Online and Blended/Hybrid Learning

Learning in the digital age is split into three broad categories: 

• Traditional or face-to-face (F2) learning
• Online learning
• Blended or hybrid learning

Traditional / F2F Learning

This is a catchall term for all of the methods, venues and modes of delivery in place before the digital age: lecture, lab work, demonstrations, seminars, group discussions, field work, etc. The key differentiator of this category is that groups of students and their teacher meet together in the same place at the same time in order to conduct the majority of lessons. 

In addition, old style Distance Learning (DL) in the form of the "correspondence course" would be included here: books and materials would be sent through the post to students, who would work independently and return written assignments in the post for assessment.

Online Learning

Online Learning refers to learning that is fully online and with no expectation for learners to be physically present in a group learning space. All of the requirements for the course are met by the learner having access to an online environment and online resources. The learning space is virtual.

Online learning interrupts the distinction between F2F and Distance Learning: no matter where students are, if they sign up for an online course, they will all work the same way. Students who may in the past have been isolated as Distance learners will have the benefit of interactivity and much improved support. 

Online learning can be split further into two categories of delivery: Synchronous and Asynchronous. 

• Synchronous learning takes place in a real-time environment, usually through an online classroom or webinar platform, such as Blackboard Collaborate.
• Asynchronous learning takes place at the convenience of the learner without the need for the group doing the same thing at the same time, usually through a Learning Environment or suite of online tools.

Simply trying to replicate classroom experience in an online environment is often disappointing. More information about the pros and cons: Synchronous versus asynchronous learning

Blended/Hybrid Learning

Blended Learning and Hybrid Learning refer to a mix of online learning and traditional F2F learning: the whole learning "toolkit" is available to enable learning in the most appropriate way. The best blended learning starts with a course design that balances the available resources and constraints with the optimum ways to engage learners for any particular learning objective. Blended learning is closely aligned to the idea of Flipped Learning (or Flipped Classroom) - F2F time is best spent doing those things that require teacher-student or student-student interaction, while time away from the classroom is best spent in reading/viewing and reflecting on learning materials and putting into practice what they have learned. 

The Changing Landscape

In recent years, most HE institutions have been changing practice by growing their wholly online provision through Distance Learning programmes, and encouraging (sometimes requiring) academics teaching traditional face-to-face (campus-based) modules and courses to record lectures, take online submission of assignments and use the online learning system for other, often supplemental, learning activities and resources. Individual academics, enthusiastic about the possibilities for teaching with technology, have been bringing more blended learning into their teaching by choice.

Enter Covid-19. When the Coronavirus began its global rampage early in 2020, online and blended learning entered the spotlight. Suddenly teaching staff were instructed to "put their courses online" almost overnight. In the case of online assignment submissions and recording lectures (albeit to an empty room) this requires little change.

However, anyone with experience teaching wholly online modules and courses knows that just "putting it online" is not enough. This article makes a strong case for The Difference Between Emergency Remote Teaching and Online Learning. And this book looks at an array of experiences: Online and Distance Education for a Connected World.

Creating high quality online and blended learning requires planning, design and support. The best conversion of traditional learning into online learning involves going back to "first principles" and rebuilding the course with new approaches, new delivery, new environments, new resources, new activities, new goals.  

This blog post spells out the initial planning questions: Updating Learning Programmes I: 10 First Principles

We'll look at Learning Design in the next section.

[ Link to institutional information or support, if available ]