Difficulties or hurdles in creating a blended learning environment

 ·         Changing  the mindset of people  -

Convincing  everyone  on the board about  the advantages of blended learning and getting a buy in.

·         Changing the school culture  -

Changing organizational structure, roles and responsibilities of staff and students, introducing  new policies,  changing the school schedule and timings, getting students and teachers attuned to the features of blended learning.

·         Infrastructural constrains -

The size of the school building, number of available rooms, labs, PCs with different browser versions, Internet  speed  and connectivity, resources.

·         Financial constraints-

Maintaining the budget, controlling expenditure on infrastructural changes, cost of learning material and software.

·         Software Constraints-

Getting the right software that aligns with the requirements, quality of the software, flexibility and ease of use.

·         Time Constraints-

Time spent over procuring the right resources, training staff and students.

·         Having an effective team-

It is extremely essential to have a team that believes in the concept of blended learning and is equally confident and motivated  to work ,one that is ready to take up challenges and overcome the obstacles and make it possible.

·         Technical expertise-

Training the teacher and students to use the software, developing basic debugging and problem solving skills.

·         Difficulty measuring results-

Developing an effective evaluation system to validate the software, assess the performance and progress of students

Blended learning or Hybrid Learning

I believe high quality blended learning can also be called as hybrid learning as it is an effective mix of various methods and approaches of imparting knowledge.

Key features of blended learning-

• Technology is optimally utilized to provide students ample opportunities and time to experiment, enhance their existing knowledge, and get hands on experience, feel of study material.
• It is a combination of classroom learning where students can attend lectures, have discussions with their teachers and online learning where they can read information, take online tests, quizzes.
• It is personalized, recognizes that students have different levels of understanding, grasping knowledge, and different ways of learning.
• It focuses on gaining thorough knowledge and developing expertise to enable the student to utilize the learning in real life scenarios.
• Caters to the needs of each and every student.
• Helps to break monotony in the classroom and triggers enthusiasm in the students.
• Instrumental in promoting deep thinking and reflecting.
• Encourages linking of previous ideas and beliefs.
• It makes learning global and accessible from various locations and time zones.
• Students can perform to their fullest potential when they have efficient tools to learn and less time, pace and place constraints.
• Students can learn, take lessons and tests in class or at home.
• Students can focus better when they can choose when, where and how to study.
• As students have a control over the learning they experience a sense of ownership.

Creating a positive learning space

A place that spells warmth and comfort; which instantly makes you feel pleasant and welcoming is a positive space. It helps you to relax, be yourself and focus on your priorities and tasks. You feel happy to be in this place and look forward to spending time in this space. A positive ambience is one of the prerequisites for learning. Hence it is extremely essential that we create a space that is conducive for learning. Every aspect of the space, shape of the school building, the layout of the classroom, the ventilation in the room, light and spacing, color of the wall contribute to creating an ideal space.

The ambience of a conventional classroom setting is very formal and often makes you feel grim. It exudes discipline, adherence to the decorum of the classroom. It is difficult to feel relaxed and at ease. In the traditional classroom layout wherein the teacher’s desk is near the blackboard and benches are arranged in the straight rows .Here the teacher is unable to interact with all the students as he/she can hardly see the faces of all her students.

An interesting classroom layout can be designed to make the learning space look appealing. . The color of the walls should be carefully chosen in order to make the classroom look warm, welcoming and spacious .There should be sufficient ventilation and illumination in the classroom. A classroom can be divided into sections each pertaining to a specific objective.

For whole class lecture, the benches can be arranged in a semicircular pattern, allowing the teacher free space to move while explaining the concepts to the students. It will also provide the teacher easy access to each students to help solve their queries. A separate area for teacher led small classroom discussion can be created in the room by using colorful rugs on the floor for the students to sit with the teacher. This will allow the students to receive personal attention and create an intimate learning environment. A U shaped area for students group work can be created by placing tables of different shapes and colors. It will allow the students to easily interact with each other and facilitates collaboration. Bean bags, comfortable chairs and sofas can be set up in the library to allow the students to read their books or read their course material on their tablets/laptops. Displaying the posters, charts, projects done by students on the classroom walls or soft boards personalizes the classroom. It helps in creating an ambience where students feel comfort and confidence on seeing their work. It also gives them a sense of ownership, feeling of accomplishment on seeing their work displayed in the class and scoring good grades. They will look forward to come to the classroom every day and work hard to contribute to the class. 

Keeping in mind the space, classroom strength, feasibility, financial and other constrains, the best option is to optimize the available resourses. There is never a generic solution, understanding the needs of students and catering to them is of utmost importance and hence an optimal layout should be chosen.