Teaching and Learning in the Literature

Blended Learning

It always takes awhile for the Chronicle of Higher Education to find its way through the library to my desk, but even though I have just now received the issue dated November 23rd, James Lang’s “On Course” column in that issue is worth pointing out. It is entitled “Midterm Grades for Blackboard” and discusses his use of the Blackboard online learning environment, which is similar to the eCollege system we have here at USA.

He defines four categories where he expected Blackboard to help his teaching:

• Organizing course materials
• Creating community
• Making use of multimedia
• Documenting teaching.

Each of these categories offers significant advantages to any college classroom, and although his assessment of Blackboard is uneven (just as mine would be), in most of the places where he gives bad marks, he is clearly more responsible than Blackboard for the lack of success (and, to his credit, he readily admits his role in the shortcomings). However, it is unfortunate that it is Blackboard, and not himself, receiving the poor grades.

One such place is where he gives Blackboard a C for its (in)ability to create community. He had done something interesting in class and suggested that the students go online to discuss it. It turns out that no one did, and for some inexplicable reason this is supposed to be Blackboard’s fault. He provided no incentive for students to go online, no penalty for not going online, nor any discussion or explanation of why they ought to bother to go online.

He just assumed they would be excited about the opportunity to go somewhere online that they’d never been before to do extra work for no extra credit. Yet, in his analysis, it is neither his nor his students’ fault that the assignment failed. It’s Blackboard’s.

I am a rather fervent cheerleader for the advantages of online learning and believe that it is a remarkably exciting field, but, at the same time, it is no field of dreams.

Another faulty assumption on his part is that such an activity will automatically build community, but it seems he got it backwards. If a community had already been “built” (i.e., if he had made the appropriate effort to build it before sending the students online) then the expectation that they would go online with minimal prompting to continue the discussion would be much more reasonable, but community building is something that requires planning and effort.

And if we do that effort ahead of time, then it may well be true that if you build it they will come.

The lesson from all of this is that it is well worth your time to check out Lang’s column, but you should employ the same critical reading lenses that you encourage your students to develop and use. Online course management systems are wonderful and powerful tools that can significantly improve classroom instruction. Personally, I cannot imagine teaching a course without using one.

As wonderful as they are, however, they are just tools. They have many powerful features, but they don’t come with a magic wand. They require work. In the thoughtful application of imagination to the creation (or repurposing) of appropriate learning materials and activities. In setting up the necessary systems to aid your organization of course materials. And most importantly, in encouraging students to participate in the valuable opportunities such systems provide.

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