A Perspective on Online and Blended Learning

I was about to start this by saying that online and blended learning looks like the future to me. But when I really stand back and look at my educational journey, I’ve been in blended learning environments since elementary school. I was one of the first classes in my school to benefit from including computers into our classrooms. It may have started with just the one computer per teacher, but it was definitely present.

I started with computers back in the days of the black screen with green 8-bit text, so that’s dating myself, but I feel lucky that my teachers were willing to incorporate this technology, even when it was still pretty new. Of course, back then we were learning to type using “Paws Party” or building HyperCard stacks (which totally helped me when I first started with PowerPoint years later). And today, students are learning complicated algorithms in Excel and how to code in elementary school, but this makes sense as the current workforce and even more of the future will lean even more heavily on technology.

However, as the pandemic showed us, we are not completely ready to replace in-person learning with online for all education levels just yet.

In a The New York Times article from November 2022, reporter Sarah Mervosh illuminated the real toll of the learning loss that was a direct result of the pandemic.

“To what degree is remote learning responsible for these setbacks? The answer is both simple and complicated.

At a basic level, there is good evidence and a growing consensus that extended remote learning harmed students. Some state test results from 2021 help show the damage. In Ohio, researchers found that districts that stayed fully remote during the 2020-21 school year experienced declines up to three times greater than those of districts that mostly taught students in person.”

And while this article details that the failure occurred on many levels, even those outside of the learning environment, I’m personally still a fan of blending traditional in-person learning with technological supplements, at least for K-12.

In my opinion, one of the greatest advantages of online learning or blended learning is the engagement it creates for the students. We all know that people learn in different ways, so giving learners opportunities to see the material from different perspectives or in more interactive methods can keep the student more attuned with the lesson. Often, technology helps to illustrate concepts in ways that a traditional lecture style just would not do.

For example, when I was a child, my mom realized that I really only engaged in the topics that I could relate to or that piqued my interest. (How it took us so long to recognize my ADHD is beyond me.) So for our family vacations, she would usually try to align where we visited in the summer with what I’d be learning in school the next year. (Also, she was a teacher, so she liked to see what she taught about.) This helped me really engage when it came time to hear about it from my teachers. I can never thank her enough for that level of thoughtfulness and the gift of learning. Now, was that a sign of incredible privilege, certainly and I acknowledge that. Many families can’t take trips like that and that’s why I think the next best thing is the technology that can be utilized to bring those environments and learning opportunities to the students directly. What a great experience to see videos of children your own age in different countries or circumstances! Or to see what the inside of an Egyptian tomb looked like when it was being discovered? Technology can bridge a gap between having actual experiences and being taught concepts.

However, is it perfect? Absolutely not. One of the biggest issues is the actual divide of the “haves and have nots.” The Digital Divide is reality. How awesome for those students who are in affluent areas to each have their own tablet issued by the school, for example. But what about the students two towns away whose schools can’t even afford all the textbooks they need?

What if homework is assigned that involves doing research online, but the student’s family can’t afford Internet? Or even if they can afford it, they live in a rural area with little to no coverage? Does this mean that blended learning can’t still exist for these students, not necessarily. But it becomes a much heavier lift for the schools and the local and eventually even federal government to be able to provide what is needed.

“Even though 87% of families have an internet-enabled device, that still means that more than one out of every 10 students likely doesn’t have the technology needed to complete daily schoolwork and homework (McElroy, 2022).”

So far, I’ve focused mostly on children as learners, but what about adults? I work for a non-profit that employs thousands of independent contractors to help assess teachers of early childhood education. This external workforce is spread around the world. Obviously, in person learning is not a viable nor efficient option for training and professional development. For that reason, we have really embraced online learning techniques. We have changed our Learning Management System (LMS) at least twice and are considering another search for better options. We have gone from just text on a screen to voiced videos, to using Captivate and Powtoon.com for more interactivity and engagement with our learners. As of right now, the online learning is working well for us.

And according to statistics reported in an article for the Institute for the Future of Education:

“95% of students indicated being satisfied with online education and that web-based learning is more fun and helps them retain information faster. Forbes reports that online learning increases student retention rates between 25% to 60% (Colman, 2021).”

Also, online education allows people who would not usually pursue higher education the chance to do so. I am an example of that! Even though I was lucky enough to have a great instructional design program at a university near me, where I would have taken in-person courses, I really wanted to attend Arizona State University. However, my life is pretty settled in the DC Metro area, so it would have been unlikely that I would have applied for this program if it wasn’t a solely online offering. And I’m so grateful that I am taking an asynchronous style program. I work a full-time job, but I also have two side jobs or hobbies that take up a lot of my time. So throwing actual scheduled classes that I must commute to (Have you driven in DC? It’s a nightmare!) and all the trappings of having to keep to that specific schedule would have been very cumbersome for me. But with the asynchronous courses at ASU, I can make time when I have time and still be able to meet the class deadlines and expectations. And the best part is that I have classmates from all over the world. What a cool opportunity for all of us to learn from each other in ways that wouldn’t have been possible in a static classroom.

I think the difference between blended and online learning is clear. While blended learning can involve aspects of online learning, it still retains elements of in-person education. And online provides the opportunity for the entire training or course to happen in the digital environment.

I think the future will include much more of the digital learning environments and a heavy emphasis on online learning. And this is for every age and educational level. Even as workers and bosses are struggling to reconcile remote work wants with in-person work needs, we’ll see more of the same in education.

However, we need to really look at making technology access more affordable and feasible before the Digital Divide grows any larger!

References:

*Image purchased from Getty Images, no attribution required. 

Colman, H. (2022, June 17). How did the COVID-19 pandemic change the Education Industry Forever? Institute for the Future of Education. Retrieved January 22, 2023, from https://observatory.tec.mx/edu-bits-2/how-did-covid-19-change-the-education-industry-forever/

lemono. (n.d.). Online School Education at Home, Quarantine Concept. Tiny Student Characters Distant Studying Sitting around Huge Laptop . Getty Images. Retrieved January 22, 2023, from https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/illustration/online-school-education-at-home-quarantine-royalty-free-illustration/1285857854?phrase=learning%20online%20kids&adppopup=true.

McElroy, T. (2022, November 9). Council post: Addressing the digital divide in education: Technology and internet access for students in underserved communities. Forbes. Retrieved January 22, 2023, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/12/03/addressing-the-digital-divide-in-education-technology-and-internet-access-for-students-in-underserved-communities/?sh=12c0254f5cec

Mervosh, S. (2022, November 28). Pandemic Learning Loss. The New York Times. Retrieved January 22, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/briefing/pandemic-learning-loss.html.