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Blended Learning is Like Teenage Sex
The title of this blog entry is borrowed from the sustainability literature and more specifically the opening remarks made by Joel Mackower during Compostmodern '08. Mackower's comparison between sex and sustainability initiatives was presented at the outset of a seminar today on inter-disciplinary initiatives in this area at Michigan State University.
The comparison got me thinking about whether the original quote could be adapted to apply equally to the concept of blended learning. What do you think? Here is the adapted quote:
"Blended learning is like teenage sex. Everybody says they're doing it but no one really is. And those who are doing it aren't doing it very well."
There are some interesting similarities. Some people argue that blended learning is nothing new and people have been doing it for a long time. On the other hand, I would argue that blended learning is still a poorly defined concept and the literature is immature. How do you know that you're doing it when there are different meanings and understandings of what it actually involves. And of course even if lots of people are doing it there is a reasonable chance of disappointment. Arguably, perfecting the art of blended learning requires a lot of experience, a skilled teacher and it does help if you have the right equipment.
I'll stop on this note before totally risking my reputation for serious academic critique. Nevertheless, feel free to extend the comparison in your own thinking as I'm sure other people can be far more creative than me. At very least the teenage sex analogy is likely to grab attention and generate interesting debate. Enough said!
To raise the quality of the conversation, I would also like to alert readers to Graham's (2011) recent critique of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) Framework in the journalComputers & Education. This Framework has become popular around the world in the context of technology-enhanced learning and the paper makes a valuable contribution to the literature by critically reviewing TPACK against criteria for theory building. Graham concludes that 'considerable theoretical work still needs to be done if TPACK research is to cohere and constructively strengthen the field of educational technology' (p.1953).
I encourage you to read the full paper as it reminds us of the dangers of embracing popular educational concepts, theories and perspectives (including blended learning) without adequate critique and debate. Hopefully these comments in a small way will contribute to deeper conversations of whether blended learning is really a disruptive influence to traditional forms of pedagogy. Time to stop as I sense another comparison with teenage sex coming...
Reference
Graham, C. (2011). Theoretical considerations for understanding technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). Computers & Education 57 (3), 1953–1960
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