Blended Learning in English Language Teaching: Course Design and Implementation

packages, setting up online accounts with Web 2.0 services and other activities
that are necessary at the start of the course prior to engaging with the actual
learning content within the course itself.
■■ A part-time blended model allows participants from similar teaching backgrounds
to work together on the course, as they are usually living locally, whereas the
fully online version of the course always has international cohorts. Both local
and international cohorts have their advantages (one is not intrinsically ‘better’
than the other), but offering an additional blended version of the course allows
participants to choose which group environment they would prefer to work in –
by choosing a part-time blended option, they will work with local teachers.
■■ A blended model increases the market reach of the course, by appealing to
teachers who may be concerned about embarking on a fully online training
course. As one blended course participant put it in feedback:
For me as a learner, the face-to-face part was great and was a stimulus to do the
course. I’ve never done an online only course before, so this ‘blended’ approach
appealed to me more. I think having the ‘blended’ approach has alleviated this
fear. I feel better prepared and more open now to the online part.
The participants
Participants on the Cert ICT are qualified in-service language teachers. The Cert ICT
focuses not just on ICT tools and techniques, but also on general concepts and areas
such as online assessment, integration of ICT into the curriculum, mobile learning,
e-learning and blended learning. As such, the scope of the course is not restricted
merely to English language teachers and we have also occasionally had teachers of
other languages on the course in the past (French, Spanish, Chinese and German).
However, the Cert ICT is validated by Trinity College London, so there are clear entry
requirements: teachers must hold an initial teaching qualification, and non-native
speaker teachers need a minimum level of English (IELTS 5.5 or equivalent).
The needs of the participants on the Cert ICT are usually fairly defined: they want to,
or need to, learn more about how to use ICT in their classrooms. Specifically, they
would like to learn to use technology tools with their learners in their face-to-face
teaching, and want ideas about how to do so effectively. The participants are usually
fairly experienced teachers, with a minimum of two years’ experience, up to 20 years
or more. (See teachers talking about their course expectations on the Blended Cert
ICT: http://youtu.be/M0WrjdjXTTg)
Generally, our course participants have received little or no technology training in
the past. But we do get a range of teachers on the course, from those with almost
no experience, to a few who are already fairly proficient users of technology. The
course is, in fact, designed to take this into account, so that tasks are open ended,
allowing participants to complete them to the level of their own ability. As practising
(and often experienced) teachers, participants frequently realise this early on, as this
comment from one more tech-savvy course participant shows:
It was good because it was viable for all levels so to speak – you could work at
your own pace and also help others and get help.
76 | Reversing the blend: From online to blended