Upon reflection, I realized that this parallels the introduction of eLearning. Many people had oversimplified what eLearning meant; they defined it as replacing instructors with computers.
All learning occurs through a combination of different activites. Why should eLearning be different?)
The formal-versus-informal debate shouldn’t be happening at all. Extremists on both sides miss the point that this is not either/or. It’s shades of gray.
Imagine, if you will, a learning mixer. You could slide the switches to give the learners a little more control here while shaving development time there. And so on. Here’s a hypothetical learning mixer.
You don’t achieve the best mix by moving all of the sliders to the top or all to the bottom.
The Delivery slider moves from courses and push (formal) to conversations and pull (informal).
"Quality Matters (QM) is a faculty-centered, peer review process that is designed to certify the quality of online and blended courses. QM is a leader in quality assurance for online education and has received national recognition for its peer-based approach and continuous improvement in online education and student learning."