Blended Learning: A Need for Change in Education System

Abstract

Immediate access to people and knowledge through technology is increasing, and this is often transforming our everyday lives. Using connected mobile tools like smartphones, tablets, and laptops, we purposefully “blend” physical and online activities to make optimal experiences. This is often what blended education is all about: situating learning experiences online or onsite based on the relative strengths and weaknesses of each mode. Research suggests that blended courses can have a positive impact on efficiency, convenience, and learning outcomes. By moving more of the training to online environments, blended courses add flexibility to participants’ schedules, provide learning benefit through automated and asynchronous online tools, and may tap into the modern, social Web to assist learners venture beyond the traditional confines of the classroom. To consistently achieve such benefits, teachers have to go beyond a simple “digital facelift.” Instead, teachers should aim to make transformative blends through an intentional course redesign process.