Blended Course Design MOOC

UCF is offering the fourth iteration of BlendKit – an open, online course for those interested in blended learning course design, sponsored by ELI and delivered via Canvas Network.

The course begins on Monday and is free (along with a credential option for a fee, for those interested).

BlendKit 2015: Becoming a Blended Learning Designer MOOC

Blended learning (the strategic combination of face-to-face and online learning experiences) is growing in popularity within higher education and K-12 settings around the world. The goal of the BlendKit: Becoming a Blended Learning Designer MOOC is to provide facilitated assistance to faculty members and instructional designers in developing and designing blended courses through (1) a consideration of key issues related to blended learning and (2) practical step-by-step guidance in producing materials for a blended course (e.g., developing design documents, creating content pages, and receiving peer review feedback at one's own institution).

This five-week course involves:

• Expert and peer assessment and critique on design work
• Regular interactions with facilitators and students
• Blogging/social networking interaction opportunities
• Weekly webinars with guest presenters
• Document templates and practical step-by-step “how to” guides
• Readings from scholarly works pertaining to blended learning

A Next Generation Learning Challenges (NGLC) grant in 2011 leveraged the University of Central Florida’s expertise to create the Blended Learning Toolkit as a free, open resource for educational institutions interested in developing or expanding their blended learning initiatives. The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), UCF’s grant partner, agreed to use its membership to distribute the toolkit and support new course models. The BlendKit course emerged from the grant to assist educators in designing blended courses and has supported three open, online cohorts since 2012.

Online Learning and Liberal Arts Colleges

From Inside Higher Ed

June 29, 2012

By

Steve Kolowich

Online learning is no longer foreign to traditional universities, where courses formerly held in large lecture halls are migrating to the Web. But at residential liberal arts colleges, whose appeal often lies in the promise of small classes and regular face time with professors, online education has had a harder time gaining a foothold.

That could soon change. Several top-rated liberal arts colleges have begun experimenting with online course modules. Professors at those colleges hope the technology, which tutors students in certain concepts via artificially intelligent tutoring software in lieu of static textbooks or human lecturers, will help level the playing field for academically underprepared students while giving instructors more flexibility in planning their syllabuses.

Professors at Bryn Mawr College and Wesleyan University, two colleges that stake their value on intimate classroom experiences, have begun experimenting with online courses developed by Carnegie Mellon University’s Open Learning Initiative (OLI), a project that is more frequently discussed in conversations about the power of artificially intelligent learning platforms to take over certain teaching functions from human instructors. The OLI modules are designed to guide students through the equivalent of textbook material while quizzing them frequently along the way. By constantly gauging comprehension, the software gets a detailed read on the strengths and weaknesses of individual students and generates new tips and exercises aimed at closing gaps in their understanding.

Read more at Inside Higher Ed