European Journal of Training and Development“For us it was a learning experience”: Design, development and implementation of blended learningBrown Onguko Lucy Jepchumba Petronilla Gaceri

Article information:To cite this document:Brown Onguko Lucy Jepchumba Petronilla Gaceri, (2013),"“For us it was a learning experience”", European Journal ofTraining and Development, Vol. 37 Iss 7 pp. 615 - 634Permanent link to this document:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-10-2012-0052

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“For us it was a learningexperience”

Design, development and implementationof blended learning

Brown OngukoAga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development – Eastern Africa,

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

Lucy JepchumbaMutuini Secondary School, Nairobi, Kenya, and

Petronilla GaceriUthiru Secondary School, Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to share reflections of the three authors on the process ofinstructional design and implementation of blended learning for teachers’ professional development(PD) in rural western Kenya. It proposes reforms in provision of teachers’ professional development toenable professional development providers to access specialized skills in instructional design (ID) andblended learning.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper resulted from a design-based research including 12entry and 12 exit interviews, observations of three face-to-face meetings of blended learning sessionsand ten classroom observations of teachers implementing new teaching approaches learned throughblended learning.

Findings – The paper provides insights into the authors’ experiences in this research. They sharedthe following reflections: engagement in ID empowered them and they are confident that they canengage in systematic instructional design on a larger scale; they gained technical knowledge and skillsin authoring content in HTML on eXe open source platform; uploading the content and processingaudio and video content was equally enthralling to them.

Research limitations/implications – Because of the chosen research approach, the researchresults may lack generalisability. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to consider incorporating thedesign-based research, instructional design and blended learning approaches used in this study whileconducting related research in their dissimilar contexts.

Practical implications – The paper includes implications for the design, development andimplementation of teachers’ professional development for challenging contexts as a contributiontowards achievement of both Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA).

Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need to study provision of professionaldevelopment for teachers who lack opportunities for professional development.

Keywords Blended learning, Challenging contexts, Instructional design, Professional development,Design-based research, Learning styles, Learning methods, Kenya

Paper type Research paper

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at

www.emeraldinsight.com/2046-9012.htm

Blended learning

615

Received 10 October 2012Revised 11 January 2013

23 April 2013Accepted 7 May 2013

European Journal of Training andDevelopment

Vol. 37 No. 7, 2013pp. 615-634

q Emerald Group Publishing Limited2046-9012

DOI 10.1108/EJTD-10-2012-0052

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IntroductionEducational use of emerging information communication technologies (ICTs) such astablets and smart phones calls for new ways of engaging teachers and professionaldevelopment providers in delivery of professional development. Such emerging ICTsare important platforms for teachers’ professional development. Teachers indeveloping countries such as Kenya do not have much opportunity for professionaldevelopment (PD) after initial teacher preparation (Otienoh, 2010; Wanzare, 2007).While some countries have clear policies on professional development requirements,for teachers in Kenya there is no clear policy, for example, on number of PD hoursrequired per year.

To achieve requirements for professional development in some countries, theeducational authorities resort to various cost-effective approaches including use of ICTto deliver PD. In one Education District in Canada, for example, an online professionaldevelopment program provides opportunities for teachers to develop their personalgrowth plans that include goals and objectives based on assessment of professionallearning needs (Childs, 2004). After developing personal growth plans, teachers in thedistrict work towards their personal plans by accessing PD programs through anonline portal (Childs, 2004). Such opportunities are not available for teachers in Kenyagenerally and specifically for rural teachers.

The research reported in this paper utilized appropriate technologies for teachers’professional development in a rural school in western Kenya, who do not have suchopportunity. The authors of this paper: the first author being the researcher and thesecond and third authors being teachers who offer PD, henceforth referred to asprofessional development teachers (PDTs), designed and delivered the course.

The ADDIE process of systematic instructional design was the instructional designframework used in the study. ADDIE is the five-stage instructional design frameworkthrough the stages of analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation.ADDIE continues to be an important model upon which instructional design processesare based (Allen, 2006). The ADDIE model of instructional design is consequently usedin this paper as a systematic conceptual framework for presentation of our findings.First, we share the research questions for the study.

Research questionsThe main research question for the study was: how might professional development,offered through a blended learning approach and delivered by appropriatetechnologies, inform teaching practice in a challenging context in Kenya? Thesubsidiary research questions were:

. How might we design a course using a blended learning approach?

. How might appropriate technologies assist in the delivery of professionaldevelopment via blended learning?

. What support do teachers require for blended learning on appropriatetechnologies?

. How appropriate is blended learning for teachers in a rural setting?

In the following section, we focus on application of ADDIE, the conceptual frameworkadopted for this paper followed by review of relevant literature.

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Conceptual frameworkIn designing learning content we followed the ADDIE process because of its systematicapproach through the design and implementation stages. ADDIE process involveddetailed analysis of the teachers and the school context. This was followed by designand development of self-directed study content based on careful and systematicarticulation of the instructional objectives, and implementation of PD with teachersmaking use of the study content to plan and implement their teaching. Evaluation wasan ongoing process through the stages.

The ADDIE framework as an instructional systems design (ISD) process emergedout of the post-second world war research in the US military that aimed to find a moreeffective way to create training programs (Allen, 2006). This instructional designframework continues to be an important model as it provides guidelines upon whichinstructional design processes are based (Molenda, 2003). In other words, as an originalinstructional design model, other models have been developed based on the ADDIEmodel. As Malachowski (2012) asserted, ADDIE was one of the first instructionaldesign models that is liked for its simplicity, ease of application and cyclic nature. It isexactly for these reasons by Malachowski that the ADDIE framework was foundrelevant for this study.

The instructional design process was a critical part of content development for thisstudy. Instructional design has been defined as “a systematic process that is employedto develop education and training programs in a consistent and reliable fashion”(Reiser and Dempsey, 2007, p. 11).

Instructional design goes through the stages of analysis of the participants and thecontext, design and development of study content to address the identified need,followed by implementation and evaluation stages, thus completing the ADDIEframework. In this study both the PDTs and teachers were interviewed during theanalysis stage to identify PD facilitation capacity and PD needs respectively.Instructional design involved identification and preparation of the different resourcesincluding readings (electronic documents), videos, audio recordings and authoring ofcontent in HyperText Markup Language (HTML) format. Implementation entailedteachers’ self-directed study of content on tablets over a period of four weeks as theyplanned and taught lessons and attended face-to-face meetings on three Saturdays. Thenext section presents literature review.

Literature reviewThe literature reviewed in this section focuses on blended learning which is the coretheme of this paper is. First, clarification of the meaning of blended learning is followedby review of literature on blended learning in Kenya.

Blended learningBlended learning, according to some scholars, has been practiced in differenteducational contexts for many years. These scholars argue that blended learning is nota new idea, being an art that has been practiced by inspirational teachers for centuries(Cross, 2006; Moore, 2006). Moore (2006) asserts that blending classroom and mediateddelivery of instruction at high school level can be traced to as far back as the 1920s inthe US. Blended learning approach could be identified in what was then known assupervised correspondence study (Moore, 2006). Supervised correspondence study

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combined face-to-face learning, represented by the “supervision” component, with thecorrespondence, paper-based print content. Print and postal mailing technologiessupported correspondence study of the 1920s. To further illustrate that blendedlearning has been in practice for many years, Cross (2006) observed that his first gradeteacher used a “blend” of storytelling, song, recitation, reading aloud, flash cards,poetry, and corporal punishment.

Blended learning is generally regarded as a combination of different training mediaincluding technologies, activities and types of events, to create an optimum trainingprogram for a specific audience (Bersin, 2004). Bersin further suggested that blendedlearning is traditional instructor-led training being supplemented with other electronicformats or vice versa. Based on Bersin’s broad definition of blended learning, it ispossible to categorize the “media” in both Cross’ experience in first grade and Moore’scharacterization of blended learning in the 1920s. The technologies include the printcorrespondence learning material and flash cards; activities include storytelling,recitation, and reading aloud; while types of events are, for example, song, and poetry.Cross’ corporal punishment in our view is an unacceptable mode of punishment anddoes not fit in the types of events category of blended learning.

It has been argued that there is no one generally accepted definition of blendedlearning (Picciano, 2009). Picciano stated that there are many forms of blended learningbut a generally accepted taxonomy does not exist. Picciano identified a variety of termsused synonymously to describe related learning approaches including blended, hybridor mixed mode. Picciano, however, went further and identified blended learningbroadly as “some nebulous combination of online and face-to-face instruction”(Picciano, 2009, p. 8).

Garrison and Vaughan (2008) suggest blended learning has no consistentrecommendation concerning the balance of types of instruction being blended. Theydefine blended learning as the thoughtful fusion of face-to-face and online learningexperiences. They asserted both face-to-face oral communication and online writtencommunication are optimally integrated by blending the strengths of both into aunique learning experience to create a harmonized context with the intended purpose.

The definition of blended learning by Picciano (2009) as highlighted above isnon-committal, and yet it is also limited by focusing on online experiences thuspotentially locks out other forms of blended learning possible in challenging contexts.For example, in challenging contexts the online experience might not always bepossible due to lack of Internet and other infrastructure like electricity. On the otherhand, while Garrison and Vaughan’s definition is more persuasive and clearer thanPicciano’s, it emphasized online experience, which was definitely influenced by thewestern context where they live and work. Perhaps blended learning should be definedwith consideration of the contextual realities as well, so that the available technologyoptions are considered in rolling out contextually relevant blended learning.Consideration of forms of blended learning in Kenya may help elaborate on theconcept from a contextual perspective of this paper.

Blended learning in KenyaBlended learning of various “blends” has been utilized in Kenya. For example, demandfor flexible delivery of university education caused Moi University through theDepartment of Technology Education to establish degree level distance learning

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programs for teachers’ study during the school vacation (Simiyu and Macharia, 2008).In their literature study, these researchers suggested that the blend in the programsconsisted of face-to-face instruction to teachers, combined with online access to coursecontent via communication channels such as email and discussion forums. From theseresearchers’ views, the university set out to improve on delivery of a distance-learningprogram by incorporating other modes of contact through online access on email anddiscussion forums. This has been the process most institutions have gone through inincorporating new technologies in learning, leading to what is blended learning today.

Another example of a blended learning is the course of Statistics in AppliedClimatology (SIAC) for meteorological staff in Kenya. This “blend” used an approachwhere students learned through the Moodle virtual learning environment as well as oncompact disk ( Janssens-Bevernage and Stern, 2006). This training program aimed atenabling producers of climatic data to develop skills in analysis of historical records. Inthe blended learning approach, it was assumed that the participants who did not haveaccess to the Internet but had access to a computer could feasibly study offline, withcontent on compact disk and online at Internet cafes to participate in discussions andsubmit assignments.

The blended learning approach in SIAC was limited to those with access tocomputers for offline study and who could also access Internet cafes for onlinecommunication. Such a program was viable in the urban and peri-urban locations inKenya. The SIAC program is relevant to the study in this paper because it wasimplemented in challenging contexts, and like in this paper, the blend incorporatedoffline content and face-to-face sessions.

The African Virtual University (AVU), which presents yet another approach toblended learning, started by offering external internationally accredited programsfrom North America via video link and the Internet to Africa, through a network oflearning centers and partner institutions. At the end of two years several challengesemerged, among them: the approach was costly; there were difficulties in scaling up theprogram to a wider audience; it was economically unviable; and did not lead tosignificant skills transfer (Gunga and Ricketts, 2007).

On realizing the shortcomings identified above, the AVU center at KenyattaUniversity in Kenya was redesigned so that students present themselves at the centerto study (Gunga and Ricketts, 2007). Rather than using only the virtual means oflearning delivery, they decided to blend with the residential face-to-face mode. Thisredesign was necessary, as the earlier approach was not viable in a challenging contextwith inadequate Internet connectivity and poor ICT infrastructure. The AVU scenariobest demonstrates the need to utilize appropriate technology solutions, such as thoseused in the research in this paper. The views by these authors also speak to theimportance of blended learning as a viable option for improving delivery of educationin a challenging context.

Blended learning in Kenya has been mainly concentrated at higher education andparticularly in universities. The AVU presents an example of early evolution of someform of blended learning starting in 1997 when the Kenyatta University AVU site wasestablished (Juma, 2006). According to Juma, AVU’s strategy was to provide a highquality product, transfer skills from the collaborating universities in North America toAfrica and maximize access. Although as mentioned by Gunga and Ricketts, this did

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not happen, we are hopeful that after changing from wholly virtual learning to blendedlearning it was possible to realize the initial aspirations.

Provision of high quality products and transfer of skills are important benefits ofblended learning where participants such as the PDTs who designed the coursereferred to in this paper gained new skills in designing technology-mediated trainingprograms. But more importantly, teachers who were heavily loaded with teaching upto 40 lessons per week were able to get quality PD content that was structured to guidethem through their planning for their lessons incorporating new teaching strategiespresented in the study content.

Blended learning was a delivery mode of choice in this study because it was felt thatit would provide teachers who were fully engaged throughout the five-day teachingweek with opportunity to improve on their practice by locating PD within their workcontexts in classrooms. They studied the content as they planned for their lessons,implemented the teaching and learning strategies in their lessons and met face-to-facewith the PDTs on Saturdays when schools were closed for the weekend. This was thebest opportunity available to teachers who had not had professional development aftertheir initial training.

Blended learning in this paper is defined as a deliberate combination of self-directedstudy of offline content deployed on tablets, with face-to-face meetings, moderated byinstructors. This definition takes into consideration access to offline PD content ontablets, coupled with teachers’ face-to-face interactions with their peers and instructors,aimed at both sharing success and finding solutions for challenges encountered duringself-directed study. Having elaborated on the understanding of blended learning, thefollowing section presents the methodology.

MethodologyThe design-based research methodology in the study comprised a number of researchmethods. The methods included ethnographic observations, qualitative interviews,narratives and documentation of design artifacts. Two PDTs and ten teachersparticipated in the study.

Narrative is a deeply human activity; according to Lewis (2012) because as humanbeings we have a symbiotic relationship with story in that we are both informed bystory and formed by story. According to Sandelowski (1991), narrative research entailsstories that include a temporal ordering of events and an effort to make something outof those events: to render, or to signify, the experiences of persons-in-flux in apersonally and culturally coherent, plausible manner. Narrative research is a way bywhich we understand experience. Simply stated, narrative inquiry is stories ofexperiences lived and told (Sherman and Rokne, 2010).

Narratives presented teachers with an important avenue for them to share theirteaching and learning experiences as they happened on their classrooms. This madetheir journey of professional development more meaningful and real as they sharedreal stories of their lived experiences as teachers. In getting PDTs and teachers tonarrate their stories, trust was a critical factor. The participants needed to trust theresearcher’s intentions, which were elaborated in the consent form they signed off andthrough explanation of objectives of the research.

Data collection through ethnographic observation entails “spending long periodswatching people, coupled with talking to them about what they are doing, thinking and

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saying, to see how they understand their world” (Delamont, 2007, p. 206). According toBryman et al. (2009) ethnographic observers must jot down fairly detailed summariesof their observations because of the frailties of human memory, while Walsh (2004)added that audio recording of interviews and visual recording of observations can beadditional and valuable aids. Ethnographers also have to make decisions about what toobserve, whom to talk to, and what to record and how (Walsh, 2004). Educationalethnographic work includes studies of change and innovation in school systems (Goetzand LeCompte, 1984).

In this study, different aspects of design and implementation of PD were observedincluding PDTs engagement in instructional design and eventually in implementationof PD with teachers. Ethnographic observations were critical to gather data on thechanges happening in the classrooms following introduction of new teachingsstrategies to teachers. The researcher engaged in ethnographic observations in theresearch for a period from the beginning of instructional design in April 2011 to thefinal face-to-face meeting held on 4 June 2011.

Qualitative interviews are a form of communication as a means of extractingdifferent forms of information from individuals and groups (Byrne, 2004). According toByrne, “the interactive nature of their practice means that interviewing is a highlyflexible but also somewhat unpredictable form of social research” (Byrne, 2004, p. 180).Rapley (2007) argued, “the interview – seen in various forms of news interviews, talkshows and documentaries, alongside research interviews – pervades and produces ourcontemporary cultural experiences and knowledges of authentic personal, private selves”(Rapley, 2007, p. 15) (emphasis in original).

In this study, the researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with all the 12research participants at entry to establish their entry levels and also at exit to gatherdata on their learning over the research period. Thus through the interviews, data thatenabled the researcher not only to gain glimpses into the personal, academic andprofessional backgrounds of the participants but also their PD needs and their gain inknowledge and skills at exit of the study.

Design research entails aspects of designing learning artifacts or a learningenvironment and research processes. It has been argued that in most cases, the productdesign process is not reported as part of design research, with many design researcherssimply reporting the ready-made structures (Kelly et al., 2008). “Documentation is thearchiving and indexing of the design research process that serves as a way ofgathering evidence of the effects of design changes, and serves to inform re-design ifchanges to a prototype prove ineffective” (Kelly et al., 2008, p. 12).

Bannan-Ritland and Baek (2008) (citing Lawson, 2004) suggested that “the processof design research subsumes many of the characteristics and processes representativeof the nature of design including locating relevant information, structuring theproblem, exercising creative insight, proposing a solution and evaluating the solution”(p. 300). The design researchers quoted in this section point to a need to report on thedesign process, which is referred to in this study as documentation of design artifacts.

In this study both the design process and designed artifacts were documented asevidence of the process and product. Documenting design process is important both asevidence of what was done in a study and also so that if one wanted to do a similarstudy, they can be guided through reference to the design process and artifacts such asthe offline website designed for this study. Some of the artifacts shared as figures in

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this paper are illustrative of the documented artifacts during the research process. Inthe following section the findings are presented following the ADDIE framework ofinstructional design.

FindingsBased on the ADDIE framework of systematic instructional design, the findingsduring in instructional design and implementation at each stage of the process arepresented. As depicted in Figure 1, collaborating as instructional designers, we workedwith tools including laptops as input devices, cameras for recording videos and tabletsas output devices. The objective was to enable teachers in a challenging context ofrural western Kenya to access quality professional development content. The findingson instructional design and implementation of blended learning in the study arepresented in the following subsections.

AnalysisAnalysis is a first stage in instructional design. It is critical to identify the problem andthe context in which the problem exists in order to design the best solution for theproblem. Thus both participant analysis and contextual analysis have to be done toidentify the problem and the conditions in which the problem exists.

The analysis stage revealed that both PDTs held masters’ degrees in education withspecialization in teacher education. They also had been involved in providing PDprograms for three years, and were interested in topics on teaching, learning andassessment. PDT1 indicated her interest to learn through the research:

Apart from understanding what is on the ground especially in the rural areas – what thechallenges there are, I believe I will also have learned how to write programs [instructionaldesign] myself. You see a lot of times we have just done [developed PD programs] on paper,but not developed a program using any other technology, which other people can access andwork on (entry interview).

The PDTs were both practicing teachers in the city of Nairobi who did not know muchabout the rural location for the research. The views by both PDTs at entry wereimportant in recognizing both their qualifications and experiences as professionaldevelopment providers and that they were keen to learn instructional design. Thus the

Figure 1.ADDIE framework ofsystematic instructionaldesign

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PDTs’ profiles identified at the analysis stage were important for moving forward tothe design stage where they not only learned instructional design, but also contributedto the content as the experts.

Of the ten teachers, five were female and five were male. One teacher was in the agerange of 50 to 59; five teachers in the age range of 40 to 49; two teachers in the agerange of 30 to 39 and two teachers in the age range 20 to 29. All the teachers had atdifferent times gone through initial teacher training, which consisted of two years inteacher training colleges located in different counties of Kenya. All the teachers wereexpected to teach all seven subjects in the primary school curriculum. None of theteachers had any specific pedagogical training within a specific subject specialization.

DesignAs noted by Liu et al. (2007), during the design phase, it is important to make sure allthe details are worked out before the development occurs, in order to provide ablueprint of an efficient, cost-effective and easier development experience. The designphase of our PD program entailed identification of appropriate technology for deliveryof content to teachers, while considering contextual realities.

We werecognizant of the fact that typically, the teachers were fully occupiedwith mostof them teaching all the 40 lessons available per week. Thus we could not, for example,require them to leave the school and go away to a training center, for a number of days. Onthe other hand there was no internet access in the rural setting that would allow for onlinelearning. In addition to lack of access to internet, the teachers also had no access tocomputers; lacked computing skills; and had no connectivity to the national electricitygrid; hence no hope for access to online technology-enabled PD like their counterparts inthe developed countries. These challenges meant that the PD content had to revolvearound what the teachers do in their classrooms. We resolved to utilize inexpensiveappropriate technologies. These were choices made during the design phase.

Appropriate technology in the study included the SmartQ tablet; open sourceHTML authoring software – eXe; and solar panels and batteries to harness solarenergy to operate the tablets. The choice of appropriate technologies for blendedlearning were motivated by Schumacher’s (1973) suggestion that we may not importvery highly sophisticated technologies for communities that do not use verysophisticated technologies. Referring to Schumacher’s guidance, Batteau (2010)suggested that large corporate sponsored technologies such as energy-intensivefactories or large-scale manufacturing were unworkable in the developing contexts andactually did damage in places where they were supposed to alleviate poverty. It wastherefore not possible, for example, to source for and install a working computer lab inthe rural setting before implementing PD for teachers.

For the PDTs who had never engaged in instructional design before, the designprocess was enlightening. The following excerpts are indicative of the PDTs’ learningthrough the process. PDT1 said:

This approach opens new horizons for me, in the sense that we have new ways to reach out toteachers. I have learned instructional design. I don’t think I have ever done that before; sincein the other courses that I have participated in, the content we used was already prepared. Sofor the first time I actually did participate in designing instruction. Not only being able todesign, but also be able to upload it onto a device that can then be used by teachers (exitinterview).

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Reflecting on her most exciting moment when she thought her expectations were metduring instructional design, PDT2 stated:

My most exciting moments during instructional design were the authoring part and thenwhen we were able to record the videos and the audios and were actually able to see themcome live on the tablet – we were able to access them. I was excited that I can actually dothat! (Exit interview).

ThePDTscametotheresearch aspractitionerswho hadskills,knowledgeandexperiencein providing PD. They, however, also brought authenticity to the PD program as expertsin the Kenyan curriculum, who contributed in designing contextually relevant content.Assuchweplayed complementaryroles – thePDTsascontentexpertsandtheresearcheras the instructional design and blended learning expert.

DevelopmentDevelopment phase is the stage where all pieces of the project are organized and builtaccording to the design plan (Liu et al., 2007). In other words, the development stage iswhere all the various pieces are brought together to make a complete program readyfor implementation. The different parts envisioned in the design have to “come alive”before having a final product.

The development phase of our instructional design process entailed creation oflearning content in several formats. The self-study content was first written as aflowing document created in Microsoft Word program. The different activities wereidentified and slotted in their relevant sections. Where there was need for a video clip,audio clip, PDF reading or a picture, these sections and the relevant storyboard orreference were identified.

The PDTs as practitioners, hence content experts developed all the storyboards thatwere recorded either as audio role-plays or video clips. In total we had three videosembedded in the PD content. We also recorded two audio clips and incorporated in thecontent. We included a number of photographs as well to aid learning. Multimediacontent was either sourced from the research school as videos or pictures, audiorecordings of the PDTs engaging in role-play or global web content. Plate 1 is anexample of an artifact of two storyboards of a role-play.

Eventually, once all the required multimedia content was ready; that is text, audio,video, and pictorial, the next task was to author web content in HTML format using eXe –an open source eLearning platform developed to assist teachers and academics publishweb content without the need for proficiency in HTML or XML markup (exelearning wiki,2011). Since the text content had already been written in Microsoft word, it was easy tocopy and paste the content in eXe eLearning authoring platform thus activating it asHTML. We then exported the file as a self-contained website as in Plate 2. The PDTs hadnot engaged in such a process before, so it was particularly interesting and exciting tolearn through participation in authoring content in HTML format.

The experiences at the development phase of instructional design were expressed asPDT1 commented:

During the instructional design, we went through [a] step-by-step process so that we can do itourselves. We can plan, upload [multimedia content] to the tablets, delete the information,plan afresh, design a different course and do it all over again. And it is what we plan to doafter this. For us it was a learning experience (face-to-face meeting, 3).

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PDT2 also commented:

I have learned instructional design. I don’t think I have ever done that before. In the othercourses, that I have participated in before, what we have used is already prepared. So for thefirst time, I did actually participate in designing instruction. There was something else veryinteresting; you know having to do audio and video recording to further support teachers whoare studying on their own (exit interview).

Plate 1.Screenshot of storyboards

in development

Plate 2.Screenshot of PD content

exported as website

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PDT2 further stated that:

I had thought that I could just upload the multimedia content and it would work. Then thedisappointment at times, when some of the media could not work when we uploaded, forexample, the audio. That was time that I really learned (exit interview).

The excerpts above are indicative of the learning by PDTs who had never engaged insystematic instructional design before. Through this research PDTs were able tochange the way they prepare professional development content from one-offworkshops and seminars to longer blended learning format as indicated in the findingsduring the implementation.

ImplementationImplementation stage provides an opportunity for the instruction designed to be put towork in the environment where the need has been identified. Liu et al. (2007) haveintimated that the main instructional design task for the implementation phase is toobserve how the audience uses the product and to evaluate and report the findings.Implementation entailed first of all bringing all the ten teachers together – a section ofthem can be seen in Plate 3. The first step was for the teachers to go through the basicsof using a tablet, charging the external reservoir batteries using the solar panels andalso recharging the tablets from the reserved power. This was an important learningsession of the first face-to-face meeting led by PDTs, who had been part of the team ofteachers who were involved in usability testing of the whole process a year earlier.

For four hours the teachers participated in the first of three face-to-face meetings.After the teachers had exhausted all the questions and comments, they were ready forself-directed study armed with the content uploaded on tablet devices. They studiedand planned for selected lessons following teaching strategies spread over four units(i.e. activity-based learning; cooperative learning; inquiry-based learning; and use ofthe community and environment as a resource) and the various activities they were toimplement under each of the units. Since this was a whole new experience for theteachers, the researcher was at hand in the school to provide any technical support to

Plate 3.Teachers during aface-to-face session on useof tablets

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the teachers including troubleshooting on tablets throughout the four-week duration ofthe course. In essence the researcher provided the technology stewardship to theteachers before other stewards emerged amongst the teachers to play the stewardshiprole (Wenger et al., 2009).

Teachers could reach PDTs on phone call, during the week, for any consultations oncontent and implementation of the teaching strategies. After a fortnight, the PDTswere available for a second face-to-face meeting where teachers shared their successes,challenges and sought for guidance on difficulties encountered.

On use of the tablets, there were major successes as well as some challengesrecognized. For example, the teachers were all able to quickly learn how to use thetablets in the four hours of first face-to-face meeting. However, during the four-weekself-directed study on tablets, some challenges concerning troubleshooting of thetablets and charging emerged. Emily said:

Difficulties; may be the handling of the systems. You realize that during the time we were tocharge from the solar, it [battery] was not able to take power. It could take time. You find thatthe tablet itself sometimes may hang. You operate and then it disappears without yourknowledge [inactive touch screen] (exit interview, 5).

While there were troubles like those raised by Emily, the teachers also confirmed thatthey had learned how to handle troubleshooting when the tablets could not work.Dennis said:

In the beginning computers [tablets] were jammed. But with time we were able now to accessthe information. We used to invite you [researcher] to solve the problems. You never touchedmy device [tablet] for support, but the ones you supported were able to share with me. Ilearned how to resolve the problems. So whenever it could jam, I could not actually hold backand wait for you. I could give it out and they resolve for me. For example, I learned how toresolve the issues from Josh. I could give him and he fixes the problem (exit interview, 3).

Teachers as well contributed during face-to-face meetings on how they were fairing onwith their professional development. Nita, with a burning desire to tell the story ofwhat happened in her grade one class stated:

May I share my experiences? They [slow learners] were advantaged in that, for my case, Iencouraged those who were inactive in the group to be involved. For example, I had a girl,Kate. Initially she was just seated alone. So I remember I went to where she was seatedseveral times, just to make her also take part in the counting. I attached her to whoever I hadchosen as a group leader. I told the group leader to ensure that Kate was also involved inarranging and counting, because I had realized that she was not participating. I had toencourage her to also arrange and count (face-to-face meeting, 2).

On use of learning materials in the teaching process, teachers shared experiences onthe need to improvise learning materials, while also voicing concerns aboutexpectations to improvise everything. They said there should be a balance betweenimprovisation and purchase of teaching and learning materials. These views arosefrom Emah’s conversation during face-o-face meeting on how she worked with gradetwo students to create paint from leaves and flowers:

I was handling a creative arts class. As Josh said, it is tiresome to find materials, and if you donot have materials, learning won’t take place. We were doing a leaf-printing lesson and I hadsome problems with the paints; although children participated very well. In fact, those ones

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who are always dull are the ones who made the best prints compared to those ones who arealways active. For the paints we used, I just took the learners out and they used theenvironment. They used leaves and flowers, and then they mixed with some water. Then theymade paint and that is what they used for printing. But it [print] didn’t come out clearly. Sothere is need to buy some of the paints (Emah, face-to-face meeting, 2).

Emah’s views suggest that not only does the local environment provide materials thatcan be used in making learning authentic for the students, but also that some studentswho may have been missing out on learning because of their learning by doing stylebenefit when learning with learning materials.

The excerpts above shared during interviews and face-to-face meetings capturedthe feelings of satisfaction and achievement through the blended learning process.That indeed we had made small steps towards reforming the way professionaldevelopment can be delivered to teachers in a rural setting who work in verychallenging conditions. In the following section, findings on evaluation, the final stageof the ADDIE process is the focus.

EvaluationAccording to Allen (2006), evaluation is the central feedback “network” in the wholeADDIE process. This is a critical element because the ADDIE process is iterative andthe product or prototype should ideally improve at each stage. Feedback throughevaluation is therefore critical at each stage of the ADDIE process. In other wordsevaluation runs through all the stages of the ADDIE process. Allen (2006) clarified thatevaluation activities are integrated into each phase of the process.

During the design phase of the PD program, as instructional designers we keptchallenging our decisions to ascertain the best fit for each of the activities, multimediacontent and the technologies. We, for example, had to really convince ourselvesthrough very consistent and genuine reflections on the process that one teachingstrategy such as cooperative learning would be best delivered through audio role play,rather than reading text or viewing a video clip. As we went through these steps, wewere basically doing evaluation in order to make decisions best suited for thatparticular moment.

During the implementation phase, evaluation took several forms. Among theevaluation procedures were: researcher observation of lessons delivered by theteachers, fortnightly face-to-face meetings between teachers and the PDTs, as well asone-on-one discussions between the researcher and the teachers. In the face-to-facemeetings, each teacher spoke about their successes and challenges during the previoustwo weeks. As the teachers shared their experiences, their colleagues and PDTsprovided feedback on the experiences shared. The face-to-face meetings hence played acritical role as teachers discussed their teaching practice. Since evaluation is sometimesconsidered as quality management (Dark, 2003), discussions at face-to-face meetingshelped improve teachers performance as was evident in subsequent lessons and in theviews expressed by teachers as they shared their experiences.

The PDTs provided the feedback to teachers as part of the evaluation process. Forexample, PDT1 commended on one of the aspects one teacher mentioned as follows:

Mika talked of a teaching philosophy. And because this curriculum is lived in the classroom;at the end of the day, whoever writes it [curriculum], it is just on paper – it is just paper-baseduntil it gets to the classroom, and that is where it is lived. And that is why the personal

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interpretation of each teacher makes it very different. And the experience of each classroomvery different, depending on how I have interpreted that curriculum, how I feel it restricts me.If I decide it is too restrictive, then I know that mine is just this [narrow way of curriculuminterpretation] (face-to-face meeting, 3).

The foregoing findings through the instructional design and implementation ofblended learning for teachers’ professional development set the stage for consideringimplications of such an approach in a challenging context. These discussions andimplications are presented in the following section.

Discussion and implicationsThere has been rapid growth in emerging technology over the past decade, thusimpacting greatly on the way business is done in different sectors. In teaching practice,there has been tremendous move towards integration of these emerging technologies indelivery of educational programs. While the changes are laudable, there is a largepopulation in the developing contexts such as rural Kenya like in many otherdeveloping countries that has not fully benefited from the tremendous growth of theemerging technologies.

The quality of teaching and learning in challenging contexts will not be realized byplacing one laptop in each student’s hands so that they can figure out on their own howto learn, as the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization would like us to believe(Watters, 2012). It is our contention that the teacher’s role to facilitate learning willcontinue to be important. This is consistent with the zone of proximal development(ZPD), which provides that learning is mediated through the guidance of a morecapable other (Vygotsky, 1978).

Through this study it was possible to provide learning resources prepared withconsideration of the contextual realities. As researcher and professional developmentproviders, we were able to avail locally relevant experiences to the teachers. Consideredagainst projects such as the OLPC initiative, where it is assumed that learners onlyneed a laptop and they will be able to learn on their own (Watters, 2012), we suggestthat teachers are needed to facilitate learning. Teachers can and do make a difference inlearning. They need to be empowered to perform this noble role rather than investingin initiatives that aim to replace them with technology, as the OLPC would have it.Teachers can make learning a pleasant experience for their students if provided withcontextually relevant and needs-based professional development.

We are hopeful that the open source community will hopefully continue to play anincreasingly important role in availing technology to challenging contexts. Openeducational resources, for example, may be an important catalyst for access tocontextually relevant content particularly for challenging contexts such as ruralKenya. Open source resources such as Ubuntu-based Linux apps, and OERs played acrucial role in enabling teachers in this study to access PD. Perhaps the African originof the term “Ubuntu” is relevant here as it means a sense of community where peoplelive and operate in a mutually supportive environment (Ford and Batchelor, 2007). TheUbuntu spirit was evident in this study as teachers recognized that they needed eachother as they studied and implemented their newly acquired teaching strategies. It isour hope that the Ubuntu spirit will live on among the teachers in the study as a meansof growing their nascent community.

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This study demonstrated that teachers and PD providers in challenging contextscan both benefit from a respectful contextually situated approach to PD provision. Theannual Global Monitoring Reports for Education for All published since 2003recurrently emphasize the need to improve the quality of teaching in challengingcontexts. The 2005 Report argued that how teachers are prepared to teach is a criticalindicator of education quality. The report states, “preparing teachers for the challengesof a changing world means equipping them with subject-specific expertise, effectiveteaching practices, an understanding of technology and the ability to workcollaboratively with other teachers, members of the community and parents”(UNESCO, 2004, p. 108).

The study in this paper was all about the quote above from UNESCO. If theEducation for All and the two Millennium Development Goals related to education areto be achieved, the quality of teaching will be a major factor to consider. We areconvinced that this study might be part of the answer for addressing the quality ofteaching especially in challenging contexts. To accelerate the realization of quality ofteaching there is a need to radically restructure the way teachers’ professionaldevelopment is conducted. This study presents one tested way.

Arising from the findings on the process of design and implementation of blendedlearning for PD, we affirm that it is possible to leapfrog both PD providers and teachersto use emerging technologies. It was possible for teachers to quickly grasp the use oftablets, which were appropriate tools for the task, yet have not been implemented in thelocation of our study before. Our experiences as instructional designers and theteachers’ experiences as PD participants confirmed the ease with which innovation canbe adopted and utilized for improving teaching practice.

It is important to make appropriate technologies accessible to users in challengingcontexts and then other aspects to do with technology use and management will followthrough. That we were able to harness the abundantly available solar energy in ruralKenya to operate the tablets, points to the potential opportunities available to enhanceaccess to learning in rural parts of Kenya and other similar places. Thus the fear of theunknown should never be a hindrance when considering introducing ICT-enablededucation programs for those in challenging contexts.

We emphasize that there is a possibility of reaching a larger number of teachersthrough use of appropriate technologies such as tablets, for professional development.The ten teachers, who participated in this research, reported having availed the PDcontent on the tablets to their colleagues who were not part of the study. The PDTs onthe other hand committed to continue providing PD through blended learning to otherteachers in other parts of Kenya using the technology tools used in the study reportedin this paper.

We acknowledge that PD offered through blended learning on appropriatetechnologies, provides teachers with personalized learning. Studying throughself-directed approaches, teachers are able to pace their study. They adjust theirself-directed study to suit their own schedules determined by their workload and othercommunal engagements. The cost effectiveness of this type of PD approach cannot beignored. It is possible to save on time and money that could have been used infacilitating teachers to attend conventional PD sessions away from their school.

Finally, we confirmed that working with local expertise further strengthened thismode of PD delivery. As indicated earlier, the PDTs took a commitment to roll out

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more programs for teachers both in other rural parts and in other challenging contextssuch as slums in cities. Such commitment points to a sustainable approach to offeringprofessional development to teachers who need it the most. Through such sustainableapproach to PD provision, we contributed in a small way towards achievement of bothMillennium Goals related to education and the six Education for All goals. Bothinitiatives emphasize the use of technology in delivery of education. The blendedlearning approach in the study in this paper is one tested way that could contributetowards realizing these global aspirations.

Suggested further researchBased on the findings in this study, we offer some recommendations for furtherresearch. The recommendations include:

. scaling up this study in other challenging contexts following the blendedapproach to learning;

. a follow-up study in the original research school in rural western Kenya toestablish how the interventions in this study fared especially the emergingcommunity of practice; and

. an extended and continued literature study on professional developmentinitiatives (including blended learning) in East Africa, in particular, and Africa ingeneral.

ConclusionBased on our learning through the design and implementation process of theprofessional development, we observed that teaching practices in a rural andchallenging context can be changed by working with local experts to createlocally-relevant content for needs-based PD, implemented in a blended learningapproach using appropriate technology. It is possible to make a significant change insuch contexts where teachers rarely have opportunity for professional development, bymaking available appropriate technologies for blended learning on emergingtechnologies, such as tablets while working with local expertise as instructionaldesigners.

Through this study we actualized theoretical notions on the use of OpenEducational resources (OERs) by implementing them in real contexts in practice. It isone thing to speak about the availability and access to learning resources through theOER movement; however, as established in this study, there are other contextualconsiderations to be made when implementing OERs in the real contexts. For example,through this study it has been established that some of the OERs such as the audiorecordings cannot be used universally across Africa because of contextual differenceslike the regional accents. People from North Africa, West Africa, East Africa andSouthern Africa all have their distinctive accents and these have to be taken intoconsideration while advocating for use of OERs. While working with PDTs on contentdevelopment we had to record our own audio content for this study due to this practicalreality of African regional accents.

It was also established through this study it is possible for teachers to participate inwork place-based professional development without leaving their schools andclassrooms for extended periods. Heavy workloads notwithstanding, teachers can be

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facilitated to improve their teaching practices through their own practice. It is alsopossible to improve teachers’ teaching practices and learners learning experiences,through blended learning on appropriate technologies, implemented within thework-contexts in schools and classrooms as happened in the study in this paper.

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About the authorsBrown Onguko is Assistant Professor at the Aga University – Institute for EducationalDevelopment, Eastern Africa. Prior to joining the Aga Khan University, he worked as AssistantDirector in the Ministry of Education, Kenya in the Directorate and Policy and Planning. While atthe Ministry, he was the National Coordinator Education for All (EFA). Brown’s researchinterests include: mobile and blended learning, and appropriate technology in teachers’professional development. The author earned his PhD from the University of Calgary, Alberta,Canada. He also has a Master of Science in Educational and Training Systems Design from theUniversity of Twente, The Netherlands, and a Master of Education in Philosophy of Educationfrom Kenyatta University. Brown Onguko is the corresponding author and can be contacted at:brown.onguko@aku.edu

Lucy Jepchumba is a Teacher at Ngara Girls Secondary School in Nairobi. Her teachingsubjects include English and Literature. She is holder of MEd in Teacher Education and is atrained Professional Development Teacher (PDT).

Petronilla Gaceri is a Teacher at Uthiru Girls’ High School. She holds a Master of Education(Teacher Education) from Aga Khan University, Dar es Salaam. She is a ProfessionalDevelopment Teacher and has interests in improving student-teacher interaction throughstudent centered learning strategies for better learner outcomes. She has a great interest inteachers’ professional development.

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