Question of the week:  What are my experiences and perceptions related to blended learning and or technology integration in my professional context?

History

When I began my career in occupational health and safety, safety training was strictly a synchronous, in-person event in a classroom setting.  Technology was limited to power point presentations and a few videos.  While this afforded many opportunities for the necessary hands-on activities, much of the time was spent passively listening to lectures about theory and safety regulations.  This presented numerous challenges, primarily the amount of time required for such an in-person event. Attendance and resulting safety compliance was often poor, as it was nearly impossible for a full-time student or professor to find eight consecutive hours for training purposes. Such an approach often did not meet the diverse needs of students; many spoke English as an additional language. Classes consisted of first-year students with no prior knowledge of the subject matter, along with professors who may have completed the training numerous times in the past.  There was no recognition of prior knowledge, and no possibility for students to learn at their own pace.

Bored students…

Current Status

The modality of safety courses at the University of Regina has evolved much like the history described in The Landscape of Merging Modalities .  Today, a few of the optional safety courses on campus are fully online and asynchronous; these are highly accessible, convenient, and allow learning at one’s own pace. Such a format is common for continuous professional development courses, as mentioned in Teaching in a Digital Age (Chapter 10). These courses are typically outsourced however, and there are costs incurred by the university and sometimes the students themselves. These online courses may be appropriate when the learning objectives do not include hands-on skills development.  However, most mandatory safety courses are now offered in a blended, hybrid format. Students asynchronously complete course pre-requisites on a Learning Management System (UR Courses), and then attend two-hour in-person sessions where essential hands-on skills are mastered. Online course content includes videos, interactive “test your knowledge” exercises, links to external sites for further reading, and online exams to confirm course completion and comprehension.  Course animations are also particularly beneficial for safety training applications, as they can safely demonstrate what not to do, and what can go wrong if safety requirements are not met.

Adding this technology and teaching in this format has streamlined safety training considerably, making the best use of both the instructor’s time and that of the students. As opposed to the traditional classroom models Teaching in a Digital Age (Chapter 4), participants are able to complete the course prerequisites at their own pace, and access additional readings if unfamiliar with the subject matter or terminology.  According to course feedback, the online prerequisites are less stressful and more engaging than attending a full day lecture, and more accessible to those with scheduling and language challenges.  A challenge with this integration can be familiarity and comfort with technology, along with access to technology. This could be a significant issue in some workplaces, but in the university setting is rare.

Hidden Dangers…

As educators in EC&I 834, our class discussion yielded many different opinions of what online and blended learning actually means. Valerie Irvine, in The Landscape of Merging Modalities, notes “On today’s higher education campus, there are likely a dozen new terms being used to describe different configurations around the modality of courses”.  We have to remember that our audience will have different perceptions and expectations also.

A “hidden danger” – literally – to changing course modality (at least for safety training purposes) is the potential for changes in learning outcomes and unmet expectations of students.  This has been particularly evident when synchronous, in-person safety courses moved to the other end of the continuum, as described in Teaching in a Digital Age (Chapter 10), and became fully online.  The pandemic spurred many of these changes in safety education, as in-person training was no longer considered safe, but some form of safety training was still necessary.  A flood of online courses became available over a short period of time. As mentioned in this book, many instructors and institutions have simply transferred existing classroom content online, “often with poor or even disastrous results”.

One example is H2S Alive, which the university outsources to external training providers.  H2S Alive is considered the training standard for the petroleum industry, some industrial environments, and some applications in environmental engineering.  This is an eight hour synchronous, in-person class which is renewed at least every three years (or annually for some employers).  While the course covers a great deal of theory, there are many practical skills that must be learned and practiced repeatedly.  These include the use of a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), use of electronic gas monitors, rescue techniques, and first aid.  Failure to meet these learning objectives could be fatal.

With in-person H2S Alive courses suddenly inaccessible or unwise during a pandemic, asynchronous “H2S Safety” courses became an option for online training. These online courses typically include the same core theory of H2S Alive, but are for usually for awareness purposes only.  In course development, Teaching in the Digital Age (Chapter 10) noted the importance of identifying the main skills to be taught, and analysing the most appropriate delivery mode for each learning objective; this seems to be lacking in the H2S Safety courses. They do not meet the critical learning objectives related to SCBA, monitoring, or emergency response, yet this is often not made clear in course descriptions.  The online course alone is not sufficient training for those in Canada who could encounter lethal concentrations of this toxic gas.

The danger is that many employers or supervisors and students assume the two classes are interchangeable.  The online courses place the onus on the employer or supervisor to essentially create a blended format on their own, by providing the hands-on learning themselves when they are often not qualified to do so.  If these learning objectives are not made clear, consequences could be lethal for the trainee and potentially criminal for the employer.  As mentioned in The Landscape of Merging Modalities, “higher education institutions offering courses today must do more to communicate course offerings and their modality to potential learners up front and may be required to do so more than once, to ensure comprehension”.  Simply “delivering the same design online does not automatically result in meeting changing needs” (Teaching in a Digital Age, Chapter 4). Providers of these courses must be clear about what the training is, and what it is not.

Well, I would love to share my personal experience with this online learning and blending platform. I used it during my Master’s degree back in India. When COVID-19 started, I took on a part-time job as an English tutor. Initially, classes were conducted online due to the pandemic Situation. It turned out to be a unique experience as it allowed me to provide my students with real-life Experiences by conducting mock interviews, especially when preparing them for UK embassy interviews. The online sessions gave them a genuine feeling, and they learned exceptionally very well. On weekends, I also conducted in-person classes, offering a different direction to my teaching. For me, it served as a significant advantage because it was very convenient for people living far from me. I enrolled several students and earned well. As for the disadvantages, I observed that students with a weak foundation in English, meaning those whose English basics were not clear, faced difficulty accessing the class due to a shortage of time. Additionally, some students encountered network issues due to technical errors, leading to unclear doubts at times. Like a coin with two sides, online learning and blending have both pros and cons. During my first semester online, the main challenge I faced was the lack of an in-person opportunity to do my practicum.
This is all about my experience, and since blogging is new to me, there might be some mistakes in my posts.

Experiences Related to Blended Learning

Without realizing it, I have had a wide range of blended learning opportunities throughout my teaching career. I have always used technology in some form to aid my teaching. Ever since I began my teaching career I have used the LMS platform Google Classroom. Not only did I use it to deliver activities and assignments to students, I used it as a virtual grade book and to give feedback to students. When I moved into lower elementary grades in a distance learning setting I used Seesaw to engage and track student progress and communicate with parents. I also frequently use a variety of technology apps to engage students like; YouTube, Plickers, Kahoot, Quizziz, Gimkit, and Mathletics. As well as Zoom and Google Meet for virtual calls or workshops.

Perceptions Related to Blended Learning

Prior to our EC&I834 class, I viewed blended learning as a simple blend of both asynchronous and synchronous learning with technology aiding the delivery of the asynchronous portion. I also thought that blended learning was something new and current. However, after analyzing Tony Bates continuum of online learning I quickly learned that blended learning could in fact be as simple as technology being used as a classroom aid such as; Kahoot, Powerpoint, etc. When thinking of the continuum in its simplest form, many teachers have been teaching a blended learning style for a very long time but probably hadn’t considered it to be that. 

When diving into blended learning further with The Landscape of Merging Modalities article I begin to understand that it is a complicated topic. With technological advances blended learning can look very different depending on your access to technology. Terminology associated with learning outside of the traditional classroom is astounding and quite overwhelming. I understand classification helps keep order in an ever-evolving world, but sometimes less is more. Even within my own school and teaching circle, there are a variety of definitions for what blended learning is. Throughout this week I have asked a few of my colleagues what their perception of blended learning is. One colleague laughed and said, “Can you tell me what your definition is first?” The second one said “A blend of online and in-person learning”, while the third said, “It’s what I do in my math class. I teach a portion face-to-face then I lean on technology to do the rest”. No one seems to be on the same page, and/or can not keep up with the ever-changing models, but many are interested in learning more.

Challenges & Opportunities I’ve Experienced With Blended Learning

Challenge #1: I have always had a keen interest in trying new apps and platforms. However, sometimes I find myself overwhelmed by “what’s new” and “must try” tech-related resources. Through trial and error, I’ve learned to stick to quality not quantity as I assume that if I am overwhelmed with all that is available, I imagine my students might be too. My current teaching role has 1:1 Chromebooks. I sometimes feel a sense of pressure to use technology every day because some schools and students do not have the same privilege. 

Challenge #2: Throughout my 11 years of teaching I have rarely taught the same grade or subject level. Although this has made me a very adaptable teacher and I have gained a lot of general knowledge and strategies, it has not helped me develop and reuse my material. Building an in-depth blended learning classroom is time-consuming, especially when you are starting from scratch each year. Just when I get into the groove of things, I get switched to a different subject or grade level impacting my countless hours of time and preparation. 

Opportunity #1: When COVID-19 hit, I was teaching abroad at an international school in Guatemala (Interamericano). I was already planning on moving home in June of that year, and with permission from my school, I was released early and able to teach at a distance from home in Canada. This created a unique opportunity for me and my students. I was teaching grade 6 math to 6 sections (120 students). Thankfully I had already been using Google Classroom with students before the pandemic and all students had access to technology at home. The expectation for each day was that I meet with each section of students synchronously through a scheduled Google Meet (similar to Zoom) call to check in with students and their progress, clarify questions, and have a class discussion on the current math topic. Once our meeting was over students would then head over to Google Classroom and complete the day’s lesson asynchronously. My Google Classroom lessons were created using Google Slides and Screencastiy. I recorded myself teaching the lesson of the day, with a digital follow-up activity that I would review at the end of each week. My school had a paid subscription to Khan Academy which I also utilized for formative assessment and instant feedback for students. Within the first week of distance learning, I sensed a bit of disconnect and boredom with our new way of learning. I began to realize that the personal aspect of teaching was missing, so I started to get creative with our situation. I started to introduce my math lesson each day by taking my students on a virtual field trip. Since many of them had never been to Canada, I started to take advantage of my location and incorporate it into my teaching. These short videos brought laughter, and excitement back into my synchronous Google Meet calls and sparked curiosity about what was coming next. This simple added element brought an unexpected motivation to my math class that I seemed to be missing. I will forever be grateful for the experience we shared during that time. If it wasn’t for my access to technology and our blended learning scenario, I wouldn’t have been able to show my students that part of my life. 

Opportunity #2 – This year I am teaching a grade 6/7 split, and utilizing technology has been my saving grace. Teaching in a split classroom is already a challenge in itself, however thanks to technology I can better balance my learning. The Modern Classroom Project is a model that my grade 7 colleagues have been developing for math, over the past 3 years. If you are unaware of what it is, it is a Google site designed for students to navigate independently at their own pace. Each lesson contains 5 steps; video (made by the teacher), notes, practice, digital check-in, and an exit ticket which they physically hand in to the teacher. Although it takes time for students to get used to, it has proven to be the most efficient and effective way to teach a split class. While I am giving direct instruction to my grade 6 students, my grade 7 students are simultaneously working on their class content independently. It offers a realistic balance for teaching two grade levels at once. 

Greetings everyone! I’m thrilled and a bit nervous to dive into my first blog post. While I may not be the most tech-savvy person, I’ve embarked on a journey to update my skills and knowledge. The excitement of taking this captivating course motivated me to share my experiences and challenges with blended learning. Back in my school days, it was all about the traditional blackboard-style learning. However, in my professional career, I’ve encountered the world of blended learning. During the pandemic, schools shifted to online classes, where lectures were recorded, allowing students to access and understand them remotely. Some students opted for face-to-face classes either over Zoom or physically in the classroom.

One major challenge arose for science students (as I was teaching science subjects) who found it difficult to maintain their practical exposure through virtual classes. The absence of hands-on experiments impacted their learning significantly. Additionally, many students faced issues with devices and high-speed internet connections, hindering their seamless participation in virtual classes. In my upcoming posts, I look forward to exploring more facets of blended learning and sharing insights into how we can enhance this educational approach for a more inclusive and effective learning experience.

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