Beyond blended learning: Reaching every student

This archived presentation from the 2010 NCTIES conference explores the theory and application of blended learning and offers ten ways to improve teaching using a blended approach.

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At the 2010 NCTIES conference in Raleigh, LEARN NC’s Bobby Hobgood delivered a presentation about blended learning. The archived session is available at the following link:

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/media/misc/2010/ncties_bhobgood_blended/default.htm

Access to the archived session requires Microsoft Silverlight software. If you don’t already have Silverlight installed, clicking on the link will prompt your browser to ask you if you’d like to download the software.

About this presentation

Presentation title

Beyond blended learning: Reaching every student

Presenter

Bobby Hobgood, LEARN NC — UNC School of Education

Target audience

Elementary, middle, high, K-12, administration

Presentation goals

Viewers of this hour-long presentation will learn

• what blended learning is,
• why blended learning is important,
• current research findings about blended learning,
• a theoretical framework underpinning the value of blended learning,
• what blended learning “looks like” in a classroom, and
• ten ways to improve teaching using a blended approach.

Presentation abstract

Dr. Hobgood’s introductory poll of his audience reveals that nine percent of the attendees already use blended learning in their classrooms, nearly half “think” they know what it is, and the others indicate they’re not sure. He defines blended learning as instruction that brings together traditional face-to-face classroom techniques with learning opportunities afforded by the internet, and adds that blended learning reflects a combination of three learning theories — cognitivism, constructivism, and performance support.

Noting that although the characteristics of blended learning are different for students at different grade levels, he demonstrates, via examples, that it offers fresh opportunities for teachers to extend the scope of the learning experience beyond the walls of the classroom.

Dr. Hobgood cites US Department of Education research that suggests that blended learning is somewhat more effective than either strictly face-to-face learning or strictly online learning, and a Sloan Consortium finding that blended learning is increasing across the country.

He concludes by encouraging teachers to experiment with blended learning but cautions that, until they become comfortable with the method’s techniques and strategies, they should employ it only when it allows them to do something in the classroom they cannot do using traditional methods or to do something better than they’re already doing it.

The final ten minutes of the presentation comprise a virtual tour of the LEARN NC website, which offers the complete NC Standard Course of Study in an easily searchable format, three digital textbooks, and thousands of standards-aligned digital resources including lesson plans and best practices articles.