Blended Learning is Better than Face-to-Face Learning

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Now that I have your attention with that controversial subject line, I’d like to share with you findings from a large meta-analysis that was presented at the Educause ELI Annual Meeting this week. Dr. Barbara Means (Director, Center for Technology in Learning, SRI International) presented the following:

The main findings from the meta-analysis¹ was that classes with online learning (whether taught completely online or blended) on average produce stronger student learning outcomes than classes with solely face-to-face instruction. The mean effect size² was +0.20, p < .001.

Furthermore:

• There was no significant difference between students learning purely online compared with those learning the same material through traditional face-to-face instruction (mean effect size +0.05, favoring online but not significant)

• Blended instruction (combining online and face-to-face elements) had a larger advantage relative to purely face-to-face (mean effect size +0.35, favoring blended, p < .0001)

• Effect sizes were larger for studies in which the online instruction was collaborative or instructor-directed than in those studies where online learners worked independently

View Dr. Means ELI presentation: Blended Learning Designs: A Learning Science Perspective

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¹ U.S. Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies, Washington, D.C., 2010: http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf.

² An effect size is similar to a z-score in that it is expressed in terms of units of standard deviation. It is defined as the difference between the treatment and control means, divided by the pooled standard deviation.

Free! Streaming Lectures from Educause Learning Initiative

Attend these free lectures from the Educause Learning Initiative Annual meeting in Washington, DC from Monday, February 14-16, 2011.

See links to Free Lectures

• The Problem of Learning in the Post-Course Era, Randall Bass, Assistant Provost, Georgetown University
• The 2011 Horizon Report
• Openness, Learning Analytics, and Continuous Quality Improvement, David Wiley, Associate Professor of Instructional Psychology and Technology, Brigham Young University
• Design for Learning: Waiting for Superman versus Empowering Superheroes, Diana Rhoten, Co-Founder & Managing Director, startl.org
• Continuous Improvement in Teaching and Learning: The Open Learning Initiative, Candace Thille, Director, Open Learning Initiative, Carnegie Mellon University
• Gathering Evidence to Make an Impact: How Less Can Be More, Thomas Angelo, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Director, Curriculum, Teaching and Learning Centre, La Trobe University
• Blended Learning Designs: A Learning Science Perspective, Barbara Means, Director, Center for Technology in Learning, SRI International
• Opening the Door to New Possibilities through the Use of Analytics, John P. Campbell, Associate VP of the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing, Purdue University
• The Open Textbook Puzzle, Jade Roth, Vice President, Books & Digital Strategy, Barnes & Noble
• Susan Henderson, Director, Florida Distance Learning Consortium
• How to Fix Copyright, William Patry, Senior Copyright Counsel, Google

2011 Horizon Report from Educause & The New Media Consortium

Each year, the Horizon Report describes six areas of emerging technology that will have significant impact on higher education and creative expression over the next one to five years. The areas of emerging technology cited for 2011 are:

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Time to adoption: One Year or Less

• Electronic Books
• Mobiles

Time to adoption: Two to Three Years

• Augmented Reality
• Game-based Learning

Time to adoption: Four to Five Years

• Gesture-based Computing
• Learning Analytics

View the complete Horizon Report (1.5Mb PDF)

Get Ready for Panopto: Record lectures in class or from your desktop

The Office of Academic Technology is about to offer Panopto, a flexible and easy-to-use presentation capture platform that lets faculty or staff capture, edit, stream, archive and share recordings that preserve critical knowledge.

Register for our Webinar on Friday, February 11 at Noon:

 In the mean time, explore these actual Panopto recordings from several higher ed institutions:
Speaking Tour Series with Closed Captioning: Lawrence Lessig, Founder, Creative Commons, Professor of Law at Stanford University
Panopto sponsored the Sara Fine Institute's hosting of Lawrence Lessig, a renowned author and political activist. This is another good example of the power and utility of integrated, searchable closed captioning.

Interactive Whiteboard Recording: Northwest University
When SBI helped Northwest University outfit their classrooms with interactive whiteboards, they conducted a series of training sessions for faculty so that they could learn how to effectively use the new classroom technology. No one missed the training sessions because they were recorded with Panopto Focus!

	Podium Lecture: Nick Laudato, CIDDE, University of Pittsburgh Nick Laudato introduces the original version of Panopto Focus to the University of Pittsburgh system. This example demonstrates good videography, audio quality and overall high production processes.
	Desktop Presentation: Carnegie Mellon University This is a great example of a simple desktop recording. Professor Lee used an off the shelf DV camera to record an introduction to his incoming students.
	Two Camera / Hi-Resolution Recording: Carnegie Mellon University, Genetics Class Lecture Many professors depend on chalkboards or other non-digital presentation tools, and this is where our our multi-camera, high-definition support comes in handy.
	Focus Case Study: Miami-Dade College Mark Nestor, CIO of Miami-Dade College's Medical Campus, gives an overview of lecture capture technology, including a run-down of Panopto Focus use at MDC.
	How-To Video: Lebanon-Cornwall School District We love this example. It is an innovative use of Panopto Focus to create a quick-and-dirty "how to" for use of projector systems. We use this internally!

e-Learning 2.0 Conference: Technology Use in Teaching and Learning

This year’s e-Learning 2.0 Conference Keynote Address, “Cultivating Web Accessibility,” is an entertaining and motivating overview of web accessibility that touches on a number of e-Learning topics, including the challenges faced by students with disabilities, current trends in Accessibility law, and the difficulties that confront institutions when implementing accessibility policies.  The keynote will be delivered by Jared Smith, the Associate Director of WebAIM, who has presented extensively and provided web accessibility training to thousands of developers throughout the world.

With a degree in Marketing/Business Education, a Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology, and over 13 years of professional experience in the fields of web design, development, and accessibility, Jared brings to bear a wealth of knowledge and experience in order to help others create and maintain highly-accessible web content.  Much of his written work, including a broad range of tutorials, articles, and other materials, is featured on the WebAIM site.  Jared is active on Twitter at @jared_w_smith.

The conference will be held on Thursday, March 24th from 8:00am – 4:00pm in Behrakis Grand Hall at Drexel University.  Submit a proposal for the conference. The deadline for proposal submission is Friday, February 25th.  We look forward to seeing you at the conference!

Webinar: The Next Big Thing: Blackboard / McGraw-Hill Partnership

This webinar is hosted by the Chronicle of Higher Education. We encourage you to register - see below...

The evolution of mobile and digital technologies has reached its next milestone within education — interactive, digital learning content. Join us as Blackboard’s Katie Blot, Senior Vice President of Consulting, and McGraw-Hill’s Doug Hughes, Director of Digital Partnerships, lead the conversation on technology changes within education and how digitally delivered content is leading educators to the next frontier of how they use technology in the classrooms. Plus, take a look inside Blackboard and McGraw-Hill’s new, integrated solution. The Next Big Thing in Digital Education: the Blackboard and McGraw-Hill Higher Education Partnership February 17, 2011 • 2pm EST / 11am PST Gain valuable insight into how digital technology can promote: Student success Educator efficiency Thriving institutions Don’t miss this exciting webinar event, register now. Please feel free to forward this invitation to anyone you believe may be interested in attending this informative Webinar. This free Webinar is presented by Blackboard and hosted by The Chronicle of Higher Education. All content presented during the event is provided by Blackboard.