188 The Handbook of Blended Learning
e-learning environment ranged from enthusiastic to anxious. Statements were made regarding an initial fear of e-learning, concerns about not having facial and body language in communications, and difficulty in keeping track of the participants. Some students mentioned feelings of isolation and the difficulty of conversing with "strangers"; others disliked not having other students to chat with. Some of the students concluded that e-learning was the wrong mode of learning for them. There was a general feeling that levels of dedication and motivation needed to be higher online than with traditional courses, and some students found it difficult to remain focused online. Overall, the two most significant factors for withdrawal were the course itself (as an entirely online course) and lack of support from course tutors.
At the start of the project, we had been advised to avoid face-to-face meetings, as this would discourage the creation of online communities. However, when we experienced high attrition rates (50 percent during the first cohort), we realized we needed to revise our model. As Rossett and Douglis (2004) noted, the progression from e-learning to blended learning has developed in an organic manner in order to resolve some of the difficulties associated with e-learning, such as high attrition rates. Mullich (2004) noted, "The dirty little secret of e-learning is that a lot of people who try a computer module or online class won't finish it" (p. 1).
According to Forrester Research (Schooley, 2002), 70 percent of those who start an e-learning course never complete it. The Open University's retention statistics for e-learning courses are around 50 percent completion (Tait & Mills. 2003). Such rates are especially noteworthy, given that the Open University is the largest provider of distance education in the U.K. Given the prevailing evidence that attrition rates from online learning programs are high, there u an incorrect impression that e-learning is ineffective. As a result, the development of blended learning is too often seen as a solution to the high attrition rates associated with e-learning, the genesis of which is reactive rather than proactive. In our case, we believe that rather than being reactive, we were proactive in meeting the needs of learners and online teachers. One such example is detailed below. We had developed this course as an online course even though the evolving model was blended learning. We now turn to the rationale for this change.
Induction
The Evaluation Report of ECW (2003) revealed that in the 2001 cohort, the majority of students felt that the one-day induction had not prepared them well for the course. We have addressed this through providing a three-day induction
E-College Wales, a Case Study of Blended Learning
189
TABLE 13.1. STUDENTS' PERCEPTIONS OF INDUCTION,
2001-2003.
|
|
Year of Enrollment |
|
|
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
Comprehensiveness of the induction |
D |
В |
А |
Usefulness of the induction |
D |
В |
А |
Induction as preparation for the challenges of your course |
E |
В |
В |
Induction as an opportunity to meet students and tutors |
В |
A |
А |
Training in the use of the required technology |
С |
В |
А |
Accuracy of advice on amount of input required |
D |
В |
В |
Induction lecture |
С |
В |
А |
Advice on search sources |
D |
В |
А |
Training in the use of supporting learning resources/library materials |
D |
В |
А |
Source: E-College Wales (2003).
program. The feedback from students has since been highly favorable, as seen in the analysis of students' responses (see Table 13.1) which provides evidence of improvement as a result of expanding the induction from one day to three days. The mean satisfaction ratings were assigned a letter from A (very satisfactory) to E (very unsatisfactory), based on a Likert-type questionnaire.
Mason (2003) emphasizes, "Face-to-face tutoring is less necessary the more advanced the learner, but also . . . the most vulnerable students—least confident or motivated—will benefit from face-to-face provision in terms of increased persistence and higher pass rates" (p. 93).
Our students in both postgraduate and undergraduate e-learning programs unanimously agreed that the face-to-face induction was instrumental in establishing an initial level of socialization and reducing the personal anxieties they had held about their ability to undertake the program. They liked being able to put faces to names when they began the online activities. In addition, it helped to develop rapport and trust between the tutor and the students.
Garrison and Anderson (2003) note the benefit of an initial face-to-face meeting: "This can have an accelerating effect on establishing social presence and can shift the group dynamics more rapidly towards intellectually producing activities"
190
The Handbook of Blended Learning
TABLE 13.2. STUDENTS' POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE PERCEPTIONS OF ONLINE LEARNING.
Top Five Negative Aspects Top Five Positive Aspects
of Online Learning of Online Learning
Technical problems (29%) Flexibility (89%)
Isolation (20%) Opportunities to interact with
peers (17%)
Lack of support (16%) Access to wide resources (11 %)
Lack of student interaction (14%) Effective mode of learning (7%)
Absence of face-to-face Opportunities to interact with
opportunities (14%) tutors (6%)
(p. 54). Moreover, they conclude that "such blended learning approaches have strong advantages that go beyond social presence."
The ECW Evaluation Report (2003) revealed that all online tutors advocated a blended approach of face-to-face sessions combined with e-learning. The timing and frequency of live meetings varied somewhat; 100 percent of the tutors wanted a face-to-face induction program, 36 percent felt that face-to-face sessions were important at the start of the course, and 50 percent felt that regular face-to-face meetings should be built into the programs. The students felt that diis blended approach met their needs more successfully and allowed them to learn more effectively. Tutors also noted that students' results improved, as did student satisfaction and retention.
The top five positive and negative features of online learning that we found in our evaluation of the online program between 2001 and 2003 are set out in Table 13.2. We have addressed all the negative aspects of the course identified b\ the students and now offer a blended model of learning, which we judge is meeting students' needs more comprehensively.
Our Blend
From our perspective, we view blended learning as a Web-based, higher education accredited program, delivered over the Internet using a managed learnin, environment, mediated by tutor-led synchronous and asynchronous discussioi. groups and face-to-face meetings. We have adopted a blended learning approaci. combining online programs, face-to-face induction and tutorials, and tutoring support delivered from a network of geographically dispersed campuses. The blend is complex and includes:
E-College Wales, a Case Study of Blended Learning
191
Off-Line
Face-to-face inductions involving ICT skills training, icebreaker and socialization sessions, tutorials, lectures, and PowerPoint presentations
Student-led face-to-face meetings
Videoconferences
Printed student handbook and relevant journal articles
CD-ROM with instructions on the VLE (Blackboard)
Online
Electronic library including access to e-books and e-journals
Interactive generic content
Interactive customized content
Online student support including e-tutors, technical support, customer services, and student services
Asynchronous online collaborative learning using e-mail, discussion boards, and chat facilities
Synchronous learning through the virtual classroom
Miller, Jones, Packham, and Thomas (2004), tutors at UoG, report on the positive feedback from the students as a result of the introduction of blended learning: "The students felt it simply met their needs and allowed them to learn more effectively. Comments from students included: 'the initial Blackboard face-to-face training was essential for us to find our way around the system and know what to do.' 'We vote with our feet, if we did not want the face to face sessions we would not attend. We did and we still do'" (p. 4).
Similarly staff members who undertook our e-moderating programs provided similar feedback to the undergraduates' feedback. Additional face-to-face sessions bave been very well received, and one of our students, himself a long-serving lecturer, sums up his feelings: "I have no hesitation in placing on record that I have found this to be the most stimulating course I've undertaken in years."
ConcVusions
At the start of the ECW project in 2000, we concentrated on developing courses online. Since that time, we have learned that a largely online model of learning does not offer enough choices of engagement or enough social contact—thus our move to blended learning.
Our experiences of blended learning are without exception positive and have resulted in the achievement of higher learning outcomes. All of this evidence,
