2015/10/18 Stephen Howes

Towards a better blend

by Stephen Howes

In the past 5 years, many schools around the world have been rushing to introduce technological devices in the hope of developing an e-learning environment, particularly for blended learning. In some cases, this has happened at a pace greater than the desires of the staff, leading to negative attitudes and ill-prepared implementation. In 2013, Brisbane Grammar School in Australia created the Blended Learning Design Research Team to develop a framework for teachers to complete a successful transition from their current traditional pedagogy to a new pedagogy based on e-learning tools and systems.

This presentation first outlined the formation of the team and the goals and expectations of the staff. It then focused predominantly on Howes' experimentation with various software and the feedback he received from students, and in the process introducing the participants to a plethora of tools. The outcomes of the team's efforts was discussed as well as an update of the current state of use. Even though the information and data was retrieved from a high school context, it proved useful to any institution that utilizes, or wishes to utilize, a technology-supported environment. Howes engaged the participants in various online activities during the course of the presentation that required the use of either a smartphone or computer.

Stephen Howes is a full time teacher of English at Tokyo Seitoku University Fukaya High School and Junior High School. He took up this position in April 2015 and is the sole native speaker of English in the school. Prior to this, Stephen taught conversational English in the corporate environment in Japan for