Learning extends beyond the boundaries of a typical classroom as we have witnessed currently in the fight against the COVID pandemic worldwide. The traditional mode of learning is also inadequate in meeting the increasing demands of acquiring knowledge and skills in a rapid changing economy. With this context, let us explore how educators can ride on the benefits of blended learning to design creative courses with a strong social presence in the online learning environment.
There are numerous benefits with the adoption of blended learning. With economies around the world hit severely by the pandemic and recovery projected to be weak in the foreseeable future, blended learning can facilitate in minimising the cost of learning from the campus to the workplace. In this unfavourable climate, pressure is mounting on institutions as well as learning and development departments to “do more with less”. The focus is to deliver content by leveraging suitable learning technologies in an asynchronous and self-paced mode to support learners’ preferences. The benefit of blended learning lies in its accessibility and flexibility where learners can access learning anytime and anywhere based on their learning needs. [(Graham, Allen, & Ure, 2003)]
With these benefits, how would an educator design learning courses for online education and blended learning? One of the common mistakes when designing a blended learning solution is the natural tendency to focus on applying available technologies to the learning content. Conversely, educators should review learning content in a systematic approach and adopt appropriate technologies for the best possible delivery methodology in achieving identified learning outcomes. While there are well established learning design models for online courses ranging from the Community of Inquiry (Fiock, H. 2020), Salmon – The Five Stage Model (Salmon G 2013) and the 7Cs of Learning Design (Conole, G. 2015), what is common in these models is the emphasis on “Social Presence” to ensure effective instructional delivery.
Social presence is a critical element for meaningful learning to take place. Primarily, social presence is the ability of people to present themselves as ‘real people’ through a communication medium (Lowenthal 2010). Studies has shown that social presence has three categories of indicators; (1) emotional (affective) expression, where learners share personal expressions and values; (2) open communication, where learners develop aspects of mutual awareness and recognition; and (3) group cohesion, where learners build and sustain a sense of group commitment (Garrison 2010). With an inclusive learning environment, these indicators are vital to improving students’ learning by enhancing their knowledge of literacy and developing their critical thinking, problem solving, communication and collaboration skills.
With the need for education institutions to adopt the new way of learning, are you ready to embark on this exciting journey as educator?
References:
Graham, C. R., Allen, S., and Ure, D. (2003). Blended Learning Environments: A Review of the Research Literature.
Fiock, H. (2020). Designing a Community of Inquiry in Online Courses – The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning.
Salmon, G (2013) The Five Stage Model. http://www.gillysalmon.com/five-stage-model.html
Conole, G. (2015). The 7Cs of Learning Design.
Lowenthal, D. A., & Lowenthal, P. R. (2010, April). A mixed methods examination of instructor social presence in accelerated online courses.
Garrison, D. R., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Fung, T. S. (2010). Exploring causal relationships among teaching, cognitive, and social presence: Student perceptions of the community of inquiry framework.
