In part #1 we discussed the virtues and advantages of classroom instruction. It is the most reliable form of pedagogy to ensure that a student reaches efflorescence. [ef-lÉ�-RESS] – Reach an optimal state of development. I should note that some educators believe that blended learning or blended education, e-learning, and remote learning do not include classroom instruction. This definition is provided by “teachThought”, updated May 18, 2020. This is a website that promotes teaching teachers how to educate students. This is the last requirement. [EKS-I-jÉ�n-see] – A crisis that requires immediate action in education.
I’m also referencing an article from “What Blended Learning Is and Isn’t” from March 4, 2016 so that my readers can gauge the difference in definitions and how Synchronicity [Ë�siNGkrÉ�Ë�nisÉ�dÄ�] – The state of two or more things or events that are in perfect synchronization are NOT happening now or in the immediate future. According to the author, Clifford Maxwell, there are 3 definitions of blended learning. They are 1st, “blended learning is any formal education program in which a student learns, at least in part, through online learning, with some element of student control over time, place, route, and/or pace“. The second definition, “the student learns at least in part in a supervised physical location away from home“. And 3rd, “the modalities along the learning path of each student within a course or subject are connected to provide an integrated learning experience“.
I included these two definitions because they are offered by the Academy – “a group of authorities and leaders in a field of scholarship, art, etc., who are often allowed to dictate standards, prescribe methods, and criticize new ideas“. The point I am making is that definitions have the potential to be detrimental [del-I-teer-ee-uhs] – Harmful; harmful: harmful influences” on education in any form! The reason I say this is because of what Clifford Maxwell includes and the more recent definition does not; some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace! Online learning institutions DO NOT allow this type of instruction to ANY STUDENT at any level of education in this country!
Let me illustrate with a personal observation from my 10 years of online enrollment. And at this point let me say that NO student gets the education he pays for. Let me focus on the element of student control. Let me say very clearly; “there is no control over the time, the place you learn, the curriculum (path) and certainly never the pace” at which students need to learn. It is a publicity tool to placate [plÄ�-Ë�kÄ�t] – “Calm or reassure another person.” All of these expectations are advertised by many colleges, and now many high schools (the ones online), as what is offered at their institution. I would like to illustrate my claims using what I call “factual logic”. The cost of online learning is the same as that of classroom instruction. You cannot use teacher resources at the physical institution if one is available in your state. I was having trouble with Algebra and was taking classes from an institution in my state. My professor was a PhD in mathematics who couldn’t convey a clear thought if his life depended on it. I went to college to seek help from another resource because my teacher lived in Illinois and was only available for help during scheduled classroom instruction. The head of the math department told me that since I was an online student, he couldn’t help me according to the institution’s policy! If he hadn’t been a disabled vet and promised him, he’d be camping outside his office for the rest of his life; he would never have helped me. Any younger student would not have received any help from America’s highest grossing university!
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Dr. Edward J. Files, AGS, AAS, BSM, Emba, Ed.D. (dual concentrations in Organizational and Leadership Development)
References
Clifford Maxwell, (March 4, 2016) “WHAT IS AND ISN’T BLENDED LEARNING”, https://www.blendedlearning.org/what-blended-learning-is-and-isn’t/
teachThought, (May 18, 2020) “The Definition of Blended Learning”, https://www.teachthought.com/learning/the-definition-of-blended-learning/