Collaborative pathways

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of adopting a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) as primary supplementary material in blended learning classroom on Taiwanese university EFL learners’ English proficiency levels. The study utilized pre- and post-tests of English proficiency, specifically the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) by Educational Testing Service (ETS), learners’ learning experience and learners’ satisfaction. In this study, thirty EFL learners at a private university in Northern Taiwan participated in a year-long paired-group study, first under blended learning environment while adopting a MOOC as primary supplementary material and followed by traditional face-to-face learning, with each learning mode lasting one semester. All participants were computer science and information engineering majors with intermediate English proficiency based on university placement exams. During the first semester (Fall 2013), consists of EFL learning via the blended mode of teaching, which partially incorporates student-centered learning utilizing Coursera education platform. While The second semester (Spring 2014), traditional learning mode the course is comprised of EFL instruction in the traditional way, i.e., teacher-fronted instruction and in-class assignments with textbook materials. Several scholars have suggested that instead of replacing courses at higher education institutions, blended learning with the asynchronous distance learning capabilities of MOOCs could enhance the course content and increase learning proficiency. This paper investigated on such exploration, wherein implementing the online learning experience into English for specific purposes (ESP) course at a private university in Northern Taiwan. This research explained to further understand the implications of blended learning at the tertiary education level in Taiwan. The investigator sought a comprehensive approach to the examination of the blended learning model by utilizing three different sections: students’ learning progress, student’s’ learning satisfaction and students’ learning perspectives. Within-group comparison of the students’ mean scores of the pre- and post-test examinations provided the quantitative assessment of learning progress, while open-ended questionnaire responses and interviews provided the qualitative data comprising the students’ perspective. This research provided a blended learning approach whereby there was a mixture of face-to-face and online learning activities where students would integrate the information and data gathered from both platforms to improve on their learning techniques. The result revealed that the improvement of academic performance and learning satisfaction was attributed to the fact that with the MOOCs assistance, students could study their course materials at their own pace and designated time either at home or in their dormitory rooms. Blending MOOC technology integrates synchronous and asynchronous learning tools that transform and improve the education system and provide room for enforcing learners’ active, autonomous, collaborative, interactive and effective learning techniques.

This study adopted an empirical study to examine the application of the blended learning approach to Web-based College English Teaching Platform (WCETP) in a medical university in eastern China.The study was conducted on 40 students majoring in Clinical Medicine from two classes and raised two questions:(1) Is there a significant difference between the blended learning approach and the traditional classroom learning approach in terms of students' attitudes and satisfaction?(2) Is there a significant difference between the blended learning approach and the traditional classroom learning approach in terms of students' academic achievement?By analyzing and discussing the resultant statistics, the author drew the conclusion that compared with the traditional teaching approach, participants held more positive attitudes towards the blended learning model.Besides, participants preferred to this new blended learning model, which could better stimulate their interest, foster their autonomous learning and collaborative learning and prompt their confidence.What is more, the quantitative research with the comparisons of language learning achievement between the experimental group and the control group revealed that there was a significant difference in terms of students' academic achievement between the traditional classroom learning approach and the blended learning approach.Furthermore, students performed better in language learning under the blended learning model than those under the traditional model.The findings of the study indicate that as the brand-new learning approach, the blended learning approach which integrates the advantages of online learning and face-to-face classroom teaching could enhance students' comprehensive language skills, improve students' self-confidence in learning English, and cultivate the learners' ability of self-learning.Therefore, study on the application of blended learning for college English learning has an important reference value and practical significance for the reform of College English Education.

Blended Learning Design: A Shared Experience

The advancements in technology and developments in teaching and learning methodologies have presented new circumstances for more efficient and effective implementation of learning programs, which make it simple for students and teachers to communicate in non-traditional methods and which “are characterized by the introduction of flexible and innovative teaching and learning technology into teaching. What is more, along with information technologies, particularly Internet has become one of the most important economic and democratic mediums of learning and teaching in the world of education. Effective learning could be supported by integration of online technology with traditional teaching learning methods which can strengthen designing of teaching-learning strategies. This integration can be called as ’blended learning’. Moreover, several reviews of literature discussed that social interaction is required for learning and it is still the best form of learning. This paper explores into designing of blended learning programmes and also attempts to present pedagogy based blended learning model in which an instructional model is created using various pedagogical practices. This paper concludes that blended learning design, especially in teacher education, is well equipped to support the chosen pedagogical practices.

It is generally noticed that all the teaching learning practices have changed over a period of time, with changing needs and demands of the society as well as the Nation. Teacher education is one such area that is experiencing phenomenal changes as a result of the advancement and use of technology. Latest innovations and technological revolution has drastically affected the affordability, accessibility and adaptability to these modern ICT and ICT related tools and gadgets. With these technological changes, the way and means of imparting education has also been revolutionized. The wide use of online technologies and available Internet in the field of education and the opportunity of blending face-to-face instruction with online teaching environments have caused a paradigm shift in the way of delivering instruction to the learners. An important implication of this shift is the need for a recommitment to create an ideal learning environment for students and employing new pedagogies and technologies, where appropriate. One such technology is ‘Blended Learning’. Blended learning is a strategy that creates a more integrated approach to teaching learning process where different learning environments like Face-to-Face, online, social networking etc are mixed with a goal to provide most efficient and effective instruction experience. Blended learning is a potential outcome of advanced technology-based learning systems. Blender learning approaches makes use of advance technology to provide training and development in higher education and within industry. Its rapid growth has been facilitated by the Internet and other emerging technologies like cloud computing, cybernetics, artificial intelligence etc. Over the past few decades, a lot of research work has been done on blended learning and its utility in institutions of higher learning. In the present research study, the author has tried to explore the role of blended learning technology in developing and enhancing pedagogical skills among the teacher educators and prospective teachers. The author through this paper have provided directions for creating a blended learning environment, which can be used by institutions of higher learning to take decisions about the learning and teaching initiatives. The present paper also discusses about how blended learning can improve the teaching, working environment, quality of teacher education and help in managing and improving the costly and expensive education of today that the student community have to bear. The author has tried to highlight the various challenges and implications which are there in implementing and integrating such a technology in teacher educational initiations. The general conclusion which is drawn from this research study is that blended learning approach offers the most efficient and effective way of teaching learning process in today's fast changing, competitive global arena of higher education in general and teacher education in particular. Further research work can be done, where we can compare the students’ academic achievement using this blended learning approach in comparison to traditional or conventional approach of learning.

Background: During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, many academics and researchers in English Language Teaching (ELT) have studied a variety of issues faced in various types of online teaching and learning, including examining the efficacy of the Blended Learning (BL) approach as a result of the emergency remote and fully online learning or e-learning in response to the learning-from-home policy. Nevertheless, the researchers discovered that only a few studies employed a narrative inquiry method to explore students' perspectives, stories, and voices relating to their ways of learning during and after the pandemic. Objective: This study helped the researchers better understand the challenges students faced and the adjustments they made, providing unique insights that other methods might miss. Methods: This study addresses that gap by examining the stories and views of nine EFL students from three Indonesian universities who experienced various learning modes during and after the pandemic, including face-to-face, fully online, and blended classes. The students were requested to share their experiences and viewpoints about the BL approach through open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The methods and tools from the narrative analysis were then employed to analyze the gathered stories and responses. Findings: The findings indicate that while most students supported BL using appropriate online tools, their understanding of the approach varied, emphasizing the need for specific conditions for its successful implementation. Conclusion: This study contributes to the understanding of the approach variations of BL.

In our increasingly technology-mediated educational landscape, blended teaching and learning methodologies – which bring together selected features of online and face-to-face training - can enhance the educational experience of both trainers and trainees. Yet the implementation of blended teaching and learning approaches in some fields of translation can present trainers with a number of problems. These include the trainers’ lack of familiarity with the use of certain software applications and the scarcity of electronic materials and pedagogical scenarios for them to draw on. This paper explores the pedagogical resources developed as part of two European collaborative projects in the domain of translator training and discusses the lessons learnt from the exploitation of these resources in blended learning scenarios. It offers an overview of the changes that technology has brought to the educational sector, followed by a discussion of key features of the blended teaching and learning approach, and an examination of the impact of technological developments on the translation industry and their transformational effect on professional practices and the training of translators. The final sections present the materials created under the framework of the eCoLoTrain and eCoLoMedia projects, which aim to support blended learning in translation and multimedia localization, respectively. Throughout, an overview of how some project-specific resources and materials can be used in translator training environments is followed by advice on relevant best practices. The conclusion speculates briefly on how the materials which are still under development will effectively be put to use by trainers and trainees alike.

Irrespective of the high popularity of blended learning (BL) applications in higher education centers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students perceive certain challenges as depriving them of its effective usage for educational purposes. Using a qualitative study approach, this study aimed to find out the challenges students face using the BL approach during and after the era of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures institutions put in place to help students' BL best practices. Ten participants from the Ghana Communication Technology University took part in a semi-structured interview session to ascertain the students' BL practices in higher education centers. Although the study's outcome revealed some potential benefits derived from the BL approach, poor internet connectivity, poor student-lecturer engagement, the high cost of internet data charges, poor power supply, and a dearth of proper orientation programs amongst students were the challenges identified.The study has emphasized that implementing effective BL in teaching and learning leads to increased student satisfaction, student-instructor interaction, student-centered learning and collaboration, and student engagement. Hence, recommendations are made to ensure students achieve effective BL in schools.

The present education system has been disturbed due the COVID-19 pandemic and has imposed a greater challenge on educational institutions to seek out alternative approaches in the teaching-learning process. Most of the educational institutions took several initiatives to impart education with the aid of digital technology. In Today’s world knowledge construction in students can be enhanced by combining technology with the traditional way of lecture delivery. Blended learning is a technique which integrates digital media and technology along with traditional classroom activity. It also provides more flexibility for students to customize their learning experiences. Both online and offline will complement each other by using their individual strength. This paper presents a Blended learning approach using Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment (Moodle) as Learning Management System (LMS) platform. Asynchronous videos were created in studios using Lightboard and uploaded on LMS and subsequent Synchronous classes were handled using the MS Teams platform. Learners Centric Blended learning model includes interactive videos, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), post-tests, additional study materials, Quizzes, Assignment submissions, etc. This model is effectively implemented for all the courses in our institution and is illustrated in this paper using the Numerical Methods and Differential Equations (NMDE) course at second Year Biotechnology.An online survey was conducted to understand the perception of the students about the blended learning approach through LMS. The results of feedback revealed that the blended learning approach is more flexible and provides independent opportunities for students to learn. More than 82% of the students have given positive feedback towards this technological transformation in teaching and learning. Keywords: Blended Learning, Asynchronous and synchronous mode, Online Teaching-Learning, Lightboard, Learning Management System.

With the advent of artificial intelligence, institutions are now adopting the Blended learning approach, which infuses face-to-face strategies and online teaching methodologies. A blended learning approach is a way to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in higher education institutions, but how feasible is that in TVET Colleges? This study thus investigated the global perceptions of lecturers and students in Technical Vocational Education (TVET) colleges regarding Blended learning for teaching practical subjects online. It examined the challenges and opportunities of moving practical learning online, considering the unique requirements of first-hand subjects like Electrical Engineering, Tourism, Hospitality, Art, and Design. The study utilised articles from Google Scholar and Science Direct databases to comprehensively understand the effectiveness of Blended learning in the TVET context. Using Blended learning as a theoretical framework, a new methodological approach, and a promising blueprint for transforming higher education, the study adopted an integrative literature review methodology to synthesise identified cases and draw themes from the survey. The study brings new knowledge regarding the significant shift in online learning usage during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in vocational education, providing valuable insights for designing effective online learning strategies. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Blended Learning, Integrative Literature Review, Technical Vocational Education (TVET) Colleges

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to highlight the factors that need to be considered when implementing a blended learning solution in a group environment.Design/methodology/approachThe insights are based on the authors experience of delivering a blended learning module to successive cohorts of international Executive MBA candidates over a three year period. A range of post‐module evaluation mechanisms were utilized to collect quantitative and qualitative data and this was supported by face‐to‐face and online discussion with participants. In addition, the authors own reflections on the experience as faculty and e‐learning consultants has been taken account of in the interpretation of the results.FindingsThe importance of human behavioral factors over content and tool selection when implementing a blended learning solution cannot be ignored. The role of group dynamics in achieving the learning outcomes also needs to be considered, as does the perceived value of the approach to be taken by the participants. Findings relate to both the e‐learning experience and other learning methods experienced on the course, influenced partly by the students' expectations and preferences.Practical implicationsKey learning is shared with readers so that they can learn from the author's experiences such that anyone considering a blended learning approach in the future considers the three‐way partnership of the organization, the learner and the supplier.Originality/valueThis article will be of special interest to e‐learning developers or development specialists considering blended learning approaches as it draws their attention to the factors beyond the technological application itself which is where attention can become overly focused.

Empowering new generations with technology through employing blended learning approach to teach English as a Foreign Language has been recently investigated by many researchers in various contexts. This mixed-methods study aimed at examining the effects of the blended learning approach on Jordanian EFL learners’ grammar performance. The study also aimed at investigating the attitudes of Jordanian EFL learners toward blended learning. To achieve the objectives of the study, it employed a quasi-experimental design (pre and posttests) followed by qualitative interviews. The participants were divided into two groups: experimental and control groups. Among the 28 students in the sample, those in the experimental blended learning group (n=13) were taught using Moodle while those in the control group (n=15) were taught using conventional methods. All the 13 participants in the experimental group were interviewed. The results of the posttest revealed that students in the experimental group outperformed students in the control group. Furthermore, the qualitative analysis results showed that blended learning had a positive impact on the learners’ English grammar performance and that they were strongly satisfied and motivated to learn English using similar methods. It is concluded that blended learning could be used as an effective method of teaching English grammar in EFL settings. It is hoped that these results will help the university, faculty, and students to develop the skills necessary for blended learning.

A critical component of blended learning is that technology is combined with face-to-face instruction to enhance learning for students. Without this essential component, blended learning would be no different than when a teacher projects online curriculum to the entire class on a whiteboard. A blended learning methodology enables students to utilize technology to learn in a way that best meets their needs while in an environment that encourages creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving. The focus on how technology is used in a blended learning approach is critical for separating it from being a technology-rich classroom. Blended learning is an instructional approach that enables teachers to have more time to personalize learning for their students. Learning is personalized so that students in a blended learning environment have some control over the pace of their learning.

Educational colleges and universities globally are transitioning to blended learning because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, research on blended learning and teachers’ responses, particularly in the later phases of the pandemic, is still underappreciated. This study was based on the idea that teachers’ motivation, attitude, and sense of self- efficacy affected how well they could adjust to blended learning in one of the state universities of Northern Luzon, Cagayan State University. The study was conducted on 40 faculty members of Sanchez Mira Campus, both full-time and part-time at the tertiary level. A descriptive rating and coefficient correlational utilized the data in describing the relationship among variables. The research found that self–the efficacy of teachers towards blended learning is very high, and the assessment of the teachers’ attitudes towards blended learning emphasized that teachers are extremely favorable towards blended learning. The results also showed that teachers are extremely motivated using a blended learning approach. In lieu of this, the University administration team, especially the instructional and curriculum department, is highly recommended to take appropriate and research-based professional learning cycles to sustain the self-efficacy, motivation, and attitudes of the teachers towards adaptation of blended learning.

The paper discusses how the use of blended learning approach was adopted to deliver a 3rd year Mechanics of Machines course for Mechanical Engineering students at the University of Botswana. The course delivery involved a mix of both face-to-face and Blackboard technology to create an efficient and effective learning environment. A survey of 101 students was conducted over a period of 3 years for the respondents to evaluate their teaching and learning preferences. The results show that students accepted the blended learning approach because of its benefits. More lecturers are encouraged to use blended learning and teaching approaches to promote active, independent and lifelong learning.