Yesterday’s post highlighted the benefits of blended learning, as well as the first three tips and best practices for blended learning in 2018. Here are the remaining six.
4. Focus on Learner Engagement
When developing in-classroom training sessions, think of ways you can get your learners engaged and involved in what they’re learning. Have them complete more hands-on tasks, presentations, and group activities. Take advantage of the fact that they’re physically present. All reading assignments and assessments can most likely be completed later when they’re no longer in class.
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And if you host a live virtual training session, you can keep learners engaged and active by asking them to fill in polls or surveys or by encouraging them to post questions and comments in chat windows or on dashboards. Regardless of the medium, learners should always be actively engaged in what they’re learning while they’re attending a live training session and perusing materials online.
5. Encourage Learner Collaboration
Encourage your learners to post questions and share helpful resources with one another online in virtual dashboards and to discuss topics and participate in study groups in person. Whether online or in person, learners can remain connected inside and outside of the physical classroom while taking blended learning courses to get the most out of what they’re learning and to further collaborate.
6. Track Learners’ Progress Across Platforms
To ensure your learners really learn a topic in a blended learning course, be sure to track their progress across mediums. They should be completing both in-person and online tasks and assessments with relative ease. They shouldn’t have several online assignments incomplete even though they show up to each in-person classroom training session and complete assignments there. And they should show the same level of comprehension of a topic when their knowledge is tested online and in person.
7. Create a Strong and Comprehensive Assessment Plan
When testing your blended learners, make sure to test their knowledge of a topic via online assessments and in-person assessments. For instance, you could have your operations team complete a module online regarding how to execute a certain process before completing an online quiz and then have them execute the process in person to demonstrate their knowledge.
8. Offer Adequate and Consistent Support Across Mediums
Be sure to respond to all questions and concerns your learners have online and offline, as this will ensure they use both mediums. Offer them resources when they need them, in person and through digital channels. And make sure they know where they can go for assistance if they’re having issues with accessing their online course materials.
9. Constantly Evaluate Your Programs
To ensure that your blended courses are always reaching organizational objectives, are scalable, and are effective, you’ll want to constantly evaluate them. Check attendance rates for in-person classes, as well as online modules, and solicit your learners for feedback to see what they like and dislike about each medium or blended course. And ensure engagement rates and assessment scores remain high across mediums.
To get the most out of your blended learning courses in 2018, follow the tips and best practices listed above and in yesterday’s post.