentation designed via Google Apps.