# Blended Learning in K-12/Why is Blended Learning Important?

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Now that you know what blended learning is, you may be asking yourself,
\"Why do I need to know about blended learning? Why is it important?\"
Over the years, many groups of people have asked this same question.
These groups have included classroom teachers and others in the field of
education, but have also included people in the business field as well.
Blended learning makes up the "fastest growing use of technologies in
learning---much faster then the development of online courses."
(Alvarez, 2005) Because of the interest in blended learning, there have
been many research studies done to find the potential strengths and
weaknesses of blended learning as compared to just the traditional
classroom or e-learning.

## In Education

Educators seem to have the most interest in blended learning, for
obvious reasons. Because of this, much of the research on blended
learning has been based around classroom situations. All levels of
education have been researched with blended learning, from the
elementary school grades up to graduate school. Educators' interests in
blended learning is best summarized by Flavin in his E-Learning
Advantages in a Tough Economy. He states:

Ironically, the notion of blending is nothing new. Good classroom
teachers have always blended their methods---reading, writing, lecture,
discussion, practice and projects, to name just a few, are all part of
an effective blend. Blending is only a revelation for those who have
been trying to do everything with just one tool---usually the
computer---and ending up with less than ideal results. Understanding
that using the right tool, in the right situation, for the right purpose
should be a guiding design principle. (Flavin, 2001)

One clear advantage of blended learning in education is its connection
with differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction involves
"custom-designing instruction based on student needs." (deGula, 2004) In
differentiated instruction, educators look at students' learning styles,
interests, and abilities. Once these factors have been determined,
educators decide which curriculum content, learning activities,
products, and learning environments will best serve those individual
students' needs. Blended learning can fit into a number of these areas.
By using blended learning, educators are definitely altering the
learning environment when students work collaboratively in learning
communities online, for example. Teachers could also add relevant
curriculum content that would be unavailable or difficult to comprehend
outside of the internet. Learning activities and products can also be
changed to use technologies in a classroom that uses blended learning.

So what does the research say? In a study by Dean and associates,
research showed that providing several online options in addition to
traditional classroom training actually increased what students learned.
(2001) Another study showed that student interaction and satisfaction
improved, along with students learning more, in courses that
incorporated blended learning. (DeLacey and Leonard, 2002)

Another advantage of blended learning is pacing and attendance. In most
blended learning classrooms, there is the ability to study whenever the
student chooses to do so. If a student is absent, she/he may view some
of the missed materials at the same time that the rest of the class
does, even though the student cannot be physically in the classroom.
This helps students stay on track and not fall behind, which is
especially helpful for students with prolonged sicknesses or injuries
that prevent them from attending school. These "self-study modules" also
allow learners to review certain content at any time for help in
understanding a concept or to work ahead for those students who learn at
a faster pace. (Alvarez, 2005)

Because of the ability of students to self-pace, there is a higher
completion rate for students in blended learning classrooms than to
those in strictly e-learning situations. (Flavin, 2001) This self-pacing
allows for the engagement of every learner in the classroom at any given
time. Students also see that the learning involved becomes a process,
not individual learning events. This revelation allows for an increased
application of the learning done in the classroom. (Flavin, 2001)

With the given research, it is clear that using blended learning in
education improves the teaching and learning done in a given course.
Educators want to teach in a way that best reaches all of their
students. If blended learning accomplishes this, then more teachers will
begin to use these methods. When teachers begin to explore blended
learning and the resources that can be found through the internet and
other technologies, they can structure their classroom in a way that
best suits their teaching style and their students' learning styles.
Blended learning allows "\[teachers\] and \[their\] students to have the
best of both worlds." (Alvarez, 2005) The traditional classroom and
e-learning both have advantages and disadvantages. As Alvarez states,
"the online environment is not the ideal setting for all types of
learning. Classrooms are not perfect either.... That's why so many
teachers and corporate trainers are concentrating their efforts on
integrating internet-based technologies and classrooms to create blended
learning environments. It just makes good sense." (2005)

As stated above blended learning should provide students and teachers
with the best of both worlds. I Agree that this should happen, but I am
not convinced that this does happen. Teachers that have been teaching
for numerous years may be stuck in their traditional teaching methods.
These same teachers may not be technology literate which in turn limits
what they can do with technology. Teachers must be trained and required
to use some type of technology in the classroom if blended learning is
going to successfully take place. The teachers may use a variety of
teaching styles, but without technology the students are being cheated
out of what they need to be successful in today\'s world. Proper teacher
training is the only way teachers and students will \"get the best of
both worlds.\" Bret M. Helms

## In Business

Blended learning is also of interest to corporate world. Through
different studies, blended learning has been shown to be an effective
tool in worker training and education. One of the best advantages of
blended learning for the business world is its cost-effectiveness. When
a business relies purely on instructor-led training, besides paying the
cost of the trainer, there are also transportation, hotel, food, and
other expenses. Blended learning helps reduce these expenditures by
reducing the amount of time needed to face-to-face instruction.
(Alvarez, 2005) "Effective blending lets an organization spend the
dollars in the most beneficial, cost effective way." (Flavin, 2001) A
business can decide what mix of face-to-face and e-learning would best
fit their learning objectives.

One study which illustrates some of the benefits of blended learning in
today's business world is the Thomson Job Impact Study. (2003) This
study had 128 participants from a number of corporate and academic
organizations, including Lockheed-Martin, Utah State University,
National Cash Register, and the University of Limerick in Limerick,
Ireland. The researchers wanted to determine if blended learning
increased the overall learning in a number of areas. What they found
supports the use of blended learning in the corporate world. The blended
learning group "significantly" out-performed the traditional and
e-learning group in spreadsheet application performance and they took
less time to complete the real-world tasks than did the e-learning
group. Overall, the blended learning classroom achieved a performance
improvement of 30 percent. (Thomson, 2003). Given these apparent
benefits, it is only natural that the business world is now also
incorporating blended learning techniques into their employee training
and education programs. By doing a quick internet search, a business
could find a number of manuals and examples of how to incorporate
blended learning strategies into their own programs. There are also
companies which specialize in bringing blended learning programs into
the business world.

As one can see, the benefits of using blended learning have been
carefully researched. Most people would agree that these benefits
support the use of blended learning in the classroom and in the business
realm as well. It is up to the individual educator or business how best
to use the tools of blended learning to meet their own goals and those
of their students/workers. really
