Technology-enhanced learning in higher education : how to enhance student engagement through blended learning

Abstract

Blended learning has risen in popularity over the last two decades as it has shown to be an effective approach for accommodating an increasingly diverse student population in Higher Education as well as enriching the learning environment through the incorporation of online teaching resources. The act of blending significant elements of the learning environment such as face-to-face, online and self-paced learning leads to better student experiences and outcomes, and more efficient teaching and course management practices if combined appropriately. For this reason, an appropriate systematic and dynamic approach of blended learning design is crucial for a positive outcome starting with planning for integrating blended elements into a course followed by creating blended activities and implementing them. Evaluating their effectiveness and knowing in which environments they work better and finally improving the blended activities designed from both the student’s and instructor’s perspective is critical for the next delivery of the course. This work aims to provide useful examples and increase awareness of Higher Education educators about how traditional face-to-face learning can be transformed into blended courses with the aim of increasing student engagement with both in-class and online approaches while being time effective for the instructor.