What is "Blended Learning"?

"Blended Learning" fuses traditional face-to-face classroom instruction with online learning, resulting in a holistic learning experience for students. It combines two crucial elements in the process of teaching and learning: teachers’ talent and technology tools. Blended learning enables teachers to do what they do best: work with students by taking full advantage of the power of technology. Following this approach, teachers are able to change learning activities that otherwise would have taken place during classroom time and devote that lesson to answering students’ questions or dispelling students’ doubts.

The ultimate goal of a blended approach is to highlight the best aspects of both face-to-face and online instruction for the students’ benefit. There are many reasons why you may choose to implement blended learning in the EFL classroom, consider the following:

• Instead of using classroom time for presentation of material, teachers can devote that time to clarifying some questions,
• Online activities and assessments can be carried out anytime and anywhere 
• It fosters autonomy, which is a major contributor to student satisfaction and success 
• It improves student attitudes towards learning

Blended learning also has some pitfalls, such as the strong dependence on technical resources, which need to be reliable and updated so students are able to profit from them.

All in all, the main result of proper instruction when it comes to implementing blended learning in the EFL classroom is richer interactions between teachers and students, and also between classmates. Do not hesitate and give it a try! 

I you want to go on reading on this topic, I suggest that you watch this video.  

Dolors Reig's Conference: TIC, TAC and TEP

Hi there! Such a long time!

Today I will comment on some concepts that Dolors Reig – a Spanish social psychologist, consultant, and lecturer at various universities, companies, organizations and events – has put forward in her conference "Educar para las TEP (tecnologías del empoderamiento y la participación)." She made reference to three acronyms: TIC (Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación), TAC (Tecnologías para el Aprendizaje y el Conocimiento), and TEP (Tecnologías para el Empoderamiento y la Participación).

The concept of TIC has already lost its meaning since the appearance of the web 2.0. Nowadays, we are accustomed to actively participating in blogs, forums and the like in order to share our own opinions and beliefs. Still, that was not possible with the web 1.0 since users were able just to read and obtain information but not to make comments or refute someone else’s ideas. That’s why another concept has developed: TAC, which puts particular emphasis on both teachers and students making good use of the new technologies for teaching and learning. Although the concept of TAC broadens our minds as regards students playing a role in this technological society, it still lacks “how” teachers can empower their students to participate, as well as “what” it really means to participate. As a consequence, Dolors Reig incorporates the concept of TEC. For her, it is not significant that students collect and exchange information if they are not critically reflecting upon it. It is not about students remembering or learning things by heart; it is far beyond the scope of the school and the classroom – it relates to us becoming critical human beings, which implies much more than teaching students to surf the net. Reig suggests that teachers adapt their current teaching methods to the student’s language, leading to new ways of teaching. Traditionally, group work was carried out at home while during the lessons, students were expected to gather information. Now, we can change that procedure and devote the time of the lessons to foster group work, as well as the communicative competence and ask students to gather information at home.

To summarise, it is deemed necessary to bear in mind the concept of TEP in the classroom, together with the concepts of TIC and TAC to help our students become autonomous individuals. We must show our students the potential of the internet to learn, but we must also advise them against believing that everything they read is the unique truth. We must help them have their own say on whatever topic they get to read.

If you are interested in these acronyms, take a look at Dolor's website El Caparazon.