Blended Learningat the University of Waterloo

Davis Centre Library , June 5th , 2009

Jane Holbrook

What the heck is blended learning?

Definition of Blended Learning Courses at UW

... integrate thoughtfully structured online activities into the overall design of face-to-face courses ... students engage in online activities and may interact with course materials online to achieve specific outcomes... ... activities and materials can contribute to student success in a variety of ways ... effective activities are interactive, relevant, and provide formative feedback to the student ... activities often make use of online tools to provide opportunities for interaction between peers, or between the instructor and their students...and they contribute to the active learning experience within the course.

UW-ACE/Blended Uptake• Over 1000 courses in UW-ACE in the fall and winter

terms – online elements used in to some degree in all these courses.

• 90 or more fall into our definition and are “intentionally” blended.

• https://uwangel.uwaterloo.ca/uwangel/frames.aspx

• Increased faculty/student interaction• Opportunities for active learning• Opportunities to use varied media• Optimal use of online and f2f time – foundational knowledge• Advantages to students – accessibility, pace , repeatability

(time management!) • Potential cost savings

Why Blend?

Challenges• Facilitating online – forming a “teaching team”• Student and faculty resistance – time and

technology concerns• Student time management skills• Evaluation of changes in course design

Soc 101 - Instructor was able to introduce discussion activities into this very large, introductory course. Online assignments, self-assessment quizzes and three online tests help prepare students for the final exam.

8

Chem 265L

Videos to show the students how to set up apparatus

Videos to show the students how to use different apparatus

Videos of the experiment they are going to perform so they can see the

correct procedure and what to expect during the experiment.

Flash animations of experimental procedures and flow charts

Flash animations of synthetic mechanisms

Assembling Distillation apparatus

Adding dry ice to Grignard Reagent

How to use the rotary evaporator

Separation of acid, base and neutral compounds via liquid-liquid extraction

Esterification mechanism

Arch 113 - Online screen-capture tutorials introduce students to the computer-based drawing tools they use to work on projects in the studio.

CTE Supports BL through• SID-BL (works closely with ITMS and DCE)• CTE Faculty Liaisons• UW-ACE Instructor User groups• UW-ACE Instructional Challenge workshops• Instructor Resources

Repository

IRR Instructional Challenge Matrix

Newer Resources • Blended learning resource site as part of the CTE webpage

http://cte.uwaterloo.ca/teaching_with_technology/index.html

• Special blended working group at the Teaching Excellence Academy

• Blended course survey instrument • Online TA – part of CUT program

Coming Soon ......• A blended and online learning “learning community”

What we are working toward ...• planning that integrates blended courses into programs in an

effective way• teaching release or other incentives for faculty who are

redesigning traditional face-to-face courses into blended courses

• departmental resources ($$$) to support teaching assistants in blended courses

• promotion of blended learning in the university community as a recognized and important strategy for supporting effective teaching and learning

Working with CTE

• Lynn Long Accounting & Finance and Economics 38175 HH 289B

• Katherine Lithgow Applied Health Sciences 37076 LHI 1615• Marlene Griffith Wrubel Arts 33851 PAS 1234 • Rosina Kharal Engineering (on leave) 35902 E2 1307F • Scott Anderson Environment 32509 EV2 1016A P• aul Kates Math & Engineering 37047 MC 3044 • Mary Power Science 33225 ESC 254B

• Sandra Keys and Jackie Stapleton

Questions?