Presentation Goals
1. Outline initial steps for a university in developing a blended learning culture.
2. Examine a comprehensive approach to integrating best practices for using mobile devices in blended learning.
3. Demonstrate some unique approaches to creating blended learning spaces in face-to-face and online learning.

Presentation Description

Blending learning environments offer key learning spaces for emerging technologies and changes that are being experienced in higher education. As 21st century learning continues to emerge, strictly face-to -ace environments continue to augment their spaces with blogs, LMS and other Web 2.0 technologies to increase their effectiveness, integrate emerging technologies and enhance learning outcomes. Online environments are integrating emerging technologies to increase the effect of social learning, community formation and collaboration in online learning. Residencies, web conferencing and other emerging technologies provide opportunity to augment online learning while still supporting the convenience and approach that has contributed to its growing popularity in the past decade.

Smart phones and tablets are mobile devices that allow ubiquity and portability to the learning space. The tablet has profound implications for the future of textbooks and the construction of content in the emerging future of higher education. Mobile learning is rapidly evolving and best practices are struggling to keep up. The proliferation of devices has allowed educators to ask, 'What is the best environment for this learning to take place'? Teachers are no longer relegated to a learning space chosen by the registrar because of class size or space availability.

Blended environments are at an important intersection in the academy. The continuum of strictly face-to-face and purely online are ?meeting in the middle? and blended pedagogy is becoming an aspect of the pedagogy of each while its? own unique learning continues to be defined in the context of higher education.

This presentation will highlight practical applications and the research and practice of two institutions-Abilene Christian University and California University of Pennsylvania- leaders in mobile and online learning. Statistically significant studies will be available and given a brief explanation while implementations for scaling at any institution will be demonstrated.

Practical first steps toward a blended environment using university-wide class blogs, LMS and Web 2.0 technology will provide a foundation for building a blended university culture. Various research-based best practices will be demonstrated. A grant-funded Next Generation Learning Challenge project will demonstrate how a smart phone can augment lectures and labs while increasing instructor effectiveness is a face-to-face class. An iPad study will demonstrate learning transfer in a face-to-face class, blended or online class. An innovative approach to blended learning in a social work class will demonstrate a new approach to blended learning and a study in eMentoring in an online class will provide a methodology for any university to scale and implement mentoring to increase learner satisfaction and course outcomes.