Here - EnglishAgenda - British Council

Generating peer-to-peer interaction – Making sure that the tasks and the moderatorencourage peer-to-peer interaction increases the likelihood of successfulconnectivist learning.Using freely available technology – Using free and open access apps and web-basedtools ensures that participants will have access to the same tools to create theirown courses and that the skills they are learning will be immediately relevant andapplicable to their teaching context.Open content – Using open web-based content such as online journals and blogsensures that all participants have equal access to resources and even participantscoming from less well-resourced areas are not disadvantaged by limited access toacademic materials.Flipping the paradigm – Using a flipped approach to core content ensures thatparticipants come to the much shorter face-to-face element of the course readilyprepared with a strong understanding of background issues and basic technicalskills and experience. This helps to maximise the effectiveness of the face-to-faceworkshop element of the course.Recommendations for blended learning course designersBuild online tasks around social interactivity – People do not really want to interactwith a computer, they want to interact with other people, so design tasks in whichthe computer is the conduit and enabler of communication, not the focus of it.Think about tutor time – Think carefully about the amount of online tutor supportnecessary and how to avoid tutor overload. The tutor is very important to thesuccess of the course, use their time wisely and value it. If the tutor is unhappyor feels overwhelmed or exploited then the course is unlikely to be successful,however well you may have designed your materials.Do not reinvent the wheel – Check to see if you can exploit freely availableresources before you start to build your own. It can save you a huge amountof time and enhance the materials by including a wider perspective.Be time realistic – Think carefully about how long it takes to build effective onlineresources. It takes much more time to create online learning materials than it doesto create classroom materials. A good rule is to try to estimate how long it will take,double it and then add 50 per cent, then you might be close to the reality.Integrating online and face-to-face – Make sure you think about how the onlineand face-to-face elements will support each other and how best they can do this.Your course still needs to have some unity and continuity even if it is delivered invery different modes and in different places.Exploit what works best – Build online tasks that can go beyond what can be done ina book or in a classroom. The internet and the world of online communication can beused to achieve some marvellous and creative things, so do not try to imitate booksand classrooms, understand what is best about online and exploit it to the full.72 | A blended learning teacher development course