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blended learning

blended learning

By Anne Dalke
July 7, 2014 - 15:30
Anne Dalke's picture

So who among us attended the blended learning conference held @ bmc in mid-may?
i made it to two 1/2-mornings, so didn't get the full sampling of offerings...
but was pretty puzzled by what i heard-and-saw. kim cassidy opened the conference by
saying  that "no fundamental truth about learning" had emerged from the mellon-sponsored initiatives:
"really nothing you couldn’t do w/ pencil and paper"; basically, "students who do their homework do better in classes."
david ross talked about how ineffective conventional videos are, in conveying information (to my mind, much less effective than conventional lectures), and his session was followed by two guys from amherst talking about the "benefits of recording lectures"--which seemed to come down to making it easier for faculty to travel, and aiding students who miss classes...and there was another session, by a guy from james madison, who described

but the punch line, for me, was delivered by a colleague from albright, who reported on her outcomes as follows:
* missed class interaction/didn’t get to play/talk w/ them;
* missed lecturing to an audience (cf. to excruciating experience of recording myself);
* longed for old fashioned paper, pencil, in person classroom demonstrations…
what I learned: to be careful what you flip!

i left the sessions feeling as though the sort of education i understand-and-pursue, which is transactional,with knowledge created in exchange and interaction, didn't really jive w/ what i was hearing, which seemed to be all about unidirectional content delivery…it may be “individualized” (in that a student can set her own pace), but it also seemed increasingly atomized….

so i'm interested to know: what have been your own experiences in flipped classrooms?
And did you learn anything of use @ the conference?

a.

Supporting

 

Challenging

 

Complexifying

'blended learning'?

well i didn't go to the conference but have heard about it from anne and ann and a few other folks, and it does seem as if this is a pretty limited way of interpreting what could be meant by 'blended learning' - which is itself a funny descriptor (isn't all learning 'blended' in that learning is about encounters with and across different experiences, ideas, etc etc?).  at any rate, i really got on to wonder whether other folks are meaning something more expansive and creative by this 'blended learning' tag -- ? and whether or not they do, we can/do...

Complicated feelings about BL

Unfortunately, I couldn't be present for the conference, but having done a notable amount of research on the topic to assist in grant proposals/EduTech Guide Pages, I've developed some ideas about this topic.

Blended learning done right

While I didn't have the chance to attend the conference, I processed the recordings for upload to YouTube and archiving, so I had a chance to listen to/watch parts of most of the talks. Like Rebecca, I've also learned more about blended learning ideas & practices as part of our internship.

'blended learning'?

well i didn't go to the conference but have heard about it from anne and ann and a few other folks, and it does seem as if this is a pretty limited way of interpreting what could be meant by 'blended learning' - which is itself a funny descriptor (isn't all learning 'blended' in that learning is about encounters with and across different experiences, ideas, etc etc?).  at any rate, i really got on to wonder whether other folks are meaning something more expansive and creative by this 'blended learning' tag -- ? and whether or not they do, we can/do...

Weaving