Learning and Teaching in Practice/Learning environments/Blended learning

The term blended learning normally refers to a combination of face-to-face (offline) and online learning.

In the previous sections we saw how online and face-to-face learning are each seen as having advantages: while face-to-face learning can provide direct personal interaction, online learning provides greater flexibility of time and place and the opportunities of asynchronous learning.

Blended learning is a strategy with the potential to make best use of the benefits of each approach while avoiding its disadvantages. But this requires careful planning - the unfortunate connotations of a kitchen blender where different items are whisked together are not helpful! Perhaps a carefully assembled jigsaw is a more appropriate metaphor for the process of combining face-to-face and online components.

The flipped classroom model using a blended learning approach is an example of a strategy which aims to combine face-to-face learning with online learning to make best use of both.