An Analysis of a Blended Learning Pilot Project for a First-Year Composition Course

December 2012 @JasonCKTham

DECENTRALIZING POWER RELATIONS,CREATING CONVERSATIONS

“Universities are not just portals where students access learning, they are places in which people develop as social beings, in some quite specifically institutional ways.

Matthew AllenInternet Studies, Curtin University

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN THE WRITING CLASSROOM

Requires in-person, on-campus attendance of students most of the time at courses featuring a lot of traditional lectures.

Mass adoption of teleconferencing and distance learning to leverage expert resources. Individualized learning activities.

39% 60%

It’s simply a challenging task to keep up with the latest technology.

Instructors may lack the proficiency in using new teaching tools.

Limitations in current e-learning systems.

WHAT’S HOLDING US BACK?

What is a rigorous learning experience?

Is technology in the writing classroom supplementing or supplanting traditional classroom instruction?

RIGORREIMAGINED

Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

Different teaching styles.

Integration strategies vary.

CHALLENGESFACED BYINSTRUCTORS

Alternative channels for participation for students who feel less comfortable speaking in class.

ASYNCHRONOUSPARTICIPATION:OPENNESS

Open-source web applications foster better engagement.

ASYNCHRONOUSPARTICIPATION:ENGAGEMENT

Higher level of engagement reported in online environment than in-class.

In-Class Participation Online Participation0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

UnsatisfactoryBelow AverageAverageAbove AverageExcellent

STUDENTS’ SELF-REPORT OF IN-CLASS AND ONLINE PARTICIPATION

Good combination of online and face-to-face. Like that some homework is done online because you can turn it in right when you are done.

I like how on D2L that everything is explained clearly about the assignments.

Needs more organization in terms of curriculum planning!

There are so many sites to keep track of!

A lot of the learning we’ve been doing is troubleshooting all the technical issues with the online portion of the class.

Higher asymmetrical power in college. Students learn to identify diversity domains among themselves.

ASYNCHRONOUSPARTICIPATION:BREAKING BOUNDARIES

Twitter, blog, and wiki projects enable students to learn from and write for their peers.

CONTACT ZONEIN BLENDED 191

Flattening power relations of the teacher via a student-centered LMS

DECENTRALIZEDLEARNING

Promoting active learning and cooperative learning

DECENTRALIZEDLEARNING

Using MOO [Multi-User Domain; Object-Oriented] as back-channeling tool

More autonomy for students.

Critical consciousness in education.

DECENTRALIZEDLEARNING

STUDENTS’ INDICATIONS OF AUTHOMY IN THE COURSE AND LIKELIHOOD TO RECOMMEND THE COURSE

More Autonomy in Learning

YesNo

Would Recommend This Model

YesNo

Advising issues

Inconsistence in styles

Different levels of digital literacy

Need better organization around the curriculum

LIMITATIONS

An Analysis of a Blended Learning Pilot Project for a First-Year Composition Course

December 2012 @JasonCKTham

DECENTRALIZING POWER RELATIONS,CREATING CONVERSATIONS