Blended learning.
This is a mixture of traditional class-lesson system and modern digital education. In the old system, there is a huge plus and we shouldn`t give it up. Psychologists call it an emotional component. A teacher in the classroom is a great personality and a professional who possesses a lot of knowledge. A teacher is a person who organises the process of educating, can define the abilities of their students and has a great influence on them. He can be sad, funny, energetic, cheerful, angry, affectionate. He can behave differently but the most important part of it is that he is full of life! Computer is just a machine. Firstly it can`t perceive students` feelings, empathize or have emotions which makes classes with a teacher so expressive and vivid. On a typical lesson the teacher explains a new material to students and tries to reveal whether a student could understand what was explained or not by asking different thematic questions. A completely different situation occurs in the form of e-learning, where the teacher is in direct contact with his students.
The results of such lessons are much higher. If the child himself searches for the knowledge, he remembers better and gets more interested in what he is learning. The new is always interesting to discover!
The beginning of blended learning was put at the dawn of the computer age, but only about 10 years ago it has a great success. However, the results are so phenomenal and so different from the traditional model that it attracted attention of the whole world. Schools that use a blended learning model are in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Singapore.
I have been teaching English at school for 21 years. During this period of time many aspects of life have changed including education. Nowadays a new method of studying is becoming more and more popular in the field of education. A few years ago I started practicing blended learning mainly because it became the requirement of today`s world. Now I systematically use blended learning strategies in my school while preparing my students for an exam. The goal of a blended learning is to join the best aspects of both classroom and online education. Classroom time can be used by the teacher to involve students in practicing different kinds of classroom activities. As for the online part of the course, it can provide students with multimedia-rich content at any time of the day and wherever a student has internet access. In addition to flexibility and convenience for students and teachers, blended learning is proved to be a much more successful method of teaching while preparing for an exam in comparison with only classroom learning thanks to the vividness, availability and a great variety of online information. However, while choosing or designing a blended course the teacher has to bear in mind that such a course demands the students’ great self-organization and accuracy.
There are a few advantages of this learning.
1. Personalization of learning. Every child moves in the learning process on their own path, at their own pace, following their own interests.
2. Skill. The child has an opportunity to learn topics one by one, avoiding gaps in the knowledge. As for checking the result it is more correct because it is impersonal and you cannot blame it for being subjective.
3. High expectations. High expectations imply that every child has their personal goal, and he understands that if he wants to achieve success he has to work hard.
4. Personal responsibility. Personal responsibility includes goal setting, time management, project management. A teacher while talking to a child, draws his attention to questions: how he did it, why he came to such a result - that is, to the consciousness of what and why he is doing.
5. Competencies. Mastering skills, information and tools they need to manage their own learning.
6. Group work. It is even more intense than in the standard version.
7. Tutoring. In fact, the teacher`s task is to become unnecessary to a child. "The teacher will explain" is the last stage ,namely, the teacher will explain how to create conditions in which a student will finally understand.
The highlighted principle is individual attention. As it turned out, teachers do interact so closely with children in a blended learning model. If we want to succeed in the field of blended learning, then content management systems, training and game programs need to be developed.
In conclusion, I would like to add that whatever method you select and whatever strategies you use, a lot depends on both the teacher’s skills and professionalism and the student’s wish to study and use a wide range of resources.
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