IO4- FABL: Framework for Applying Blended Learning in IIBMS
FABL is coordinated by the Eindhoven University of technology
Creation and dissemination of reusable blended learning contents, including, pre-assignment materials, follow-ups, and evaluation kits and Creation of an “interdisciplinary/intersectoral blended learning handbook” to allow trainers, education managers and administrators to apply blended learning methods to the development of new interdisciplinary learning pathways.
The aim of this intellectual output (IO) is to prepare students to be effective actors and co-operators in this interdisciplinary and intersectoral field with the use of blended learning. It can be applied as a way to improve education in ICT and at the same time to demonstrate how collaboration between disciplines can be executed. This can be seen as a best practice to and HEIs in technology within Europe and specifically within its ICT workforce.
The IO envisions the development of a comprehensive framework on how to design and deliver blended learning modules for interdisciplinary and intersectoral Master's courses. It reflects upon and includes the process of setting up these courses, its quality control, and the way to continuously improve the content quality by monitoring its performance and increasing impact. The framework aims to describe methods to improve the quality of education, specifically the speed of learning and retention rate, while decreasing the education effort for the teachers, by applying and leveraging on online and blended techniques.
The process will follow a learning by doing approach; we practice what we preach and consider the framework as a co-production of the partners and eventually include the students in this process as well.
Teachers from participating HEIs will be invited in specialized workshops, organized mainly in parallel to planned consortium meeting but also leveraging from EIT KICs workshops organized on the same topics. In these workshops - devoted to train the trainers -participants will be presented current online educational didactical material to get the partners up to speed and apply this material to their own courses. This material will stay available after the workshops as reference material. During the workshops, participants will learn and apply general techniques to their learning design, like the flipped classroom, peer reviewed assignments, peer teaching, co-production of education material, gamification and its principles, all in order to increase their own (natural) strengths and improve their specific weaknesses. After the workshop participants will detail their implementation in the development of courses with the online help of the didactical support team.
The FABL includes:
IO4.1: Overview of blended techniques and guidelines. Online workshop material to inform partners about the blended learning techniques and when and how to apply them. This material is updated based on the insights of the first workshop before project start and enriched with the first learning design of the intended courses that the partners have created during the workshop.
IO4.2: Productivity guidelines. Guidelines in blended learning and increasing productivity, specifically on the trade-off of mobility and educational quality using available metrics, techniques to reduce teachers educational workload while increasing educational quality, and continuous improvement while using data driven education. Guidelines are created during development of courses, preferably using metrics when possible, and disseminated.
IO4.3: Insight in student progress and course quality. Feedback guidelines and templates, general and specific metrics, reusable blended learning contents as examples, including preassignment materials, follow-ups, and evaluation kits.
IO4.4: Quality guidelines. Creation and dissemination of a “blended learning handbook and quality guide” to allow trainers, education managers and administrators to apply blended learning methods (which and when) to the development of new interdisciplinary personal adaptive learning pathways taking into account the different types and levels of learning outcomes.