Implementing Blended Learning

Blended learning, also referred to as "hybrid learning" and "mixed-mode instruction," is a formal education practice in which students learn from both face-to-face and online learning. It combines face-to-face interaction such as in-class discussions, active group-work, and live lectures with educational technologies such as online course modules, discussion boards, and other Web-based learning tools. Blended learning can provide many advantages to the organization. It gives institutions a strategy for overcoming the barriers presented by limited resources, time constraints, and budget pressures. However, these potential benefits may not be easily realized by organizations. The research seems to indicate that achieving success in a blended learning initiative is complicated, requiring a carefully planned and well-supported implementation approach that includes a theory-based instructional model, high-quality faculty development, course development assistance, learner support, and ongoing formative and summative assessment. This book provides a selective collection of contemporary open access journal articles that feature innovative and practical implementation models of blended learning, and provides profiles of institutions and organizations that are experiencing success with their blended learning programs. The intent is to showcase this instructional model's potential, and demonstrate how it can address a range of instructional needs in new and highly productive ways.

About the Author :
Rocco Paolucci, D.Ed., is director and founder of The Open e-Learning Research Project (OLRP) of the Interlearning Company, LLC, a research, information services, and publishing firm, whose mission is to explore the use of online technologies for "open" e-learning. He has many years of experience in education and training in the traditional classroom, as well as online and distance learning. In the academic sector, he served as Associate Professor and Chairman of the Information Science and Technology undergraduate program, and Director of the Instructional Systems graduate program at Cabrini College (Radnor, PA). In the private sector, he was a systems engineer for Bell Laboratories, and project manager for AT&T Corp. and Bell Atlantic Corp. (now Verizon Communications, Inc.). He has authored and co-authored numerous research articles and books on the topics of instructional technology, educational multimedia and hypermedia, and online and distance learning. He has the following degrees: Doctor of Education in Instructional Technology from Widener University, Master of Science in Information Science from Drexel University, Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Bachelor of Science with Honors in Electrical Engineering from Drexel University.