The teacher, an entity beyond it all. An all knowing force whose job was to protect, cultivate and disseminate her/his knowledge. Yes, THEY were the possessors! Thank heavens things have changed! In this 21^st century everything has changed. Schools, students, institutions, and teachers, too. Let’s take a look at a new way of approaching learning within this fluctuant context: Blended  Learning.

  Blended learning is a mixture of face-to-face learning and online instruction. It supposes a complete change from the traditional learning, it even challenges it! Students are no longer used to sit on an assigned place, listening to endless speeches delivered by the teacher, so they can later show what they have learnt by responding to formal tests. In this sense, this new kind of learning gives the students the possibility to choose about where, when, and how to learn since the contents, activities and tasks are now available online for them. Basically, students have choice and participation in their own learning processes, fact that, I consider, goes hand in hand with the development of their autonomy.  Sounds interesting?

  The main idea is that learners can access different didactic units, activities and tasks from anywhere, but not necessarily from the classroom. The teacher plans and designs the contents. Then, she/he shares that with students resorting to one or several of the teaching resources that are available online. This allows a more effective use of class time from the part of the teacher who can explain things students found difficult or couldn’t solve on their own. Furthermore, teachers can answer questions learners may have or practice what they have learnt.

  A nice tool to do blended learning is school learning platforms. They are within the school environment and they provide a safe framework where students can get information and work on it. Personally, I believe that this kind of platforms helps schools creating their own institutional identity and also fosters learners’ membership to it. In our Teacher Education Programme we got used to work with two different learning platforms: Edmodo and Moodle. Both of them became core components of our blended learning, allowing us to share information, ideas and contents.

  However I would like to highlight some drawbacks that this kind of learning may have. First, since many teachers are not familiarized with all these new technological tools that offer plenty of opportunities, the implementation of blended learning can be a huge challenge to face; teachers may feel overwhelmed sometimes, but regarding learning alongside with their students can be a nice solution. What is more, even parents may feel confused and unsure of how to support their child at home, but the truth is that their role in their child’s education in crucial and they have to engage in this new kind of learning, which very much differs from their learning experiences. For instance, they can have their children teach them about an application or programme that they use on a regular basis. Nevertheless, the most important point here is that parents can acknowledge the fact that althought the tooll has shifted from a textbook to an online programme, the fundamental role of technology is to enhance learning.

  I would like to end this post with this last reflection and a special thank. It is interesting to say that adhering to this new kind of learning supposes a thorough preparation from the teachers’ side, a professional development that many times, the private and state institutions that teachers work for do not support or promote. Looking for the best ways of approaching learning is really up to those who see the importance of doing it! In this sense, I would really like to thank the opportunities we have in our training programme, which offers students different instances to become in contact with these new concepts in teaching. This year for instance, Instituto Superior del Profesorado N° 8 “Alte. G. Brown” proposed different courses aimed at preparing students in the field of technology and how to best implement it in their lessons.  I enrolled in a course about virtual classrooms and I learnt a lot! Moreover, the fact that we can devote a whole year working on how to design materials resorting to these new technological tools such as we did in the subject ECO II, is a strong institutional stance that shows how committed they are to the improvement of education. There goes my recognition to this Institution that took the responsibility for supporting their future teachers in the constant search for the best ways of teaching!

Sources:  

-Kinsey, Megan, Blended Learning in the Mix: The Informed Parent,

 http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blended-learning-informed-parent-megan-kinsey

-Kinsey, Megan, Blended Learning in the Mix: The Proactive Teacher

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/blended-learning-proactive-teacher-megan-kinsey

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5txJfv2q0c