One thing this corona virus pandemic has made us aware of is that Colleges are never going to be same again. With the closure of Colleges and all other educational institutions, parents being more hesitant, the pressure to maintain social distance and the importance of wearing masks in day to day activities, going to College has almost become a huge task in itself.
But ever had learning been stopped? As rightly said there is always light at the end of the tunnel. If taken positively, this global pandemic has opened some new and exciting ways which we never would have thought about. The undue lockdown and closure of learning institutes have made the educators to think about the extensive use of technology to grant the students continuity in learning and this is how Blended Learning came into existence.
Normally by this time, you must have become very familiar with the word Blended Learning. But this just isn’t enough. You have to now know that Blended Learning is the new normal.
The mix of both online and offline classes where you can be physically present at one time and virtually present at another is called Blended Learning. Students are required to attend classes in small groups to maintain proper social distance when it is utmost important while at other times they are only required to be virtually present.
Blended Learning not only makes the students and teachers carry out their tasks smoothly, but it also helps in making the students more knowledgeable about the technology. Technology and e-learning are going to be mainstream soon. So blended learning indirectly helps you with it.
Everybody knows that it may take several months or even longer to completely wade away the effects of this pandemic. Virtual learning alone cannot take the place of physical learning. Virtual learning alone cannot be effective. You can carry out blended learning in a long term without affecting the academics of students.
Blended learning paves the way for face to face communication of students with their teachers and peers which is very important for both teachers and the students while also complying with the public health guidelines by only asking a small group of students to attend the institute.
Some students are very introvert. They are very much less apt to speak out when they have a question in their minds. Blended learning allows them to post a query via chat or a message board. And since teachers have very fewer students in the class, they will be able to focus on each and every one of them without any difficulty.
Students also require certain laboratory works which an online class may fail to accomplish. If the blended learning method is adopted, learning practically in the labs becomes more easy and efficient also due to fewer students present at a time. Thus blended learning provides a safe learning environment that also maximizes students learning and engagement activities.
Also, online classes become a huge burden to the teachers when they are unable to comprehend the students understanding of the lessons due to the absence of direct connection and face to face communication. On the other hand, students also generally don’t take much interest in learning when there is no competitive environment. They are very much prone to distractions. Blended learning also helps in minimizing these problems.
Not all students have efficient access to the internet. This may be due to unavailability of cell phones, not having proper network area or some other reasons and so online classes will not come handy for them. With the presence of a blended learning model, they can have proper knowledge about the things they have missed during their online class.
Students and teachers must be aware that this change is going to be permanent. No one knows how long the vaccine will take to arrive. And those who are adamant to change simply has no place in this scenario.
Online teaching alone can never be an option. Students can never learn everything on their own. Those who stick to online teaching alone will very soon find themselves being left far behind. Therefore blended learning must be adopted which is far more efficient and logical in every way.