The Impact of Blended Learning

With digital transformation spreading across companies today, organizations’ ability to address skill gaps in new technologies has never been more important. Hiring isn’t always the best option. One reason why training from within—and upskilling your current employees—is the smartest, quickest, and most cost-effective approach is the severe lack of applicants for employment in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, Data Science, and other fields.

Blended learning: What is it?

Blended learning, sometimes known as “flipped classroom,” “hybrid learning,” or “mixed learning,” is a method of learning that combines instructor-led classroom instruction with online information, often in the form of on-demand films that students watch outside of class. There may be face-to-face or online live teaching (through a live virtual classroom or even two-way video), or there may be no live lecture.

Advantages of Blended Learning

The use of blended learning is a significant departure from traditional teaching strategies. It can maximize results for individual students in ways that conventional education cannot. This is something that traditional instruction cannot do. Blended delivery options make it possible to instruct each component using the medium that is most suited to cover the subject at the precise point in the training where it is being covered. Blended learning, which has been extensively studied and implemented in K–12 and university education, also provides an ideal solution for improving corporate training, particularly when it comes to upskilling employees for the rapidly evolving digital economy. Blended learning has been implemented in K–12 and university education. This may be explained in five different ways.

Different individuals learn things in various ways.

It’s quite well known that various individuals have varied ways of retaining information. In 1992, researchers Fleming and Mills developed a popular model of learning styles called VARK: Visual (when people learn best by sight), Aural or Auditory (when people learn best by hearing or speaking), Read/Written (when people learn best when things are displayed as words), and Kinesthetic (when people learn best by doing things themselves) (when people learn by physical use or practice). Other researchers have subdivided these modalities into even more distinct learning styles, such as Logical, Social, and Solitary. Logical refers to how people prefer to understand concepts by using logic or reasoning. Social refers to learning through interaction with others (when people learn best alone through self-study). Because there are so many distinct approaches to learning that need to be addressed, a solution that utilizes blended learning makes perfect sense. The optimal method would be online self-paced video delivery for persons who learn best visually or via reading and who like to study independently whenever possible. Live classes with an instructor present would benefit those who learn best via social and auditory interactions. On the other hand, kinesthetic and logical learners would be content with the hands-on experience that comes from participating in practical learning projects.

The use of a variety of learning methodologies significantly enhances engagement, learning, and retention.

According to many studies, most individuals learn better when they combine various activities with more passive study. In an ideal scenario, these would include the “human” element of interaction through threaded discussions, video conferencing, and internal social media forums for knowledge sharing and comparison, as well as to encourage and demonstrate the efficient application of newly acquired skills in the workplace. You may fill up any knowledge gaps that may have been left by modes of learning delivery that was less than optimum for the individual subject or student if you use as many different learning delivery methods as is practically practicable (video, live instructor, social, and practical).

Learners can determine the rate at which they are educated.

When a person has some say over their education, they tend to learn more effectively. People are more motivated to interact with the content they are learning when given choices, which also helps alleviate some of the tension associated with the learning process. Traditional students and corporate learners have a few key differences. Most workers are forced to contend with time restraints since they must juggle their professional and home life demands. Additionally, their colleagues bring a wide variety of information and experience related to the subject matter of the course to the table. Blended learning allows workers to study online at their speed rather than having the pace of the course determined by the employee who is the quickest or slowest learner in the group. They can skip through material that is already known to them or stop the video, restart it, and look for other resources. They may access the information whenever they are most awake and take breaks whenever they deem them essential. Learners can start with the knowledge they gained and then supplement it with the personal attention of instructor-led classroom training (either virtually or on-premises), as well as the group interaction that comes with social learning. Finally, the hands-on practice that comes with applied learning projects, thanks to this “flipped” approach to blended learning.

The use of blended learning may save costs.

By incorporating eLearning into traditional instructor-led training, businesses of any size may improve their return on investment, reduce their expenses, and boost employee engagement and retention, all while optimizing their return on investment. Blended learning decreases the costs of training materials, travel expenditures for the firm, and instructor fees. It also allows distance learning worldwide and may significantly lessen the effect that training has on day-to-day operations and the workers themselves. For instance, according to Mark Rose, director and founder of Creativedge Training and Development, “Ernst & Young decreased their training expenses by 35 percent using eLearning while boosting consistency and scalability.” They reduced the amount of time spent in classroom education by around 53 percent by condensing approximately 2,900 hours of classroom instruction into 700 hours of web-based learning, 200 hours of distance learning, and 500 hours of classroom instruction.

Blended learning may be scaled and adapted to individual needs.

Blended learning is modular and scalable, making it particularly valuable for big, multinational businesses. It may be scaled either upward or downward. Since preparing for and participating in dedicated classroom training requires a significant amount of time, doing such training on an ad hoc basis is not cost-effective. Online learning libraries do not provide the engagement, practical practice, and individual feedback necessary to maximize one’s educational experience. A blended learning program, on the other hand, makes it possible for workers to swiftly gain expertise in a particular technology or field by making training information freely available and by giving possibilities for live interaction with virtual instructors and hands-on projects. “Modular courses boost agility, and hence the organization’s potential to capitalise on new business possibilities as they present themselves,” explains eLearning designer Troy Foster. It is well suited for educating a workforce that is geographically scattered. The Future Workforce Report conducted by Upwork found that 63 percent of organizations have workers that work remotely. Blended learning allows for scalability as well as the cultural customization that is necessary for achieving instruction on a worldwide scale. This is accomplished by supplementing internet information anytime with localized teachers