Blended Synchronous Learning Model

1. Blended Synchronous Learning Model Nian-Shing Chen Professor and Chairman Department of Information ManagementNational Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan nschen@faculty.nsysu.edu.twhttp://www.nschen.idv.tw/

2. Traditional Learning • Traditional schools remain fixed… • same time, same place, everyone • not accessible to those on the move • not accessible to those at remote locations • not geared for situated learning • no formal support for peer-learning outside classroom • fail to retain context in out-of-class learning situations • external expert participation a pain!

3. E-Learning (few years ago) • E-learning an enabler for instruction in ways not possible in traditional education environment • Remote participation • Archiving for revision and remedial studies • Self-pace study • ….

4. Problems of past! • Learner isolation and alienation because of their physical separation • Lack of “social presence” • Lack of immediate interaction even if lecture videos available Blended synchronous learning →

5. Blended synchronous learning • Integrates physical face-to-face and cyber face-to-face learning • support for pedagogical strategies such as • team-teaching • collaborative learning • peer-learning Blended synchronous learning model →

6. Blended synchronous learning model Employs various strategies combining three attributes: • Role • Place • Number of participants to achieve synchronous interaction of Physical F2F and Cyber F2F. 14 blended synchronous learning modes identified

7. Notations T: a teacher S: a student P: a physical classroom C: a cyber classroom G: a group D: an individual n: many I: Internet access nS: many students nG: many groups nP: many physical classrooms nP(T, nS): many physical classrooms of a teacher with many students

8. Mode 1: One teacher with students in physical classroom • Traditional classroom • One teacher with students in physical classroom • Only in-class support material is available • Disappearing fast • Mentioned only for comparison purposes

9. Mode 2: One teacher (with Internet access) with students in physical classroom • Still resembles of traditional classroom • Allows teachers to record the lectures on Internet for later retrieval • Enables students to catch up and everyone to have revision possibilities Still one of the most basic modes of using Internet technologies

10. Mode 3: Teacher with students in physical classroom, everyone with Internet access • Location constraints remain • However, Internet technologies are used for real-time collaboration activities with archival facilities • Allows electronic instant polling • Better/automatic record keeping • Collaborative document creation and annotation • Simultaneous multiple student input • Persistency and reuse of resources

11. Mode 4: Teacher & students in physical classroom, individual students at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • No location constraints any more • Still maintains familiar traditional classroom • Enables institutions to expand their cohorts to students from remote places • authentic reporting of certain field phenomenon possible

12. Mode 5: Teacher & students in physical classroom, individual students at remote locations, groups of students at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Combines traditional classroom with true remote access for both individuals and groups • Remote students, who cannot afford individual computing resources, can also join in groups

13. Mode 6: One teacher & students in physical classroom, one or more teachers at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Multiple expertise from anywhere in the world • Still maintaining familiar traditional classroom • Allows unique expertise to be available from international experts in ordinary classroom, which was not possible before

14. Mode 7: One teacher & students in physical classroom, one or more teachers at remote locations, individual students at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Not only brings multiple expertise from anywhere in the world, but also allows students to participate from anywhere in the world

15. Mode 8: Teacher & students in physical classroom, one or more teachers at remote locations, individual & groups of students at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Situated learning possibilities by either experts at certain locations or sending students to certain locations • Enables multiple perspectives of experts • Allows students to participate from anywhere, either individually or in groups

16. Mode 9: Teacher and individual students at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Breaks away from traditional classroom paradigm • Allows for teachers to be recruited according to their expertise rather than their physical location • Combines real-time authentic student experience from multiple locations Vocational students from multiple locations could relate their real-time experiences to make connection not only between theory and practice but also between multiple situated experiences provided by other learners from different locations

17. Mode 10: Teacher & individual students at remote locations, groups of students at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Enables students with limited individual resources to be in groups with shared computing resources • Allows for use of the best pedagogical practices by enabling peer-learning environment in small groups to provide better learning experience • Teachers can do an authentic reporting in their teaching

18. Mode 11: Multiple groups of teacher & students at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Enables multiple classrooms in different parts of the world to collaborate with each other • Teachers teaching the same subject at different institutions/countries can join together to design some inter-institutional or inter-country activities to enhance situated learning experience • Facilitates better mutual cultural understanding

19. Mode 12: Multiple groups of teacher & students at remote locations, one or more teachers at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Enables external experts simultaneously in multiple classes • External experts can be in particular context, and can provide real-life experience to students • In a way, the classroom is extended by the external expert to include situated learning

20. Mode 13: Multiple teachers at remote locations, individual students at remote locations, groups of students at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Team teaching a real possibility to increase quality, multiple perspectives, and reduced teaching load, without increased burden on financial resources

21. Mode 14: Multiple groups of teacher & students at remote locations, individual students remote locations, groups of students at remote locations, one or more teachers at remote locations, everyone with Internet access • Combines benefits of all previous modes • Provides real possibility of global classroom, multiple cultural exposures, and bringing multiple situated learning possibilities

22. Thank you!