Blended Education with Technology

Blended Education with Technology

Session 1: October 30, 2020

School Leaders Series on Leading BlendedLearning Environments

Introduction

Key Challenges

Recommendations And Suggestions For Improvement

Conclusion

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4

Contents

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Did you know that the first distance education course was conducted in the 1840s by Sir Isaac Pitman? That’s right; the professor sent shorthand texts to his students using mail postcards. They were then required to send them back for grading and correction.

Suffice to say that blended and hybrid learning are not new concepts. Of course, before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the entire education system, the use of these learning methods was limited to a few educational institutions and programs in India and the rest of the world.

With the pandemic becoming a permanent feature in our lives, it is imperative to address the challenges associated with blending learning and how they impact students, teachers, and parents.

Catalyst and JuanaTech™ arranged a series of invitation-only online Catalyst SessionsTM with senior leaders from schools across India. Catalyst SessionsTM use a unique format where participants work together in small groups to engage in authentic dialogue and co-construct shared insight. In this first session in the series, leaders discussed the challenges and opportunities of leading a school during these times and what it was like integrating blended learning within their educational infrastructure.

Discussion 1: The challenges leaders face when adopting blended learning.

Discussion 2: How schools can adapt blended learning and continue providing high-quality education to their students.

This whitepaper presents some of the key insights and takeaways from our online session. If you are an educator, a consultant, a school leader, or a parent, then these insights can help you develop a more comprehensive understanding of the obstacles currently present with blended learning in schools and ideas on how to handle them.

Introduction

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Five problem areas were identified:

Technology and Infrastructure

Teaching and Learning

Supporting Teachers

Health and Wellbeing

Strategic Planning

Here’s a breakdown of the frequency of these challenges as per school leaders:

Key Challenges

Technology and Infrastructure Teaching and LearningSupporting TeachersHealth and WellbeingStrategic Planning

Frequency of Challenges Cited



Many teachers and students lack access to devices

High-quality mobile devices and laptops are very costly and many students and families cannot afford to buy them

Mobile devices also offer limited functionality in some areas making it difficult for students to upload assignments and other files

Poor visibility through mobile devices can make it difficult for students to comprehend the materials being shared

DEVICES

Teachers and students must switch between platforms to utilize various tools required for blended learning

Platform adaptability and the absence of a robust Learning Management System (LMS) continues to be a problemPLATFORMS

A high-quality exam software is required to ensure fair assessments in a monitored environment

Must be customizable to reflect teacher, student and institutional needsSOFTWARE

Technical glitches, lack of technology infrastructure, connectivity issues, and unavailability of devices make it difficult for teachers to conduct a session successfully. Here’s a quick breakdown of these problems:

Lack of high-speed internet and poor connections leads to frequent disruptions and low levels of engagement and participation among students

Siblings are often forced to share the same device as a result of which only one student can join an online session


Connectivity


Some of the main problem areas that interfere with teaching and learning are:


AssessmentContentInstructional StrategiesEngaging Students

Breakdown of Challenges In Teaching and Learning

Schools are trying to blend traditional learning methods with blended learning, which is ineffective. Student engagement, instructional strategies and assessment were the most cited problems. Let’s take a more in-depth view of the issues faced:

Teachers developing interesting and engaging content that adds value to lessonsand keeps students involved

New content curated needs to be mapped to the syllabus.

Struggle to connect existing content with synchronous tools

Adapting content to be more game-based or aligned with experimental learning

Determining whether students have grasped the material successfully

Carrying out assessments and preventing dishonesty and cheating

Conducting formative assessments

Easier to conduct assessments involving objective questions vs. subjective ones

Difficulty ensuring source credibility during assessments

ASSESSMENT

CONTENT


Increasing student engagement and retention levels is challenging

Low levels of class partipation and interest

Encouraging small children to focus can be hard

Senior students can exit the class without the teacher's knowlege

Students have numerous excuses available for not attending classes, for e.g.a lack of devices, internet connection, power outage, etc.

Passive listening is another challenge and finding ways for studentsto collaborate and engage with each other is difficult

Students are overly dependent on classroom learning and require motivation to adapt to online learning practices

Engaging With Students

Adopting new synchronous and asynchornous pedagogies

Blending traditional methods of learning with technology is not always effective

Encouraging ownership among students to pursue self-learning is highly challenging

Independent learning tasks at school do not always work well in a home environment

Students must be educated on the use of technology as a learning tool

Students require guidance on avoiding the misuse of technology

Maintaining human connections in virtual environments with children

Instructional Strategies

Among other issues that confront the implementation of blended learning, parental engagement is also a problem. Schools must keep up with parental expectations regarding the quality of education being provided. It is vital to engage with parents so that they play a more prominent role in the successful integration of blended learning.

Schools must also strive to shift mindsets and enforce the belief that learning can happen online without a loss in quality. This problem mainly confronts students and parents residing in semi-urban areas, with many parents expressing discomfort over the transition to blended learning. Parents are also reluctant to provide their children with the necessary technology for online learning since they fear a child may misuse them.

Parental Engagement


Transitioning to blended learning has proven difficult for teachers, as well. Classroom teaching differs significantly from online teaching, and teachers cannot rely on conventional teaching methods to effectively communicate and engage their students with the course material. In particular, senior teachers find it exceptionally difficult to use technology for online teaching. A significant increase in workload has also been observed. Some of the key challenges discussed during our session include:

There is a significant amount of apprehension concerning the use of technology with many teachers preferring the comfort associated with conventional teaching methods

Building teacher acceptance and adoption of technology has proven to be a challenge

Conversely, the shift was not as jarring for those schools that reported already having "sensitized" teachers with the use of technology prior to the pandemic

Managing mindsets

Teachers who are not tech-savvy find it difficult to use online learning tools

A lack of IT literacy among educators is also a major problem

Complexity of shifting from one setup/platform to another

Becoming accustomed to online platforms takes time

Teachers require training and must particpate in professional learning experiences to successfully teach online courses

Teachers require a system of mutual support that can help them cope with these changes and adapt to blended learning

Supporting Teachers

Professional Learning

Acknowledging the Skills Gaps

Schools are also struggling to manage concerns from parents regarding the health issues related to the use of mobile devices and laptops for extended periods of time. They are also concerned about the digital safety of students while using the devices and efforts must be made to ensure students become effective digital citizens.

On the other hand, teachers are required to put in extra effort for preparing engaging course material that meets the requirements of blended learning. The increase in workload can compromise their health and well-being, and schools must identify the type of support needed to prevent this from happening.

Health and Wellbeing

The final problem area discussed was strategic planning. School leaders primarily focused on two aspects here. These included financing and planning/directing teachers and students to integrate blended learning in the new educational infrastructure.

As far as financing is concerned, school leaders stressed on the added expense of technology for sustaining blended learning. Besides requiring parents to provide students with mobile devices and laptops, schools must also invest in educational tools and resources that help teachers conduct online classes. It was also recommended to provide scholarships/grants or subsidized government aided programs through World Bank/UNESCO offerings or inclusion of existing government programs like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) for students from poor socioeconomic backgrounds to help them adapt to blended learning.

With respect to planning/directing, school leaders discussed the need to organize online learning to offer maximum benefits. For instance, while students from grades 6 to 12 are performing relatively well, more effort is required to engage younger children.

School leaders also believe that limiting online learning to only 2 periods/day is insufficient. Schools must also invest in better human resource management and skill development for improved blended learning. Above all, leaders expressed the need to ensure they are appropriately managing the intolerance for uncertainty.

StraTeGic Planning


Recommendationsand Suggestions forImprovementSchool leaders also had the opportunity to begin discussing the possible recommendations and initiatives to resolve the problems posited earlier. Presented herewith is a summary of the solutions discussed.

Efforts are underway to address the problems faced in this area. At present, school leaders are prioritizing identifying strategies for increasing bandwidth and providing access to teachers and students who do not have devices or require updated technology with the resources they need. Some schools are also starting to limit the use of PowerPoint presentations for delivering lessons. Instead, there is a growing emphasis on using more sophisticated tools that drive student engagement.

Furthermore, teachers of certain subjects such as Mathematics are being provided with digital tablets to be able to write and explain concepts.


There is an evident need for identifying new effective teaching and learning practices in these new settings. New strategies have been put in place to increase the learning pace and motivation among students. Moreover, efforts are being made to develop the new skills required to impart lessons in this learning requirement. School leaders have also emphasized on developing teaching methodologies that can be tailored to suit blended learning.

Additionally, the inclusion of fun activities in a virtual environment to overcome stress and adaptability issues has also been discussed.



Other tools and initiatives that support teaching and learning include:

Combining synchronous with asynchronous learning strategies

Sending class videos through apps to support remote learners

Using video streaming and allowing teachers to come to school and teach as they normally do using whiteboards and blackboards

Using flipped learning through YouTube modules leaving classroom sessions for discussions instead has proven to be a success

Splitting children into smaller breakout groups to encourage collaboration and minimize passive listening

School leaders have also stressed on developing strategies to promote high-quality teacher-student and student-student interactions.

It has also been suggested that students and teachers come up with creative ways to manage their schedules to optimize the learning process. In some cases, students are being called to the school in batches. For instance, schools are allowing 15 students to attend in person at one time, while the rest learn from home. There has also been discussion on supporting teachers to feel and appear more authentic during virtual sessions, given how they have become increasingly visible before parents and must leave a positive impression during online sessions.

School leaders have also discussed the usefulness of conducting science experiments online to encourage engagement levels and offer interactive learning opportunities. As posited during the session,

To address this concern and to ensure better connectivity and collaboration, school leaders have suggested adopting a play-based mindset and methods. This methodology would facilitate face-to-face learning in classrooms and also encourage independent learning and collaboration between students at home.

“Students want to interact with each other”


Other initiatives discussed include:

Developing assignments with varying levels of difficulty to faciliate a personalized learning experience

Counseling students based on the level of difficulty to advance their progress accordingly

Critical when suporting students with special needs

To streamline assessments, school leaders can extend upload times.

Encourage parents to be present and observe the intricacies and challenges first-hand.

Personalized Learning

Establishing an effective learning committee between teachers and students to encourage collaboration and develop student agency

Developing activities that allow students to interact with each other more can be helpful

Introducing activities that encourage students to take on more responsibility can enable them to adapt more quickly to blended learning

Fun activities during virtual learning helps overcome the stress and adaptability issues.

Increasing Student Enagement

Assessment

Ensuring parental engagement is vital to the successful implementation of blended learning. So far, administrators have found that creating opportunities for parents to offer recommendations and participate in the process has made it significantly easier for them to adapt to the changes taking place.

One way to do this was to assist parents in learning how to access their child’s learning videos and tools. Once they became more familiar with these aspects of their child’s learning journey, they felt more reassured by the idea of blended learning.

In addition, parent-teacher meetings conducted using video conferencing tools allowed parents to play a more prominent role in their child’s progress and understand how they can help them adapt to virtual learning.

Despite these successes, schools have still emphasized on requiring better coordination from students and parents to streamline blended learning.

Parental Engagement


To address concerns related to the health and wellbeing of students and teachers, school leaders recommended the following:

Reducing any non-productive school tasks that increase screen-time

Developing strategies and tactics that can help teachers achieve better work-life balance

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

To offer more support to teachers, school leaders suggested the following initiatives:

Moreover, schools must also help teachers develop a positive attitude toward adapting to new learning methods and platforms. Teachers must be reminded of the importance of education and how one must be resilient to continue teaching and learning despite external challenges.

Additionally, school administrators and teachers must collaborate with other organizations to share ideas, develop new strategies, and achieve better outcomes.

Supporting Teachers

Helping teachers organize

lesson plans

Developing teacher-friendly

resources that are easy to use and ensure privacy

Collaborative profesional learning

opportunities

Arranging training sessions

to improve IT literacy among

teachers

Encouraging handholding and

brainstorming sessions between

teacher

Providing teachers with the liberty to develop

personalized teaching

strategies


With respect to planning and directing, school leaders initiated the discussion by talking about the challenges and strategies that support blended learning. Some of the potential resolutions posited here include:

Strategic Planning

Regarding financing, it was agreed that providing technological resources is integral to ensuring the staff remains more digitally active. Schools must prepare to allocate financial resources to facilitate this paradigm shift. Holistic management of these resources is also critical for success.

Understanding that virtual schooling is not equivalent to real-time

schooling and planning accordingly

Redefining a principal’s role

Increasing community support for schools

Taking an integrated approach toward

time tables so that all students receive

assistance simultaneously

Understanding that it will time,

effort, and energy to streamline

blended learning

Initiating one-on-one conversations to

deliver more impact

Ensuring open dialogue continues discussing the challenges and

strategies

Adapting is key


ConclusionSuccessfully integrating blended learning within the education infrastructure and enabling schools to transition to this form of learning is essential to ensuring functionality amid uncertain situations that interfere with traditional classroom learning. It also plays a vital role in making sure students can continue to use their time productively and pursue new learning opportunities.

Understanding the problems that currently prevent this from happening is the first step toward developing a holistic solution.

To facilitate this, Catalyst and JuanaTech™ joined hands and arranged Catalyst SessionsTM that were the first in a series of invitation-only online discussions attended by senior leaders from schools across India. The first discussion centered around uncovering the recurring challenges of blended learning, which include:

Inefficient technology and infrastructure

Difficulty in delivering high-quality education in a virtual environment

Low student engagement

Ineffective assessment practices

The need to support teachers and improve IT literacy among staff, students and parents

Encourage strategic planning and resource allocation to enable better integration of blended learning within the current infrastructure

Upon uncovering these challenges, school leaders also had the opportunity to identify emerging practices and strategies that can help resolve them. Below are some of the ideas that emerged during the second discussion:

Utilizing synchronous, as well as asynchronous use of ICT tools to encourage student engagement and improve delivery of course material

Developing activities that increase motivation among students and require them to assume more responsibility

Creating more opportunities for students to interact with each other

Using more student and teacher-friendly resources

Developing new opportunities for open dialogue and collaboration among teachers, students, parents, and administration

Arranging orientations and training sessions to improve IT literacy

Utilizing available financial resources to provide teachers with the tools they need to remain digitally active


Some of the solutions discussed in this session has already been introduced within schools to benefit students and teachers alike. As per the outcome of this session, it is clear that an integrated and collaborative effort is required to overcome the obstacles that confront schools amid the pandemic.

By providing a platform to school leaders, Catalyst and JuanaTech™ aim to simplify this process as much as possible and allow them to uncover new opportunities for improvement.

To join the thousands of other education leaders that already have access to these types of reports and are being invited to participate in these experiences, sign up free: bit.ly/plugintoCatalyst

Ensuring that the Principal becomes increasingly involved

Increasing community support for schools

Understanding the differences between virtual and classroom learning and planning accordingly


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Documents

Blended Education with Technology