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There are some marked differences between K12 models for blended learning and those found in higher education. Nevertheless, there are some similarities in the K12 and higher ed contexts that bear examination. At the very least, the diversity of K12 approaches in this report underscores the many variables that can affect one's "personal blend" when conceptualizing blended learning.

The results of questionnaire responses and document analysis from eight Canadian universities form the basis for this 2011 report on the state of blended learning in Canadian higher education.

Many of us who teach in higher education do not have a teaching background, nor do we have experience in curriculum development. We know our content areas and are experts in our fields, but structuring learning experiences for students may or may not be our strong suit. We've written a syllabus (or were handed one to use) and have developed some pretty impressive assessments, projects, and papers in order to evaluate our students' progress through the content. Sometimes we discover that students either don't perform well on the learning experiences we've designed or they experience a great deal of frustration with what they consider high stakes assignments. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978) proposes that it's important to determine the area (zone) between what a student can accomplish unaided and what that same student can accomplish with assistance.

Many of us who teach in higher education do not have a teaching background, nor do we have experience in curriculum development. We know our content areas and are experts in our fields, but structuring learning experiences for students may or may not be our strong suit. We've written a syllabus (or were handed one to use) and have developed some pretty impressive assessments, projects, and papers in order to evaluate our students' progress through the content. Sometimes we discover that students either don't perform well on the learning experiences we've designed or they experience a great deal of frustration with what they consider high stakes assignments. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978) proposes that it's important to determine the area (zone) between what a student can accomplish unaided and what that same student can accomplish with assistance.

Hybrid Pedagogy is an incredible resource for digital pedagogy, higher ed, and teaching and learning in the 21st century. I responded to this post; I agree with some, but not all of it. A good read.

Excellent summary of some of the online commentary and a great synthesis model for activity design that goes beyond simple lecture flipping

This infographic is interesting but scroll to the end and view the dramatic changes in student outcomes. This is a high school example but it seems that similar results could also be seen in remedial or gen ed type coursework in higher ed. Comments have some interesting resources, too.

This is great information--thanks for sharing!

It can be challenging to get "remedial" learners in higher ed to dive into doing work before class. Using resources like Khan Academy also mean your focus is on procedure, not understanding; if somebody needs to get through that math-course-you'll-never-use then it's a good too, but if real understanding is the goal then something more conceptually based (and something that's correct more consistently) would be in order.

"Remixing the curriculum - compiling resources from a variety of sources such as free online texts, proprietary information from publishers, and self-created media such as podcasts - is starting to push its way into K-12 and higher education. Get ahead of the curve with these tips for remixing your own online course materials."

Fabulous! Thank you for this. I find that the more we learn in BlendKit, the more I feel that I need to learn. Having a list of resources to start with is priceless.

Was surprised not to see Padlet included; depending on objective, it's a simple way to get feedback, brainstorm or for students to add content/opinion in a course (2 layouts: sticky note or horizontal which enables more text and so becomes easy to read;) great for sharing multi-media as well.

I recently remembered this article published in The Chronicle of Higher Ed a few years ago. It speaks volumes about some pros and cons (mostly pros) of using technologies like Twitter, online office hours, video chat, etc. to connect to super-sized classes. Though I do not have personal experience in teaching courses with this many students, I still think this teacher has found a way to utilize modern technologies to connect to students in new and important ways. He has taken what many of us would consider a nightmare classroom situation (teaching over 2000 students!) and made it into a classroom experience like no other. If you read through the comments, you'll see that his former students say he has changed their lives and that his was the best class they've ever taken. It's amazing to me that he is/was able to create personal connections with so many students using technology. Basically, if this guy can do it with 2,000+ students, then many of us should strongly consider how we might benefit from these technologies in our own hybrid courses.

A good resource here. JISCNetskills provides training throughout the UK Higher Ed sector and they have a lot of their course guides online. This gives a very good basic introduction to theories and models of elearning. Some good ideas on sequencing.

The Center for Teaching & Learning at the University of Texas-Austin offers useful information including a basic framework, benefits and references about flipping, and a quick-start guide with tips, techniques, and tools.

The University of Manitoba's Learning Technologies Centre has assembled a brief literature review on blended learning formats/definitions. This brief compilation surfaces the complexities inherent in blended learning approaches

The LTC server at the University of Manitoba has been decommissioned and so this link no longer works. In my (ultimately unsuccessful) search for this lit review, I came across this 2011 COHERE report on blended learning: http://cohere.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/REPORT-ON-BLENDED-LEARNING-FINAL1.pdf; there's a decent reference list at the end of the document. COHERE is a Canadian group, Collaboration for Online Higher Education and Research.

This is an audio interview about online learning, mostly focusing on MOOCs. An interesting point of view regarding the availability and egalitarian nature of MOOCs as opposed to education provided through expensive universities. Although this is not exactly blended learning, as it focuses on totally online courses, I though it would be an interesting addition to the discourse.

Many of us who teach in higher education do not have a teaching background, nor do we have experience in curriculum development. We know our content areas and are experts in our fields, but structuring learning experiences for students may or may not be our strong suit.