Focus on blended learning, the perfect blend of technology and pedagogy
Collaborative learning, social learning, microlearning... today's training family includes blended learning.
Behind this " hybrid learning " lies a combination of online and face-to-face training methods, enabling learners to benefit from the advantages of each device. The promise of flexibility in a constantly changing professional world!
But what is the reality behind blended learning? What are the main benefits? How can you implement blended learning in your company, and with what tools?
Welcome to this masterclass. 🧑🏫
Blended learning: definition
What is blended learning?
Blendedlearning is defined as a training method that combines :
- face-to-face training, with courses given in a classroom ;
- distance e-learning, i.e. via an online platform.
Blended learning thus takes on many faces, since it's up to each training designer to decide on the scheme or "mix" that suits them best, with the most appropriate face-to-face/distance ratio according to their objectives and target audience.
It's therefore a format that appeals to many organizations, since training courses become more accessible and flexible, without marring the necessary interaction between learners and trainer.
💡 Please note: we often talk about blended learning in the context of professional learning. Nevertheless, it is also developing within our school system, as evidenced by the provision by some schools of digital teaching tools, accessible at home and intended for the completion of certain exercises.
What's the difference with e-learning?
First of all, what is e-learning?
E-learning refers to the use of digital technologies to deliver distance learning courses, via dedicated platforms supporting a variety of formats (videos, interactive text modules, audio, etc.).
On the other hand, as we have just seen, blended learning combines this approach with face-to-face teaching sessions.
Whereas e-learning takes place exclusively on the Internet, blended learning alternates between virtual and physical, enriching the educational experience.
Characteristics of blended learning
In reality, blended learning manifests itself in many different ways, and it is possible to encounter many different configurations.
It can take the form of
- Flipped classrooms, i.e. courses delivered mainly online, followed by face-to-face sessions, e.g. workshops to put acquired knowledge into practice or to answer questions.
- Tutored face-to-face. Here, training takes place mainly in the classroom, with modules to be completed at home to complement, deepen and anchor learning.
- A more or less equal mix of the two.
At the same time, thanks to e-learning platforms and their collaborative tools, learners pursue discussions with each other or with the teacher, via forums or videoconferences. Blended learning therefore goes hand in hand with social learning, encouraging more interaction than 100% e-learning.
👉 Whatever the chosen configuration, the main characteristics of blended learning can be summed up in a few words:
- combination of modalities ;
- flexibility ;
- interaction and collaboration ;
- diversity of resources ;
- continuous assessment.
When should blended learning be used?
Who is blended learning for?
Blended learning is aimed at all learners, whether students or employees.
However, because of its flexible nature, it is an undeniable opportunity for people with time constraints or travel difficulties:
- current employees wishing to upgrade their skills
- people undergoing professional retraining
- telecommuting employees
- expatriate workers
- disabled individuals, etc.
😀 It is therefore a very attractive solution, offering the best learning modalities for many profiles.
Use case: an example of blended learning for onboarding
To understand how and under what circumstances to implement blended learning in your organization, nothing beats a little use case. 😉 And today, focus on onboarding. 👉
💡 Did you know? One in five employees leaves their new company after three months. The question of onboarding employees is therefore becoming increasingly central, all the more so in an age of talent shortages.
That's why it's important to put in place a real program to help new recruits integrate smoothly, and avoid them feeling overwhelmed after just a few days.
This is where blended learning comes in:
- You provide the new employee with all the necessary resources, such as internal procedures, even before he or she joins the company. That way, they can consult them easily and at their own pace.
- At the same time, you organize face-to-face sessions, in particular practical training sessions, which are essential for answering the many questions the employee may have as he or she discovers his or her new role. What's more, in this way, they begin to forge links with their team.
- Finally, you can set up dedicated forums in your internal communication tools, to encourage collaboration and enable the newcomer to quickly resolve any problems encountered.
Blended learning: advantages and disadvantages
The advantages of blended learning
Blended learning benefits from the advantages of both distance and face-to-face training. Here are the main ones to remember:
- ✅ Training flexibility and adaptation to time constraints; you can follow the lessons from wherever you want when you want.
- ✅ Accessibility of online courses and resources, in favor of learner autonomy.
- ✅ Personalized learning paths, adapted to each individual's level and pace. For example, the trainer can decide to add or modify content to compensate for the difficulties of certain students. At the same time, face-to-face interaction enables finer-grained monitoring and real-time adjustments.
- ✅ Interactivity, thanks to online activities (discussion forums, quizzes, etc.), but also to face-to-face sessions that encourage direct exchanges.
- ✅ Cost and time savings, due to fewer trips to a physical location.
- ✅ Enhanced learner engagement, as alternating between learning modes maintains their interest and reduces monotony.
- ✅ Training efficiency. Blended learning, by multiplying both possibilities and formats, provides trainers with all the cards they need to anchor their content in memory. What's more, the tools required for the "online" part often incorporate performance analysis functions, which are very useful for learning how to improve.
And the drawbacks?
As with the advantages, the disadvantages are also related to those commonly encountered in both formats.
Indeed, blended learning, while maintaining a face-to-face approach, also includes a digital component. And this part sometimes proves problematic for employees who are too far removed from digital technology (although less so than for 100% online training 😉 ...). So, at least at the outset, you need to consider supporting less technophile profiles in their discovery of these learning methods.
Moreover, the organization of face-to-face sessions maintains the associated constraints, whether in terms of administration (schedule management, reservations, etc.), travel or expenses.
Last but not least, the implementation of blended learning remains complex, especially for organizations just starting out. It requires rigorous planning and content design, and of course the deployment of an appropriate technological environment.
How to deploy blended learning in the workplace in 7 steps?
To deploy blended learning in your company, follow these 7 steps:
- Needs analysis. First, assess the pedagogical objectives of the blended learning training you wish to set up, and the skills you need to develop. In parallel, identify the target audience to understand their needs and where they really stand in relation to these skills.
- Program design. Then design a training program combining online modules and face-to-face sessions. Make sure that these courses complement and reinforce each other.
- Select the tools required for e-learning (a Learning Management System, for example?). We'll come back to the question of software a little later.
- Training trainers in the new technologies and teaching methods of blended learning. Indeed, they need to be comfortable on both fronts, online and face-to-face.
- Communication with all participants to explain the objectives and benefits of blended learning. This step is essential to remove any obstacles to change.
- Implementation and management. Deploy the program on a small scale for a pilot group. In this way, you can gather feedback and adjust your training program before rolling it out on a larger scale.
- Collect feedback from all participants after each training cycle, with a view to continuous improvement.
Which platforms to use for blended learning?
Of course, blended learning requires a technological device for the distance learning part.
To choose the right platform, ask yourself a number of questions:
- What are my learning objectives?
- What is the volume of participants or training programs with which the tool will be confronted?
- What functionalities do I need, whether in terms of content creation, evaluation, planning, etc.?
- What level of collaboration do I expect?
- What is the structure of my training courses? In other words, what is my face-to-face/off-site ratio?
Depending on the situation, a simple knowledge-sharing medium may suffice. This is the case for our onboarding example, where it's simply a matter of providing the new recruit with the documentation required for his or her integration.
But for more demanding training, it's better to turn to more sophisticated solutions, such as LMSs. These Learning Management Systems are designed to manage, monitor and evaluate online training programs. With these software packages, you can create educational content that is far more engaging than that created on a simple Word document: interaction, gamification, variation of formats with video or audio, etc.
🛠️ For example, the 360Learning LMS, designed for small and medium-sized businesses and large corporations, provides effective support in engaging your learners. It integrates powerful functionalities with an emphasis on collaborative learning and, of course, blended learning. 360Learning makes it easy to create and manage hybrid training programs, enabling employees to benefit from both online content and face-to-face interaction. And thanks to the software's flexibility, the course can be perfectly adapted to the needs of each learner.
Finally, what does the future hold for blended learning?
In the final analysis, blended learning is much more widespread than you might think, because today, even in face-to-face courses, resources are often available for consultation online. And with good reason: more and more of our lives take place on the web, whether it's our leisure activities, our shopping, our social life... it's hardly surprising that the training sector is following suit!
Blended learning offers many advantages, combining the best of both worlds: online learning, yes, but not only. Thanks to face-to-face learning, learners can more easily overcome any obstacles they encounter, and benefit from a collective emulation that contributes to their commitment.
What's more, blended learning, like training in general, takes advantage of technological advances, particularly those relating to AI. One example is the development of adaptive learning, enabling us to take advantage of increasingly "customized" courses... and therefore more and more effective! 💪
Article translated from French