Defining the nature of blended learning through its depiction in current research

© 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis GroupBlended learning has been a feature of higher education practice and research for almost two decades. This article takes stock of current blended learning research, contributing to the growing number of meta-analyses of higher education and blended learning research more generally, through a review of ninety-seven articles relating to blended learning in higher education published in fifteen journals between 2012 and mid-2017. The review focused on where and when the articles were published; their provenance, scale, scope; methodological approach; the broad research themes; and definition of blended learning used. The review shows that despite its ubiquity, blended learning’s definition is all-encompassing; its spread is global but research is dominated by key players; it is of technical interest; and its research is small-scale, individually focused, seeking to evidence the benefits of blended learning. The article concludes with recommendations of how higher education research could provide institutions with evidence to ensure their ‘best of blends’.Peer reviewe

Perceptions of sport science students on the potential applications and limitations of blended learning in their education: A qualitative study

This study sought to gain insight into blended learning-naive sports science students’ understanding and perceptions of the potential benefits and limitations of blended (hybrid) learning, which has been defined as the thoughtful integration of face-to-face and online instructional approaches. Five focus groups, each comprising 3–4 students from either the undergraduate or postgraduate sports science programmes were conducted. The focus groups were facilitated by a researcher who was not involved in sports science. Audio recordings of the focus groups were transcribed verbatim. NVivo software was used to code the transcripts to identify the themes and subthemes. Students generally had little initial understanding of blended learning. When provided with a definition, they believed that blended learning could improve educational outcomes and assist those who were legitimately unable to attend a session. Their reservations about blended learning mainly related to some students not being sufficiently autonomous to undertake independent study, timetabling considerations and access to reliable Internet services. For blended learning to be effective, students felt the online material had to be interactive, engaging and complement the face-to-face sessions. Better understanding the perceptions of the students in the current study may assist educators who are considering implementing blended learning in their teaching. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Grou

Blended is Still Best: Review of Literature and Commentary on Optimal Learning Environments

Blended learning environments are now the norm in most information systems schools. Blended learning environments are constantly changing as a wide array of technical and social influences bear upon our universities and colleges. This study describes a widely based literature review of the blended learning environment, particularly as it pertains to information systems teaching and learning as well as implications for information technology planning for universities. This literature review was used as a platform for further research where information systems students and staff were surveyed on their use and preferences of the mix of online and campus-based learning environments. Even pure e-learners and partial online students would still appear to prefer campus-based instruction, if possible, even while enjoying the convenience and flexibility of the online e-learning learning environment. The pure e-learning environment, campus-only instruction and blended learning environment literature is discussed and evaluated for its usefulness for an optimal blended information systems learning environment

Teacher Education Futures: Developing learning and teaching in ITE across the UK

A selection of papers from the Teacher Education Futures conference 2006

How to design for persistence and retention in MOOCs?

Design of educational interventions is typically carried out following a design cycle involving phases of investigation, conceptualization, prototyping, implementation, execution and evaluation. This cycle can be applied at different levels of granularity e.g. learning activity, module, course or programme. In this paper we consider an aspect of learner behavior that can be critical to the success of many MOOCs i.e. their persistence to study, and the related theme of learner retention. We reflect on the impact that consideration of these can have on design decisions at different stages in the design cycle with the aim of en-hancing MOOC design in relation to learner persistence and retention, with particular attention to the European context

Evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation Education Initiative Year 3 Report

Launched in 2010, the Jim Joseph Foundation Education Initiative supports programs at three flagship Jewish institutions of higher education: Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR), Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), and Yeshiva University (YU). As part of this initiative, HUC-JIR, JTS, and YU designed and piloted new programs, enhanced existing programs, and provided financial assistance to additional programs.American Institutes for Research (AIR) is conducting an independent evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation Education Initiative. This report is the third in a series of five annual reports that describe progress toward accomplishing the goals of the Education Initiative

Developing sustainable business models for institutions’ provision of open educational resources: Learning from OpenLearn users’ motivations and experiences

Universities across the globe have, for some time, been exploring the possibilities for achieving public benefit and generating business and visibility through releasing and sharing open educational resources (OER). Many have written about the need to develop sustainable and profitable business models around the production and release of OER. Downes (2006), for example, has questioned the financial sustainability of OER production at scale. Many of the proposed business models focus on OER’s value in generating revenue and detractors of OER have questioned whether they are in competition with formal education. This paper reports on a study intended to broaden the conversation about OER business models to consider the motivations and experiences of OER users as the basis for making a better informed decision about whether OER and formal learning are competitive or complementary with each other. The study focused on OpenLearn - the Open University’s (OU) web-based platform for OER, which hosts hundreds of online courses and videos and is accessed by over 3,000,000 users a year. A large scale survey and follow-up interviews with OpenLearn users worldwide revealed that university provided OER can offer learners a bridge to formal education, allowing them to try out a subject before registering on a formal course and to build confidence in their abilities as learners. In addition, it was found that using OER during formal paid-for study can improve learners’ performance and self-reliance, leading to increased retention and satisfaction with the learning experience