Blended Learning: An Innovative Notion in Education – By- Sultan Alam
Historically, the modes of learning have been evolved, modified, improved and restructured with the passage of time and developments in various walks of life. In olden times, education was facilitated using traditional modes of teaching; including face-to-face communication, using chalk-and-talk method and written forms. Gradually, the audio-cum-video based approach was introduced, but the scope of this approach was limited to certain fragments, as the availability and access to these media was a bigger issue to introduce this new method. Moreover, educational systems were inadequately equipped with such media to facilitate teaching using these teaching aids.
The induction of computers into mainstream was an amazing entry into world’s overall scenario and academia in particular. This interventions has brought about revolutionary reforms in our educational practices. A much quicker paradigm shift was observed and the nature of work has been shifted from much labor-oriented manual work towards technological toil. The storage mechanism was improved up to much higher levels as the latest technologies offered more storage devices in the forms of floppy drives, hard discs, CDs, USBs etc. This computer-assisted approach was further improved when the internet facility was introduced and integrated with computers. Currently, most of the manual, time-consuming tasks have been converted into modern technologies and through fast modes of transmission, the communication has improved.
Initially, the traditional approach of teaching which is mostly based on face-to-face methodology was considered suitable for formal teaching while the technology-assisted approach was considered suitable for distant learning programs. It was assumed that both mediums are opposite to each other, having no connections in educational systems and teaching processes. With the passage of time, this frame of mind was gradually reverted and certain studies showed that both approaches are not opposite to each other rather they supplement themselves.
The emergence of Covid-19 pandemic in particular has been highly contributory in bridging these two concepts to engage the learners in learning processes. The long-lasting pandemic, trapped students and teachers at homes invited to rethink for alternative ways to engage the learners in the learning activities. Initially, an online mode of learning was devised to interlink the schools with students, followed by a mix of face-to-face and online mode of interaction was introduced. To me, such situational practice served a base to strengthen the concept of blended learning across all disciplines, particularly in education sector.
Blended learning basically applies a new trend of combining traditional and technology-based pedagogy. As both pedagogical approaches have their own strengths and weaknesses, hence the learners involved in blended learning enjoy every benefit of both the approaches. For example, through physical presence in face-to-to face sessions, the learners get sufficient time slot to interact with the teachers and develop close bonding with teachers and fellows. Similarly, by involving in certain home-based additional assignments, the learner gets additional time to search the literate and develop conceptual knowledge and understanding through various literature sources. Additionally, the learners become independent in their learning time. They choose their best available time to search for additional information. They become physically and mentally free to opt a suitable available time. This mental and physical relaxation helps the learner to perceive and store the knowledge in more adaptive ways as they don’t feel any pressure of time limitations.
Literature on blended learning and its application endorses the beneficial aspects of this modern concept for children’s development. For instance, the studies by Dangwal (2017) confirmed that in blended learning, learners can get access to, and handle extensive information available on the internet and other digital media. Moreover, it can also promote the culture of self-learning which can make the students independent learners. Furthermore, it promotes curiosity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills in them. It also develops active and collaborative learning on a bigger and broader platform. It not only improves the teacher-student and student-student interactions, but also brings it to a whole different level (Kaur, 2013). Blended learning thus, develops new skills and approaches amongst the students which not only help them in their academic learning, but also benefit them in their future life.
In a nut shell, the new concept of blended learning is one of the most important yet appealing and pertinent approach towards students’ learning. It provides a multifold means of communication to both the teachers and learners. Through face-to-face mode, the teacher and learner gets an opportunity to interact with each other to exchange information, develop social skills, seek guidance of the teachers and arrange discourses with peers. While in online mode, the earner is physical and mentally free to search knowledge independently. More importantly, this new concept is based upon technologically-driven approaches, which is the dire need of the time, therefore institutions need to pay special concentration towards this significant development. This will not improve the learning of the students’ but also assist them to develop themselves technologically, one of the rapidly emerging trends of modern era.
