The past year of navigating the pandemic has accelerated many educational trends that had already been gaining speed. One of the most important to the future is blended learning.
Blended learning combines face-to-face teaching and online instruction. It’s supported by a technology framework that helps teachers organize course content, communication and common workflows. Perhaps most importantly, it builds on the strengths of both approaches — in person and online — ideally offering the flexibility of remote learning with the engagement of face-to-face interactions.
COVID-19 was the catalyst for propelling many types of everyday activities into a solely remote realm. Now, as we create a blueprint for the “new normal” of many essential functions like school, adopting a consistent approach to technology-enhanced learning across the entire college or university is critical to addressing the next wave of challenges facing education.
Over the past decade, higher education in North America has been battling a troubling trend — decreasing enrollment. As a result we’ve seen school closures, leaner budgets and a growing discourse on what steps higher education should take to turn the tide.
This is where, amidst all the stress and uncertainty, the pandemic has created some bright spots; it’s created opportunities for us to support learners in new and evolving ways.
For example, there is currently a surge in demand to upskill and reskill adult learners. Over the past 14 months, many have decided or been forced to decide to change career paths, and doing so often doesn’t necessitate obtaining a traditional two- or four-year degree. For many, such programs are simply too resource- or time-intensive.
That means we must build new avenues for adult learners to cultivate the job and life skills required to shift their career paths, and that work is happening right now in companies and educational institutions nationwide.
There is a lot of discussion on precisely what these varied new approaches will look like to support the new “continuous learner.” What is evident is that blended learning will be a key component. That’s because the technology underpinning equips faculty with the tools and support they need to support an ever-changing landscape. Delivering course content is a perfect example, because a blended course can more easily be adapted to new modalities to serve different types of learners.
One of the most common pieces of feedback edtech developers receive is about a subject we have the least control over, “make my professors use the technology more …make them use it better.”
Data in education is a delicate subject. First and foremost, we must protect students’ right to privacy. At the same time, when used consciously and appropriately, data can greatly improve the quality of education students receive. So striking that balance is both tricky and imperative.
While it’s not the primary reason to implement blended learning, one added benefit is that it provides colleges and universities with much-needed, high-quality data to help them better make critical divisions to support their student populations.
This data-driven decision making will be essential to help schools address challenges like declining enrollment and shifting student dynamics. Here, too, consistency matters. If classroom data — the most impactful and timely data we can have on our students — isn’t being collected consistently, we’re left with a woefully incomplete picture of our students. That’s why a consistent, campus-wide approach to blended learning ensures accurate data can benefit students.
As we turn our attention to life after COVID-19 and forging a new normal for our students, we have the opportunity to define what comes next. When used consciously and consistently, blended learning has the power to support our nation’s learners and ensure our academic institutions can continue to provide a high-quality education no matter what the future holds.
Ryan Lufkin is the senior director of product marketing for Higher Education Instructure.
