Blended Learning Modules

By Jean Leah, Lisa Harris and Madeline Paterson

The project

• How it started• Where we are now.

Background

• Flexible study option for mature students in full time employment

• Leverages knowledge of the entire student group who collaborate, share and produce materials with tutor guidance

• Each module starts and ends with a half day F2F workshop, with 8 weeks of online study in-between

• Two modules being developed for IDM Diploma holders to extend their studies to MSc Digital Marketing

• Can be offered to other student groups as required

Pedagogy (Salmon, 2000)STAGE STUDENT ACTIVITIES TUTOR ACTIVITIESStage 1Access and motivation

Setting up system and accessing

Welcome and encouragement. Where to find technical support

Stage 2On-line socialisation

Sending and receiving messages

Introductions, Ice-breakersGround rules, Netiquette

Stage 3Information exchange

Carrying out activitiesReporting and discussing findings

Facilitate structured activitiesAssign roles and responsibilitiesEncourage discussionsSummarise outcomes

Stage 4Knowledge construction

Course-related discussionsCritical thinking applied to subject materialMaking connections between models and work-based learning experiences

Facilitate open activitiesFacilitate the processAsking questionsEncourage reflection.Tutor is very active at this stage.

Stage 5Development.

Reflection on learning processes Students become critical of the medium

Respond only when requiredEncourage reflectionTutor is less active and hands over to the students

Online learning weeks

• Tutor provides text-based summary doc on BB focused on the themes of each week, including:– Directions for the completion of assignments– Hyperlinks to web-based materials – L inks to media offering additional insights– Supplementary reading

• Discussion board participation– Post answer to the set question – Comment on two classroom posts made by colleagues (with

supporting evidence)– Post a reflective summary of learning from the week’s activities.

Module Activity Summary

Role of the tutor

• Guide the students through the 5 stage learning process

• Answer specific questions • Provide guidance on “netiquette”• Encourage active participation by all students• Provide prompt and detailed feedback on a on

going basis throughout the module• Curate key themes that emerge from the

discussions to encourage critical reflection

Lisa to add screen shot from ‘live’ discussion board

Structuring an activity

Design (in advance) activities based on one key topic or question to make participation and moderation easy and effective• Spark for discussion: motivating and purposeful• What they should do and how long it should take• What indicates success and how to achieve it• How they should work together• What the tutor’s role is and when s/he will post

Successful online discussion• The smaller the group, the greater the

likelihood of cohesiveness and full participation– 5-7 individuals is good for leaderless groups– 15 individuals is maximum for full participation

• Success depends on the tutor’s skills: to design an effective task, stimulate discussion, watch, keep emphasis on task, summarise and keep it moving

Setting group tasksA mix of task, roles, rules, proceduresOutcome: Identify and competently use three different strategies for solving problemsTasks: solve a given problem; monitor the strategies involved; share findings and compare with research evidence; draw up a classification of findingsActivities:

individual works on the problem pairs compare methods and results whole group shares summary sheets group produces a single sheet with their results

Media: being ‘producerly’

• Media is powerful, students enjoy it• ‘Good enough’ production values– Sound and vision kit–Camera and microphone setup–Management on the day (producer) – Editing and delivery format

• Buy-in skills for best resultsInexpensive, quality, value, student experience