Online & Classroom Combined: What About Blended Courses?
As distance learning has grown
over the past 10 years, some colleges and universities have
experimented with a “middle path” between classroom
and pure online teaching. So called “blended”
courses have been tried by many professors. And while it looks like
100% online courses will continue to be the fastest growth area, you
may encounter some blended course options if you start looking at
schools near your home.
According to the Sloan Consortium, a blended course is one where 30
– 79% of the teaching is delivered online. At present, state
universities tend to offer them more frequently than private schools,
and they’re most often used at the master’s degree
level.
Students Like A Blend The consortium’s recent study of blended courses, called
“Blending In,” is so careful about not offending
academics (many of who still see distance learning mainly as a threat
to their careers) that it doesn’t draw many clear
conclusions. But the bottom line is that students seem to like a
blended approach. In Sloan’s survey of students who have
taken various types of courses, 33% indicated a preference for courses
with some combination of online and classroom learning.
That’s a higher percentage than those who said they liked
pure online courses.
Right now, you’re more likely to find blended courses at
state universities than private schools. They’re most often
used at the master’s degree level (though many companies use
blended courses to train employees).
It’s hard to predict what subject you’re likely to
find a blended course in. But if you are studying at a school within
driving distance of your home, a blended course is something you may
want to be open to, based on the good response this type of approach
has gotten from other students.
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