A Blended Learning Route To Improving Innovation Education in Europe

Vol. 4 No. 1

Year: 2008

Issue: Jun-Aug

Title: A Blended Learning Route To Improving Innovation Education in Europe 

Author Name: Tom Page, Gisli Thorsteinsson 

Synopsis: 

This paper introduces blended learning as a pedagogical approach, which was explored through the European project InnoEd and the way InnoEd undertook by using the on-line InnoEd VRLE.  European educators in the InnoEd project have utilised a range of learning activities to help to improve Innovation Education.  A mixture of lectures, visual diagrams, assessments and group activities has up to date been the mainstay of classroom training.  Blended learning is a combination of all these many approaches and the use of ICT in ODL. Blended learning can take many forms.  In one course, a teacher may assign weekly self-paced online modules to a group of learners and also periodically bring the group together for in-person sessions, presentations and group discussions.  Another blended learning program may bring together a menu of online reading materials, self-paced tutorials allowing learners to choose the mode that best meets their learning style and then demonstrate their understanding of the materials by completing an online assessment. The definition of blended learning is a combination of different online learning modes, or of online and in-person learning.  Blended learning is becoming more common in the educational world with the availability of both synchronous and asynchronous online learning options.