What Is Blended Learning - Research Paper Example

Research Report on Blended Learning By Professor Class University City Date of submission Contents Contents 2 Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Research questions 5 Research objectives 5 Methodology employed 6 Summary of Collected Data 7 Research Findings 9 Conclusion 10 Recommendations 11 References 11 Executive Summary In the modern education system, there is much more to teaching the students how to read, manipulate numbers, and write. Technology is advancing and globally making schools are in the process of tapping the potential and opportunities associated with it. Furthermore, internet use, computers, and improved electronic devices are becoming more important especially in a manner in which people collect information and improve their learning skills. It is important to note that advancement in technology has been able to influence education system in most countries with more students embracing it due to simple engine searches and quicker retrieval of the information. The manner in which technology is utilized with the curriculum and managed by the teachers plays a crucial role in widening the resources and knowledge base of the students. Besides, the level of flexibility between the students and teachers increased due to improvement in the use of blended learning. Communication techniques between the students and the teachers improved as well. Students are able to submit and retrieve their assignment at their convenience through technology. It is from such background that the research focused qualitative analysis in examining the effectiveness of incorporating technical use at The Essington International Senior College. The methodology collected data through questionnaire, which was administered to 20 students selected randomly from different classes to participate in the research. Besides, the research aimed to establish its objectives through guidance by the research questions. Introduction Globally, technology has been able to influence how teachers teach and students learn. To utilize properly and effective the opportunities associated with technological use, there is need for schools to integrate workable plans into all aspects associated the curriculum to make students understand the underlying benefits of technological use. The major challenge within the education system is the demand to see solutions on how technology would affect the education system. Generally, the societies seem to be fascinated with the eruption and advancement of technology within the education field. Technological effects in classroom relates to both the teachers and students. With involvement technology in education, several educators indicate improvement in the learning activities among the students. Unfortunately, the teachers are no longer becoming the center of attention as they remain with the role of facilitating studies (Shenton, 2004, 70). Technology allows students to become more active in classroom with an opportunity of increasing their communication skills. Being active in classes mean that students are most likely to generate their own choices of various learning methods. These methods include obtaining, manipulating, and displaying information, which gives them higher level of confidentiality. Studies indicate that technological use motivates study sessions in classroom. Because of the willingness of the students to work with technology rather than in a normal classroom setting, which they consider boring, assists in motivating students to learn (Wu-Yuin, Jung-Lung, Tretiakov, Huey-Wen, & Ching-Yuan, 2009, 230). Although technology has been able to advance the learning processes in the modern world, there are challenges associate with its implementation in most schools. Some parents and school administration tend to oppose integration of the technology into the learning processes considering the number of negative impacts it has on some students. Educators argue that technology is the major reason behind sudden behavior of most children with most of them practicing what they see on the social media. Moreover, social media are very addictive and upon accessibility to internet connection, most students find it difficult to concentrate on their research (Osguthorpe & Graham, 2003, 230). The study focused on different students who had varied perspective on the technological use and how it influenced their education standards. However, it is important to note that depending on how the students utilize technology, their performances could either increase or decline. Research questions The research was guided by three central questions including: 1. To what extent does blended learning improve student’s performance? 2. Does blended learning improve learning motivation of students? 3. How can blended approaches of learning be integrated into classroom to improve education? Research objectives The aims of the research were: 1. To examine the extent to which blended learning could improve students’ performance in class. 2. To investigate how blended learning approaches improved the learning motivations of subjects in classes. 3. To find out effective ways of integrating blended learning into classrooms to improve education. Methodology employed The research adopted a qualitative case study approach to examine the effectiveness of learning through blended learning approaches. A qualitative case study is an all-inclusive description and analysis of one experience, a singular entity, or phenomenon. The method was used to develop a heuristic and descriptive account of the situation under investigation. To prevent biasness in participant selection, the research adopted random selection method to identify the 20 students to be used as the sample. The research was conducted in The Essington International Senior College in the elementary education and social science. The sample included the students enrolled in computer literacy or practicing blended learning and those learning through traditional approaches. Furthermore, the selected students were aged between 16 and 21. The random sampling method focused on the students outside the school since they had been using the blended learning approach for many years. Questionnaire administration is the qualitative method used to explore all factors associated with blended learning. However, to ensure accurate presentation of the data, the research considered observation method to collect data besides the questionnaire. Although, considering the asynchronous nature of the blended learning, observation method might be quite a challenge (Vaughan, 2007, 25). To necessitate the open-ended questions, the research observed the participants directly while interacting with their course material outside their classrooms. The questionnaire collected data regarding the internet skills, e-learning experience, and computer literacy. In addition, the questionnaire consisted a set of questions that focused on the skills of the students or areas that showed that improvement through blended e-learning courses including the suggestions, advantages, and limitations. The last section of the questionnaire comprised of open-ended questions to collect qualitative information concerning the perception of the students on the blended learning experience. The open-ended transcripts were read several times while noting the topics, which emerged. Considering the huge amounts of data yielded through qualitative research, data analysis was a progressive process. The study used summary form as a tool to facilitate the on-going data analysis. Moreover, the analysis began by undertaking the coding process. The research derived the summary from the notes regarding the perception of the blended learning generated from the open ended questions. The coding process happened in different stages followed by mapping process. Code mapping involve processes of condensing the derived codes into chosen list of categories then into the main themes (Emmel, 2013, 240). The research selected the dominant codes while at the same time removing redundant one. Additionally, the emergent categories were further analysed to discern the developing themes. Summary of Collected Data The research used a sample of 20 students within the learning institutions. The ages of the students included three students of 16 years old, nine, 17 years old, six ,18 years old, and two, 19 years old. All the students agreed to have the experience of blended learning in which all of them had more a year experience. Figure 1. Age of respondendts At the same time, those that had 1-3, 3-5, and more than 5 years of experience were 8, 11, and 1 respectively. The research also established that most schools were adopting the both in-class and e-learning environments to enhance the integration of the technological learning. Besides, most students preferred the learning model that incorporate both the in-class and e-learning. Since the study sought to establish how often the students were using the internet for learning purposes, the results indicated that 19 students were using internet on daily basis while only one used the internet for 4-5 times in a week. Unfortunately, most students were not able to balance between e-learning and in-class activities. The research also established that most students used blended learning since it allowed them to achieve their learning objectives at their convenient speed. From such perspective, 11 students strongly agreed that blended learning allowed them achieve their learning objective at their speed, 5 somewhat agreed, 1 neither agreed no disagreed, 1 disagreed, and 2 students strongly disagree. Figure 2. Response on Blended learning. Although most research indicate that self-discipline is important especially if the students need to succeed in the e-learning, from the research most students neither agreed with this nor disagreed. Most students established that in-class offered the best preferred method of communication among the students with 17 supporting and only 3 going for e-learning. The response represent 69% and 31% respectively. In addition, most students strongly disagreed that e-learning process offered the most convenient method of participating in discussions. Figure 3. Prefered Communication Method Research Findings Technology has become a major factor in most learning environments due benefits associated with it. However, most students lack self-discipline and focus much on the social media rather than using the e-learning platforms positively. From the research, most students strongly agreed with the idea of emerging social media and e-learning. These media platforms are very addictive and influential among the students especially the bracket used in the research. To ensure that each student focusses on the e-learning exercise and succeed, teachers often encourage the students to assist one another in learning differently (Ragupathi & Hubball, 2015, 16). 18 students agreed to that as a fact while 2 students claiming that they always consider such. However, it is important to note that several factors often contribute to the number of increasing number of students embracing e-learning. In reference to benefits associated with time management, about 12 students supported the fact that using electronic devices assist in time management. Moreover, some students are also supporting the use of technology since it offers them an opportunity of viewing videos. To some extent, some students were embracing the use of technology since it offers better graphics, quick results, search engines, and improved accessibility to learning materials (McManis & Gunnewig, 2012, 14). With the increasing demand for education and limited resources to invest in purchasing the printed books, most schools are embracing technology through creation of databases that allow the students accessibility to the online articles. However, the research was able to establish there were several challenges that the students were experiencing while using e-learning. The major challenge established was that the blended learning approach offered a complex method of asking questions (Saldana, 2013, 134). Besides, the there was no teamwork among the students and more importantly, the students had difficulty waiting for the responses of the queries they asked. From the results, the research also found out that most used the internet on a daily basis a factor if properly aligned with educational activities might improve the performance of the students (O'Malley, 2012, 238). Conclusion To ensure that blended learning is successful within the school set up, it is useful that the school ensures that all the staff members are well informed and fully support. One of the major way in which the technology is influencing the students is erosion of their self-discipline, which contribute to the increasing use of the social media during hours meant for academic research. Social media are very important to students especially for networking purposes, however, it is very addictive and students might end up taking much of their time socializing but forgetting the crucial role of e-learning. Furthermore, technology helps to enhance self-esteem among the students making them become exited to coming to school. E-learning gives students and teachers learn from a broader perspective of communication skills. Nevertheless, focusing too much on the blended learning could also deprive the students of acquiring information at the right time considering the fact the two communicating parties need internet connection. Recommendations Since the students are always on the receiving end of the technological advancement, it is important that schools ensure that they are involved in the integration process. As a result, the management would be able to identify the specific social media sites that they like and block them from accessing so that they can focus much on their studies (Desai, Richards, & Eddy, 2000, 241). Although e-learning plays an important role in enhancing the level of communication among the students, it is important to note that it reduces the roles played by the teachers to facilitation. Therefore, adequate strategies should be in place to encourage both e-learning and in-class learning processes. References Desai, M S, Richards, T & Eddy, J P 2000, ‘A field experiment: instructor-based training vs. computer-based training. Journal of Instructional Psychology, Vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 239-243. Emmel, N 2013. Sampling and choosing cases in qualitative research: A realist approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc. McManis, LD & Gunnewig, S B 2012, ‘Finding the education in educational technology with early learners,’ Young Children, Vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 14-24. O'Malley, C 2012. Computer supported collaborative learning. Springer Science & Business Media. Osguthorpe, R T & Graham, C R 2003, ‘Blended learning environments,’ Quarterly Review of Distance Education, Vol. 4, no. 3, pp. 227-233. Ragupathi, K & Hubball, H 2015, ‘Scholarly Approaches to Learning Technology Integration in a Research-Intensive University Context: Impact of a New Faculty Initiative,’ Teaching & Learning Journal, Vol. 8, no. 1, pp.1-16 Saldana, J 2013. The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Inc. Shenton, A. K 2004, ‘Strategies for ensuring trustworthiness in qualitative research projects,’ Education for Information, Vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 63-75. Vaughan, N 2007, ‘Perspectives on blended learning in higher education,’ International Journal on ELearning, Vol. 6, no. 1, pp. 12-39. Wu-Yuin, H, Jung-Lung, H, Tretiakov, A, Huey-Wen, C & Ching-Yuan, L 2009, ‘Intraaction, interaction and outeraction in blended learning environments,’Journal of Educational Technology & Society, Vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 222-239. Read More