Embrace Blended-Learning or Face the Failure

The choice is yours. You hold the tiller.

You can steer the course you choose in 

the direction of where you want to be- 

today, tomorrow, or in a distant time to come. 

- W. Clement Stone                         

In what can be praised as bold and decisive move, schools re-opened and students are back into books. It is a national achievement to rejoice. We have experience over-load from keeping schools closed. Should experience be the best agent of positive change in education system, COVID-19 was the best, but, wait; it is underwhelming to witness schools driving back to same-old-themselves. A recent viral ‘ban and shame’ photo of someone carrying a smart phone to school is one revelation of schools heading back to old-selves. Numerous school re-opening Office Orders and Notifications shared on social media (by schools) showcased how reckless and indifferent schools are to students owning cellular phones. We have not learnt the lesson. This can never lead us to victory. People who “churned their saliva to butter milk” advocating use of social media, people who insisted on e-learning and submission of assignments through online platforms couple of weeks ago are changing their narratives suddenly. They are against it and unforgiving about it now. What a surprise? No wonder many of us had trouble using simple educational platforms such as Google Classroom when schools were abruptly closed but education had to continue amidst the pandemic. 

I concluded last blog tilted “Education during COVID-19: An Introspection” which was read by at least hundred viewers as “We must look at the rear view mirror and relentlessly strive to grasp complexity of future and successfully navigate through the storms of various multitude and magnitude hereafter.” This indeed was my silent call to embrace systemic changes, break stereotypes and put an end to certain prejudices of education system to have successful, dynamic, and exemplary education system that does not cripple under any circumstances. For education to be successful, “…success in any endeavor is always derived from acting in harmony with the principles to which success is tied.” Adapting and adopting the ‘change’ is most prominent principle around which success of education is centered. The ‘change’ I mean is embracing the blended learning.
Blended learning is an approach to learning that combines (traditional) face-to-face and online learning. Blended model of learning should be embraced as forward strategy for educating the nation. Under stated are few reasons why we should adopt blended learning. 

1. Traditional face-to-face and online teaching/learning cannot withstand the sophistication of twenty first century education and era hereafter independently. “Ideally, each (online and offline) will complement the other by using its particular strength.” We have seen recently how these two, separately treated, models of teaching learning can down play our effort and prove disastrous to education system.
2. Pandemic has confirmed that dependence on traditional face-to-face teaching/learning confines education to schooling and doesn’t cater beyond classroom, especially during emergencies.
3. Pandemic also taught us that teaching learning through online medium can never achieve the efficiency and degree of success achieved through face-to-face learning. Essential skills such as hands-on learning, experimental knowledge, social and emotional skills cannot be taught or gained through online classes. Further, students are unwilling to commit themselves to online learning and teachers are facing issues with creation of online teaching materials. 
Whereas face-to-face teaching offer access to clear information, richer understanding, and better social connection, online teaching offers flexible and ease of access to knowledge bank. Blend of both teaching models incorporates all the advantages offered by both. In consequence, blending of both models of instructions is reportedly effective and results in high levels of student achievement in rapidly changing education landscape.

It is thus my believe that school education system and schools should work out modalities to embrace blended learning. To embrace blended learning school administrators and policy workers must constantly re-educate and reinvent our belief and knowledge system. For blended learning to be successfully implemented we must harness the power and potential of technology, which is the sustaining and boosting engine of education. To do so, education system, especially education offices, schools, and teaching force should not be consumed by few of its disadvantages, plights and shortcomings. We should rather exert ourselves as smart, flexible, responsive and dynamic group of educators willing harnessing the potential of technology. If our education system must outsmart the current challenges and outperform the education quality of other counties, “Technology is an indispensable tool that will be necessary to realise this aspiration.” An intelligent choice to harness the potential of technology is switching to blended learning model. This call for blended learning is actually an invitation to trap technological possibilities. This equally is an invitation to resolve systemic constraints in leveraging technology in education system and re-educate ourselves to embrace such changes.

His Majesty the King once addressed his noble vision on use of technology in the form of question. “The question I have is how are we able to leverage technology for education; job creation; good governance; effective, timely and efficient delivery of services to our people; private sector development and growth; for accountability and transparency?” In relation to the above vision of His Majesty the King and blended learning I will elaborate on status and scope of use of technology in education and schools in this section. If you recollect the first paragraph of his article, I expressed by support to allow use of mobiles phones in schools (indirectly). Schools must work out meticulous and definite modalities to ensure proper use of mobile phones if schools are to allow it. Proper use of it can be one way to facilitate blended learning. Use of mobile phones in school in contentious subject and subject of debate anyway. Everyone has tight grip on their end of opinion on use of mobile phones and few studies and observations on it express nothing more than confirmation bias. I want to, hereon and therefore, discuss on utilization of computers and internet in schools. Computers, internet, lab in-charges and peripheral services are provided to schools to dramatically expand the access to knowledge and information. It was aimed by building students' capacity and prepare themselves to be tech- savvy. However, general observations are that, computers labs are open (only) for one or two computer classes per week and internet access is granted to usually to administrators and teachers (only). Lab in-charges (specifically recruited to help students with computers) are either assigned miscellaneous works or no work most of the days. Schools or administrators has either failed to acknowledge the purpose or failed to divert computer related services to students. “To deliver on the promises technology holds, countries need to invest more effectively and ensure that teachers are at the front of designing and implementing this change.” Our government, under the leadership and wisdom of His Majesty the Druk Gyelpo, invested heavily in delivering technology and its promises to schools but we have limited ourselves from replicating the same to students. We have restricted access to computer labs and internet facilities to students. In doing so, we are improvising our youth, better known as future generation, from developing themselves (everyday). While we take liberty to leverage internet facilities to play online games and download megabytes of files, we have deprived our students (even) from accessing essential information. Sadly, this happens in many schools. Thus, there is too little or no return on investment. In such scenario, how substantial is our talks and discussions on leveraging technology? Even though, teachers like me can do too little to bring changes to such systematic issues, I hope this article will serve as an eye opener. Even if my article is of no help, we must always remember the following Royal address; 

“These technologies excite me as they present immense opportunities for the future. Among the many countries in the world, those which prepare for this change and build the foundations to take advantage of such technological advancements will prosper and develop. Those which are not able to do so will invariably be left behind.”

By critically analyzing the Royal Address, we must wisely plan to leverage technology to our educational advantage to take our country forward and to better height. The resources spent on technology must be converted to best knowledge through education system. Best way to leverage technology in education, as aforementioned, is to switch our mode of teaching from face-to-face to blended teaching and learning. If all goes well, schools must also look forward to adopt hybrid learning as future teaching-learning model.

References: 

1. Royal Addresses

2. Teach like Finland by Walker T.D.