Page 73 - BLENDED LEARNING

first-hand experience on which they can reflect when they come to approaching and
understanding theory.
We are also able to make much better use of the face-to-face time that is available for
the course because participants arrive with a good level of technical knowledge and
sound experiences and have already had some time to absorb many of the technical
and theoretical aspects during the first online block of the course.
Lastly, through exploiting the social networking and community building opportunities
offered during the initial online phase of the course, the participants arrive at the
face-to-face part of the course already familiar with each other and this really
accelerates the bonding process that groups generally go through during the
initial stages of a face-to-face course.

Design challenges
Both face-to-face and online courses can be problematic for the development of
teachers’ techno-pedagogical skills. Face-to-face courses generally tend to be too
short and intensive for teachers to get past the ‘shock and awe’ impact that new
technology can have, and whereas they can help to build or destroy enthusiasm for
technology, it can be hard within short face-to-face courses to develop the degree of
balanced critical understanding that is necessary for the effective use of technology.
Online courses, on the other hand, tend to be far too theoretical with teachers
lacking the practical ‘hands on’ guidance and experience that they can get within the
physical classroom. The blended learning structure of the course was employed to
address both these areas. Teachers had the opportunity to be exposed through the
online course to some of the potential uses of technology to support development
within an online environment, and then had the opportunity to employ their insights
within a more practical face-to-face workshop environment.

Most people still have a limited concentration span for online work. This, mixed with
the busy nature of teachers’ lives, influenced the design of the online tasks. Most of
the active tasks were developed to be short and doable in chunks of 30 minutes or
less. They are also very practical so that participants can immediately implement
what they are learning within their own classroom.

Future adaptations
The course has been designed to evolve as more participants do the course and as
the technology changes. Because the online element of the course is Moodle-based
it can easily be edited and kept up to date. It is also anticipated that digital artefacts
and teaching resources produced by each cohort within the course can be archived
and shared and be the basis for the development of new materials for later cohorts.

Lessons learned and advice
Time management
Blended learning is often seen as a time-saving measure both in terms of course
design and tutor time for delivery, this is a huge misconception. The development

70 | A blended learning teacher development course A blended learning teacher development course | 71