The shift to blended (or hybrid) studying has opened new horizons for the best way we educate utilizing expertise. But how do lecturers select the proper expertise and guarantee they’re utilizing these instruments successfully when creating blended studying assets and actions?

In a earlier video, we highlighted that blended studying ought to be based mostly on growing good teaching practice first and contemplating expertise second, not the opposite manner round. So, after you’ve mirrored on what efficient lecturers do to have interaction their college students, the subsequent step is to resolve what instruments may also help facilitate your follow.

Here are seven tricks to contemplate.   

Tip 1: Start with the educational outcomes

An excellent start line is to think about the course studying outcomes. The information, abilities and attributes you need your college students to have the ability to exhibit will drive your alternative of expertise.

For instance, if a studying consequence pertains to college students collaborating with friends to seek out options, you’ll look to make use of collaborative digital instruments resembling Padlet or dialogue boards. Likewise, if you’d like college students to exhibit software of complicated ideas, you then would have a look at digital instruments that may assist break up or “chunk” ideas into components and characterize these in numerous media to assist assist numerous pupil studying wants. Making a video, say, will be good strategy to chunk and present complicated ideas by way of visuals and audio (slightly than simply textual content on a web page). Further, you might present college students with instant suggestions to revision questions on every chunk through a web-based quiz or interactive module resembling H5P.

Tip 2: Ensure just-in-time technical assist

Check the software program suite at your college. Choosing a instrument(s) that your college formally helps will make it a lot simpler to implement your new blended studying initiative. Start by asking a studying designer in your college or IT support.

Tip 3: Think about scale

Choose instruments that can prevent time. A strategic alternative can reduce down the variety of questions and emails you obtain from college students. For instance, growing a web-based interactive module the place college students can obtain instant suggestions when answering revision questions or implementing a well-managed dialogue discussion board will allow you to cut back how typically you reply the identical query from completely different college students. You also can save time with evaluation by offering college students with significant suggestions that’s constructed into instruments. Many studying administration methods can help you enter pre-populated suggestions feedback and rubrics for marking.

Tip 4: Keep it easy, and practise 

Keep it easy when beginning out! Choose one instrument for an exercise and attempt to grasp it. A low-impact or medium-impact blend is a fast and straightforward strategy that minimises the dangers of failure. If studying a brand new instrument, arrange a “sandpit” the place you’ll be able to discover and “play” with the options. Remember that follow makes excellent. The benefit of holding it easy to start with is which you can shortly refine and replace any on-line studying exercise if it must be improved.

Tip 5: Integrate expertise along with your instructing

Make positive any digital instruments or on-line studying actions are demonstrated throughout your instructing. When doing so, you’ll want to set pupil expectations such because the required stage of engagement. This will enable college students to see the aim of the exercise and the way it enhances their studying. For instance, including a dialogue discussion board to your course is not going to work in case you merely depart it to the scholars to run. Instead, that you must seed matters, concepts or conversations, then reply to widespread questions, maybe by discussing them at school. The college students will then see the dialogue discussion board as an integral and purposeful instrument to boost their studying.

Tip 6: Align instructing and instruments with evaluation

Your evaluation duties ought to be constructively aligned with the instructing and studying actions and course studying outcomes. Hence it is sensible that your chosen instrument and on-line exercise are carefully built-in with the evaluation. Again, present college students how the net exercise they’re enterprise is linked on to their evaluation. The instrument you select ought to allow college students to shortly entry the assets they should full their evaluation.  

Tip 7: Test with the scholars

Good lecturers are constantly reflecting on their follow. This consists of asking your students how your new on-line exercise advantages their studying. At the identical time, ask for recommendations for how one can enhance an exercise. Students will typically admire your efforts to boost your instructing, particularly once they can offer you suggestions.

In the quick time period, designing blended studying will be time-consuming. However, you’ll be able to view this as an funding of your time in skilled studying. The excellent news is that it does get simpler.  

John Raiti is a studying designer and Carl Sherwood is a senior lecturer, each within the School of Economics at The University of Queensland.

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