Archive for the ‘Blended Learning’ Category

Paul is learning Chinese #2

Tuesday, March 27th, 2007

I am a few weeks into my study of Mandarin with ChinesePod. I feel like I am making progress, and am quite motivated to carry on. Here is what is working for me:

1. Tailored program: With the help of my ChinesePod counselor, Aggie, I have developed a personalized program of study. This is very important to me as I am not a newbie. I have studied Mandarin before so I am at an elementary level. There are hundreds of lessons to choose from at both the newbie and elementary levels, so I have put together a program that combines lessons from both levels.

2. Learning at my own pace: I work full time (more than full time!) and I am also a full time husband and father of 2 boys. I need to squeeze my study of Mandarin into the little spaces I find during the day. So I squeeze in my daily podcast when I am on the subway, having my lunch or cooking dinner. I have made a point to do it each day, and I am finding the time.

3. Self Service: The ChinesePod site has a number of features (dialogues, expansion activities, vocabulary builders etc) that I can access whenever I have the time. I can spend time doing the things that help me learn.

4. Telepractice: I receive a daily 10 minute phone call from Aggie, my ChinesePod counselor. I get the call at 10:00 pm Toronto time. Knowing that I will be talking to Aggie each evening is a real incentive to listen to the daily podcast and to prepare myself for the lesson. The one-to-one practice and feedback is becoming essential to the development of my oral skills.

5. Community: I am just beginning to explore the ChinesePod community. It is a real motivator to be connected to so many people with similar learning goals. Community members share experiences, tips, stories, and best practices.

So far so good. I will continue to update everyone as I move forward.

Blended Learning Recipe

Wednesday, March 7th, 2007

Many of my clients are interested in moving away from isolated learning events (classroom training, conferences etc.) and moving towards an integrated blended learning program. When strategizing about a workable solution, the question often arises as to what constitutes a good “blend”.

There is no simple answer to this question. Each organization is unique, and what works in one organization will not necessarily work in another. To begin developing a customized blended learning program, I ask clients to work with the following “Blended Learning Recipe”

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Blended Learning Recipe

Step 1: Examine each of the menu items below.

Menu #1 Live In-Person
Instructor Led Classroom; Coaching and Mentoring; Conference; Presentation; Workshop; Lunch and Learn

Menu #2 Live Virtual
Instructor Led Classroom Web; Webcast; Conference Call; Skype Session; Video Conference; Web Chat

Menu #3 Virtual Collaboration
Web Discussion Forum; E-mail; Blogs; Wiki

Menu #4 Self-Paced
Courseware; Podcasts; Self Assessment Tools; Archived Webcasts; Job Aids; Referenceware; Books; Articles

Step 2: Select one learning activity from each of the 4 menus. Choose learning activities that work best with your people.

Step 3: Sequence the 4 learning activities in a way that makes good learning sense.

When the activity is completed you will have a customized blended learning program for your organization!

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Now, of course, it is not as simple as this. A lot of time and effort has to be out into linking learning activities to performace competencies, and to aligning learning goals with business objectives.

I use the “blended learning recipe” as a starting point towards developing a customized blended learning program for clients. It provokes a lot of discussion, and it helps to establish a framework for some of the decisions we will make.