Developing a blended-learning community in a university setting
by Antonio P. Volpentesta, Nicola Frega
International Journal of Web Based Communities (IJWBC), Vol. 3, No. 2, 2007

Abstract: Today, many universities feel the necessity to move from the scenario of a plurality of enhanced-learning classroom experiences to one where flexible learning and blended learning are relevant and widely diffused paradigms. Such a transition may gain an advantage in an institution-wide blended-learning community where educational knowledge and practices are shared among members. In this paper, we propose a bottom-up approach consisting of four steps (consulting, pioneering, growing and evaluating) that can be cyclically executed in order to build such a community. For each step, we outline the role that the academic institution plays in the constituting community-building initiatives, and we discuss organisational and technological issues to be considered towards a flexible learning scenario. The approach has been adopted in a three-year project that is still ongoing at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Calabria. We describe that study and present some evaluation results dealing with the approach's validity.

Online publication date: Mon, 18-Jun-2007

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