Blended learning
Blended learning combines digital and face-to-face training, so each part does what it does best. Learn the common models, why it outperforms either on its own, and how to make the blend work.
What is blended learning?
Blended learning combines digital and face to face training into a single programme, where each part does what it is best at. It is not simply some online and some classroom thrown together. It is a deliberate division of labour between the two.
The usual pattern: knowledge moves online, where people can take it at their own pace and repeat it, while live time is reserved for what genuinely needs other people, such as practice, discussion, feedback and questions.
Common models
- Flipped: learners study the theory digitally beforehand, and the session is spent applying it.
- Sandwich: digital preparation, a live session, then digital follow up and assessment.
- Support: a classroom core with digital material available throughout for reference.
- Path: a longer programme alternating modules, sessions and on the job assignments.
Why it outperforms either on its own
Classroom training is expensive and hard to scale, but it is unmatched for practice, nuance and reading a room. Digital training scales without limit but cannot replicate a difficult conversation with colleagues watching.
Blending lets you stop spending live time on content delivery. A trainer reading slides to twenty people is the most expensive possible way to transmit information those people could have read themselves. Move that online, and the live hours go to the things only live hours can do.
How to make the blend work
Decide what belongs where, and be strict about it. Make the digital part genuinely required, with a check, or half the room arrives unprepared and the session collapses back into a lecture. Connect the parts explicitly, so the session opens where the module ended. And track the whole path in one place, rather than digital completions in one system and attendance in a spreadsheet.
An LMS that handles online, in class and blended delivery together, as FLOWSPARKS does, is what keeps a blended programme from turning into two disconnected halves.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between blended and hybrid learning?
Blended learning combines digital and face to face parts in one programme, each doing what it does best. Hybrid usually means a single session delivered to people in the room and people joining remotely at the same time.
What is flipped learning?
A blended model where learners study the theory digitally beforehand, so the live session can be spent applying it. It frees the trainer from delivering content and turns the session into practice and discussion.
How do you decide what goes online and what stays live?
Knowledge transfer generally moves online, where people can pace and repeat it. Live time is reserved for what needs other people: practice, feedback, difficult questions and discussion that benefits from a room.
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