#flble2

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Academic skills

Communication skills

Team Working

Leadership

Creative Problem Solving

Commercial Awareness

Flexibility

Initiative

Planning & Organisation

Analytical Skills

Research Skills

Critical Thinking

Independent Working

Time Management

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Identifying evidence of learning with technology

By means of a case study which shows a blended learning session in action, the use of online technology that is blended in as part of a classroom activity is shown.

Blended learning is defined as “an appropriate mix of face-to-face and online learning activities, using traditional instruction, guided support and independent learning, underpinned by the use of digital technologies and designed using strong pedagogical principles, to support learner engagement, flexibility and success”. This includes the use of digital activities within a classroom (as in this case), a workplace, or a site-specific environment, as well as mixing face-to-face with learning at a distance.

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Blended Learning Essentials

Studying a MOOC by Neil Morris

MOOC: Massive Open Online Course

1. xMOOCs: these are focused around educator-generated content.

2. cMOOCs: these are focused around learner-generated content.

Providers of online courses:

1. Alison (www.alison.com)

2. Coursera (www.coursera.org)

3. EdX

4. FutureLearn

5. Udacity

Goal: ways of embedding the practice of blended learning  in the VET (Vocational Education and Training) sector.

Vocational Education: education that prepares people to work in various jobs such as a trade, a craft, or as a technician.

1. Keep a reflective journal/log: useful ideas, links, resources, to refine your thoughts and plans as you work through the course.

Blogs (public) are not the same as Reflective Logs (private): e.g. GoogleDocs.

Examples of blogs:

1. Tumblr: reflections on Blended Learning Essentials Course (Week 1). You can add your course hashtag.

2. WordPress

3. Blogger (with Google Account)

4. Padlet

Tumblr (blog) 

In the comments, you can share a URL specific blog post so that other learners can see it.

Tag your posts: Tumblr allows you to tag your posts, so if you tag your posts with your course hashtag (#FLble2), other learners on the course can find them easily.

Commercial blog services provide free versions, and VLEs* such as Moodle provide users with their own blogs, while other activities such as forums, wikis* and portfolios* can often be adapted to support blogs.

VLE: virtual learning environment (entorno virtual de aprendizaje)

Workplace setting: entorno laboral / del lugar de trabajo

Early Years setting (e.g. a nursery): entorno de los primeros años (una guardería)

Wiki: sitio web cuyas páginas pueden ser editadas directamente desde el navegador donde los mismos usuarios crean, modifican o eliminan contenidos que generalmente comparten.

Portfolio: a collection of works or documents that are representative of a person’s skills and accomplishments.

Blogs are a great way to encourage learners to reflect on experiences and learning. It is also possible to have a curated group blog and ask one learner per week to summarize events.

Curated (of online content, merchandise, information, etc.): selected, organized, and presented using professional or expert knowledge.

Crib sheet: a sheet containing notes, etc., on a particular subject, used as a study aid.

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Reflections on Blended Learning Course Week 1

As a graduated Certified Translator, I started my professional career in 2010. After some freelance experiences, I started working as an in-house translator four years ago. As time went by, conditions at my workplace changed and I decided it was time for me to expand my opportunities by engaging myself in another course of study. It was then when I realized how many new online courses of study were available, even online courses to get a graduate degree, and how important the use of technology in learning was. This encouraged me to start looking for online courses that can suit me. Now I’m in the process of learning and getting the most from the online courses I enrolled in. 

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Cintia, 33, is an English Teacher from Argentina. Here she shares more about her passion for teaching, why she quit and re-joined the profession and how FutureLearn has given her the skills and tools to grow. 

“I have been teaching English as a foreign language for over 11 years. Teaching is really one of my passions, but some time ago I started to feel tired, and maybe a bit bored. It was always pretty much the same, wherever I worked, I was starting to lose the feeling of challenge I used to enjoy so much. In 2014 I decided to stop teaching, I worked for about 3 months as a Seasonal Youth Counselor on board a cruise, I loved travelling, but I was not using all the knowledge I had gained after so many years of teacher training. So I came back to Argentina and started teaching again. I taught at bilingual schools, companies and language schools most of the times, but I definitely needed something different.

In my search for new things, I started to study to be a secretary, I loved the training, but it was not something I wanted to do for a living. In one of the courses, the teacher talked about Community Management, and she suggested that we should have a go at it because it would be very useful for us to expand our job possibilities. I found out what it was about, I liked it and in 2016 I took part in a course. This led me to think about delivering online lessons, so I started to do some research on that matter. It was at that moment that I came across FutureLearn.

In my search for a change, I decided that if I wanted something new, perhaps I needed new skills. I started to surf the Internet for some courses and FutureLearn appeared with all its options. One of them was Teaching for Success: The Classroom and the World, delivered by the British Council. I read what the course was about and joined it. It looked interesting and it was for free (I couldn’t believe it!). I was fascinated by the quality of the course, the engagement other students showed, the teachers’ responses and the material provided. The course opened my eyes as regards to students’ needs nowadays, and I felt there was so much to improve and include in my teaching practice.

From that moment on, I’ve been having a look at FutureLearn courses whenever I can. Other courses I took were Blended Learning Essentials: Getting Started (I have already joined the second part, Embedding Practice), Teaching Literacy Through Film and English in Early Childhood. The good thing about FutureLearn is that you can take the courses at your own pace, wherever you are, and it’s so easy to read and participate. I am really curious and love learning, so having access to the courses at any moment was really important for me.

These experiences motivated me to take other online courses and now I am thinking of my own online project, that’s why I keep on training and I am taking part in other courses. During the year it was a bit difficult because I want to enjoy the courses and I didn’t have that much time. I have recently joined the Starting a Business series in order to plan my business and have already joined other teaching courses which start in January and February. I’m really anxious to start because I know I’ll learn a lot more.

Apart from being an enjoyable learning experience, FutureLearn gives me tools to grow. I was feeling stuck, I felt I was always going to be a teacher inside a classroom and couldn’t bear to see me doing the same thing all my life. Now I have found a twist and being my own boss is a great challenge that will take time, might be hard, but my love for teaching is still here, renewed, and waiting to see new results.”

Inspired by Cintia’s story?

Take a look at the courses that she values most:

Teaching for Success: The Classroom and the World

Blended Learning Essentials: Getting Started

Blended Learning Essentials: Embedding Practice

Teaching Literacy Through Film

English in Early Childhood: Language Learning and Development

Starting a Business 1: Vision and Opportunity

Starting a Business 3: Customers and Competitors

Or browse all FutureLearn courses.

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Diary of a new blogger

So, as part of my MOOC on blended learning they suggested using a reflective blog. Here goes!