Converting a Face-to-Face Course to a Blended Course

The Scenario

A training manager has been frustrated with the quality of communication among trainees in his face-to-face training sessions and wants to try something new. With his supervisor’s permission, the trainer plans to convert all current training modules to a blended learning format, which would provide trainees and trainers the opportunity to interact with each other and learn the material in both a face-to-face and online environment. In addition, he is considering putting all of his training materials on a server so that the trainees have access to resources and assignments at all times.

The Solution

Initially when a person wants to convert their face-to-face class to a blended course they might think, this will not be too big a deal I’ll just add some things online and that will make the course blended.  However, that truly is not the case.  A blended course uses “online activities [to] substitute for a portion of actual “seat time” in a conventional face-to-face course” according to Simonson, Smaldino, Albright and Zvacek (2012, p. 197).  Therefore, if the facilitator is converting the course there are several aspects to consider in the preplanning stage. 

1.     How comfortable is the instructor with the online teaching methods that utilize a student-centered approach?

2.     Which aspects of the course will be face-to-face and which aspects will be online?

3.    How will students know the organization, expectations and requirements of the each different setting?

4.   How will the instructor communicate with the students and provide prompt feedback in and out of the course?

5.   How will students communicate with each other and the professor?

                                                                                        (Simonson, et al., 2012)

Through considering these questions the facilitator will be determining how to enhance the face-to-face classroom experience by harnessing the power of technology to further discussions and collaboration among the students.  Through answering these questions thoroughly the instructor will determine which course management software to use, which grading methods they will use and how to clearly explain expectations to students. The facilitator will also determine in the blended course how students will be actively participating multiple times a week with the content which will transform his course because students will be able to synthesize and relate the content more thoroughly.

By adding an online portion to the face-to-face course the use of technology opens up a wide range of options to the facilitator to incorporate ideas from Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences.   By having the capability of streaming videos, blogs, wikis, endless images and concrete examples for the student to learn from the use of technology aids the learner in not only retaining and applying information but also makes the learner more responsible for their own learning.   The facilitator must also switch their typical ideas of their face-to-face course when they make a blended course.  The learning must be more student centered or hands on and the learner must take more responsibility for their own learning.  The facilitator would also be creating and possibly recreating activities so the students have hands on experience. The roles of both the student and the facilitator are changed but the result is a powerfully engaging course.  

The students will reap the rewards of a blended class if they participate in both the online and face-to-face portions of class. In order to ensure that they do participate it is necessary that the facilitator set expectations about grading and participation in both aspects of the course immediately while providing sample response and ensuring that there is a clear and complete syllabus and schedule that is followed (Simonson, et al., 2012).  The facilitator can also aid in student participation by creating a consistent pattern within the class with a clear way to start and close each module so students will know ahead of time what to expect and when to expect feedback from each other and the teacher.

While converting courses is beneficial to both the facilitator and the students it takes planning, time and thoughtfulness on the part of the facilitator.

Additional Information

While researching the conversion from a face-to-face course to a blended course I ran across this checklist.  It is 10 steps that are best practices in converting a course.  The document is very interesting to read and provides a logical progression of events when converting a course.

 

References:

Bart, Mary. (n.d.) Strategies for teaching blended learning courses, maybe you (and your students) can have it all. University of Hawaii. Accessed on October 21, 2012 from http://hilo.hawaii.edu/academics/dl/documents/TeachingBlended.pdf.

PBS. (n.d.) Howard gardner’s multiple intelligences theory. Educational Resources. Accessed on October 21, 2012 from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/education/ed_mi_overview.html.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2012). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (5th ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.