Summary of the week

Whilst this course was primarily designed for teachers and trainers in the Vocational Education and Training sector, it also attracts individuals working in either the Higher Education sector or the School sector. This breadth of experiences, insight and perspectives about education has greatly enriched our discussion. Also, many people have recognised the value of using curriculum design and pedagogy to drive use of digital technologies.

This week there has been a lot of interesting discussion about the social constructivist approach, the way that blended learning can foster learner independence, creative thinking and social interaction. The iObserve tool is popular with some participants, but might not be available to everyone. Hopefully the discussion and the course generally will help you to be able to critically evaluate tools available to you, which will encourage learners to create, critique and share learning.

Some of you have participated in the digital skills audit and commented about how you feel like a ‘beginner’ or that you ‘have a lot to learn’. However, the discussion has demonstrated that as participants on this course you are very engaged and reflective about the potential for blended learning to enhance your learners’ success. Some of you are already using digital technology in creative and innovative ways. It has also been great to see participants supporting each other through these steps.

As our understanding of blended learning improves, you might find a more detailed definition useful – this has come out of discussions between participants and educators on the course:

“An appropriate mix of face-to-face and online learning activities, using traditional instruction, guided support and independent learning, underpinned by the use of digital technologies and designed using strong pedagogical principles, to support learner engagement, flexibility and success.”

Other points to note

Have your say:

• What have you gained from this week?
• What are you going to do with the knowledge and skills you have gained?

Accreditation pathways

Your learning and reflection from this week could contribute to your portfolio for Associate CMALT status. You may want to start drafting some of these portfolio sections now.

To see how the topics you have covered this week correspond to the Associate CMALT assessment criteria, please use this PDF document.

Select the image below to open the PDF.

To learn more about ALT, and the different CMALT pathways available, visit the ALT website.