By Asma Gulzar
In the world full of technologies, education is no longer confined to only traditional physical classrooms. Different pedagogical approaches are now employed to enhance the quality of education. One of the most impactful approaches is blended learning.
Blended learning is a teaching-learning approach that integrates traditional face-to-face instruction with online learning through digital technology. It represents more than just a transition from in-person to online education; it also offers synchronous environment for students to participate remotely in online sessions, as well as asynchronous access to learning materials such as audio-video lectures and presentations, available anytime and anywhere (Vithanapathirana, 2021).
Teachers should engage students with online quizzes and assignments, and offer interactive platforms, simulations, or educational games to enhance learning.”
Asma Gulzar
Blended learning has a number of significant advantages as an innovative educational approach. By integrating self-directed, instructor-led, remote, and traditional classroom instruction, it provides a flexible and high quality learning experience. This method is both cost effective and time saving, offering students additional learning choices, increasing learning resources, and promoting independence and competency.
This method of learning is also effective for developing and sharing cultural understanding on a universal scale. It connects people, activities, and events together to exchange the knowledge, ideas, experiences, and learning materials. It has positive outcomes on students’ performance as it enhances their cognitive competencies such as critical thinking, problem solving and decision making, confidence building and is said to improve the quality of education (Ashfaq, 2023).
As mentioned above, the introduction of blended learning has a significantly positive impact on education. However, we still face challenges in implementing it within our education system, including a lack of resources and logistical support, insufficient knowledge about technology, resistance to adopting new methods, and student disengagement (Irum, 2020).
Blended learning caters to tech-savvy students, personalizing education and fostering lifelong learning.
Asma Gulzar
The question now is how we can make blended learning effective in our case. For this, universities should implement policies that include establishing their own learning management systems and providing technology training for teachers. Furthermore, universities should ensure proper resources are available for both students and teachers. Teachers should engage students through online assessments such as quizzes and assignments and offer interactive platforms, simulations, or educational games to enhance the learning experience.
Today’s generation is surrounded by technologies and gadgets. To boost their motivation and academic outcome, it is necessary to adapt our strategies as per their needs. Blended learning, which combines traditional and online methods, has proven to be an effective and interactive strategy for students. This method personalizes education while promoting collaboration and supporting lifelong learning .
References
1. Ashfaq, M. S. (2023). A Blended Learning Approach to Improve Student’s Performance in Higher Education. Pakistan Social Sciences Review, 7(4), 261-273. https://doi.org/10.35484/pssr.2023(7-IV)23
2. Irum, S. (2020). Blended Learning: Innovative challenge faced by students at University level in Pakistan. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 13, 4386-4395. https://doi.org/10.17485/IJST/v13i42.1212
3. Vithanapathirana, M. (2021). Blended Learning as an Emerging Approach to Teacher Education in Higher Education in Sri Lanka: Lessons from a State-of-the-Art Review. University of Colombo Review, 2, 61. https://doi.org/10.4038/ucr.v2i1.39
“The author of this blog is an MScN scholar at the Aga Khan University, Karachi with a keen interest in teaching pedagogies within the nursing field.”.
