Blended Learning Essentials MOOC Week 1 Activity #FLble1

Activity – comment on video

The message was loud and clear for me; the use of digital technology affords greater freedom and flexibility for both teachers and students.  This is exemplified by the  electronic submission, originality checking, and marking tool Turnitin, which I noticed featured prominently in the video.  The ability to research, write, and upload an assignment to a VLE from anywhere and at any time – while then similarly receiving timely, legible and rich feedback ahead of the next assignment represents end-to-end blended learning in action.  I’ve led and supported many blended learning projects, and none have been as widely accepted and successful as online marking.

The closing comment of the final talking head, “The idea of using technology in education is a necessity” says it all for me.  Not only is the use of technology an necessity, it is irreversible.  There a few, if any, examples in business, health, finance, and other aspects of modern life where digital technology has been adopted and then abandoned.  E-Learning is part of the landscape, despite its relative immaturity.

I find that technology plays a crucial role in responding to the demands of today’s students.  Communication with and between students, is supporting institutional change.  Effective communication means multi-platform, instantaneous and responsive – and only digital technology can provide this.

Education has been slower than other fields to adopt technology, but quicker by its own standards to recognise, and begin to adopt learning analytics.  This suggests a growing acceptance of E-learning and a very welcome quickening of the pace of change.  In addition to this, would like to see greater agility among institutions, vendors, staff, and students in the provision and evaluation of blended learning – and far greater input from students.

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