the user guide on

Blended
Learning

initative by

EDTECH
CENTRE
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Table of Contents

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 2

2. Aims ............................................................................................................................................ 3

3. Definition And Terminology .................................................................................................... 4

4. Rationale .................................................................................................................................... 5

5. Principles .................................................................................................................................... 6

6. Stakeholders And Roles .......................................................................................................... 7

7. Step-By-Step Guide.................................................................................................................. 9

8. Models ..................................................................................................................................... 12

STATION ROTATION MODEL ................................................................................................................ 12

LAB ROTATION MODEL ....................................................................................................................... 13
FLIPPED CLASSROOM MODEL ............................................................................................................. 13
HYBRID MODEL .................................................................................................................................. 14

9. Addressing Low-Bandwidth In Delivering Blended Learning ......................................... 16

10. Teachmehow ........................................................................................................................ 22

11. Further Reading And Reflection ........................................................................................ 23

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1. Introduction

As our students return to the physical school environment, teachers will be operating
in a very different context. We will proceed for years to come of giving a mix of face-
to-face learning with online learning. In other word a blended learning approach. In this
learning approach, schools and teachers will have to develop new learning approaches
to meet the needs of their students.

This guide provides teachers and school leaders with a framework to adopt blended
learning strategies, reflecting on decisions taken to provide authentic learning
experience in their own contexts, so that teachers are able to design lessons with
online and face-to-face components that offer flexibility to address different student
preference and needs.

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2. Aims

This guideline aims to:

i. Support the teachers on what works in blended learning
ii. Support school leaders and teachers to identify the opportunities and challenges
of blended learning through strategic questions for consideration
iii. Provide clear definitions or terminology associated with blended learning so that
the education community speaks the same language
iv. Provide support for pedagogy and learning to promote a clear vision and strategy
within blended learning provision and practice

The ministry will provide support to schools in blended learning by:

i. Signpost schools to available resources
ii. Developing and providing professional learning for schools around blended
learning
iii. Providing a more detailed support or guidance to schools as required in planning
for implementing blended learning

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3. Definition and Terminology

In order for teachers to plan for and implement blended learning for all students, and
for this be communicated effectively to both students and parents, there needs to be
a common language that is known and understood by all.

Blended Learning: One of the pedagogical and instructional approaches in classroom’s

teaching and learning, with a combination of traditional face-to-face instruction with
the flexibility of asynchronous and synchronous online learning supported by the use
of technology and digital media.

Digital learning: any instructional practice that successfully utilises innovation to

enhance a student's learning experience by providing a personalised learning
experiences for students.

Online learning: One type of "distance learning" where schooling happens over the web
or internet.

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4. Rationale

During the Schools Leaders Dialogue Session leading toward the SLC2021, the school
leaders have identified the rationale for blended learning in schools

Rationale Description

Blended learning can promote student ownership of

Promotes student’s learning, while supervision provided for support.
ownership of learning Learning responsibilities shifts away from the
teacher and students are trained to set and take charge
of their own learning

Blended learning when technology is integrated can

keep students more engaged into the learning process.
Keep students more
Knowledge building can increase as information and
interested and engaged
concepts are introduced in different contexts than
standard face-to-face approaches

Blended learning enables students to work together,

Improved students’
engage in discussions and provide useful feedback to
collaboration and
one another. Online discussions and peer feedback can
communication skills
improve students' knowledge and skills, which can lead
to a better learning outcome

Provide instant feedback Blended learning creates supportive environment and

/ information to students platform for giving oral and written
feedback/feedforward confidently and effectively

Blended learning integrated with technology can help

Prepares students for a build desirable skills for the future job demands
tech-centred world demanded by employers. Being able to evaluate online
future demand and skills resources to identify and check reputable sources
(digital citizenship), collaborating and learn outside the
office

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5. Principles

All blended learning shares a number of common principles:

i. Start with the curriculum.

ii. Consider the implications for teacher and student well-being when making
decisions.
iii. Ensure continued and effective educational provision for all students.
iv. Explore the advantages of every modalities of learning of face-to-face and online
learning, assessing the best situation for direct instruction and feedback.
v. Make best use of face-to-face teacher time.
vi. Be creative in developing different learning approaches.
vii. Take account of the unique school context, and any barriers faced by students.

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6. Stakeholders and Roles

Stakeholder Role
System Leadership • Brunei Darussalam Leadership and Teacher Academy (BDLTA)
to deliver training on digital learning for teachers and school
leaders to effectively deliver blended learning.
• Department of Information and Communications Technology
(ICT) to equip schools with suitable IT infrastructure, provide
sufficient internet bandwidth and resolve any technical issues to
enable blended learning.
• Education Technology Centre (EdTech) to support teachers on
suitable online learning platform and educational apps to
support blended learning.
• Curriculum Development Department (CDD) to make available
digital learning resource on an online platform.
• Department of Schools (DS) to carry out cyber-safety program
on digital citizenship and online/internet safety
• DS to monitor the implementation of Bring Your Own Device
(BYOD) policy and loaning of devices to support blended
learning.
• DS to facilitate networks of school leaders and teachers to
engage in sharing their learning about and experiences of
blended learning.
School Leadership • Develop school level vision and engagement among the school
community for blended learning.
• Establish a team to sustain the digital learning training delivered
by BDLTA as a school-based professional development.
• Encourage and monitor teacher’s involvement in the digital
learning training delivered by BDLTA for teachers to effectively
deliver blended learning.
• Make available digital infrastructure for blended learning
• Ensure availability of teaching and learning resource to support
blended learning
• Monitor and evaluate the implementation of blended learning.

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Stakeholder Role
Teachers • Participate in and complete the digital learning training delivered
by BDLTA for effective blended learning delivery.
• Give ample of time to plan for the blended learning (refer to
step-by-step guide)
Students • Begin to take greater ownership on their learning process
• Be respectful to their community as digital citizens
Parents Encourage and support the learning

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7. Step-by-step guide

Once you are ready to begin planning out a lesson with a blended learning approach,
make sure you have plenty of time for the planning process, creating content and, if
possible, piloting the lesson. It requires a lot more thought than simply taking some
part of your lesson and converting them into online activities. The step-by-step guide
below can be considered as you begin planning your lesson:

Step 1: Set your goals

Every lesson has a description, goals and learning objectives. These comprise the
overall picture of the lesson that will drive the entire development process. This will
set key expectations to students, from why the lesson exists to what the students
should be able to know and do by the end of it.

Step 2: Plan assessments

Determine the assessments you will use to allow students to demonstrate mastery of
the learning objectives. These should consist of both summative as well as formative
assessments. At this stage, you do not need to create the assessments yet. You can
simply plan out what they will be and what the students will be asked to do.

Step 3: Map it out

Now that you have determine the learning objectives and how students will be
assessed, you can begin laying out how students will get from the beginning of the
lesson to ultimately achieving its end goals.

Create a chart to outline your lesson content, the order they should go, and what
activities and resources you plan to provide along the way. By mapping out your lesson
visually, it will be easier for you to identify any underdeveloped activities.

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Step 4: Determine which lesson objective are best delivered as in-person

activities
Now that you have determined what your lesson looks like it is time to factor in the
blended learning element. Your face-to-face class time should be reserved for
activities that require activities such as:
• Synchronous group brainstorming sessions
• Establishing a collaborative learning environment
• Demonstrations and presentations
• Providing immediate feedback to students

Tip: Synchronous, face-to-face time can happen in-person, or virtually. If some

students are in the classroom, while others are learning from home, you can use video
conferencing tools to connect with one another.

Step 5: Determine the online portion of your lesson

While in-person time is reserved for synchronous and group discussions, the majority
of personal assignments will be done virtually. Other activities that can make up the
online portion of your blended learning can include:
• Self-paced learning and activity completion
• Self-assessment quizzes with feedback
• Automatic grading of multiple choice and fill-in-the blank tests
• Asynchronous group discussions
• Video or audio content consumption

Step 6: Create and/or find content

Creating online content that will be used by your students, is the most time-consuming
aspect of designing your blended learning. Allocate more time of your planning to this
step. This is the time for you to create assignments, find all the reading materials, and
create or find your video content.

A great place to start is adapting archived activities and resources that you have used
previously.

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Step 7: Give your blended learning plan a trial run

At this point, you should have an entire “draft” of your lesson complete. Now it needs
some editing and refinement, especially on the online portion of your lesson. You want
your lesson to be fluid and accessible to students, without encountering any surprise
technology speed bumps along the way.

You can carry out the following options for this step:
• Have your peer (preferably those who have taught online and/or blended
learning in the past) and ask them to look at your lesson planning.
• If possible, pilot the lesson with some willing students or your peer, and ask
them to provide you with written feedback.

Whatever the case, do not skip this step. Especially if this is your first time that you
are developing a blended learning. It is important that you go through some kind of
quality review process.

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8. Models

A number of models exist for blended learning. There is no suggestion that any
model is better than another, rather schools should consider the relative
benefits and challenges of each model in their context. It might also be
sensible for schools to consider a combination of approaches if that is what best meets
the needs of their students.

Below are models that school leaders have identified are relevant and can be practiced
in schools.

Station Rotation Model

The Station Rotation model allows students to rotate through stations on a fixed
schedule establish by the teacher, where at least one of the stations involves
student-led online learning. This model is most common in primary and secondary
schools, because teachers have been using learning activity stations in their
classroom.

Online learning Teacher-led

activities instruction

Collaborative
activities

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Lab Rotation Model

Similar to the Station Rotation, students rotate through stations on a fixed schedule.
The difference is the online learning occurs in a dedicated computer lab. This model
allows for a flexible scheduling arrangement on the use of existing computer labs with
other teachers. The face-to-face instruction and other learning modalities in the
classroom are integrated with teacher-facilitated online learning in the lab setting.

Flipped Classroom Model

The Flipped Classroom model flips the traditional relationship between class time and
homework. Students learn at home via online work and online instruction, through the
use of various online resources such as video and audio content. Teachers use class
time for teacher-guided practice or projects. This model enables teachers to use the
class time for more than delivering traditional teaching.

In this model, students will be aware of what they will be studying, they come to class
with a basic understanding of a topic and they are ready to participate in classroom
activities.

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School: Practice and projects Home: Online instruction and content

Hybrid Model
The hybrid model is where some students attend face-to-face class, while others join
the class remotely and virtually from home (or from another school). Teachers teach
remote and students in the face-to-face class at the same time, connecting
with the remote students using video conferencing tools (e.g. Google’s Meet and Meet
Now in Microsoft Teams) and online learning platform (e.g. Google Classroom and
Class Notebook in Microsoft Teams).

In this model, there is seamless integration of online and in-person learning activities.
The students are presented with engaging material and prompted to interact with it
in innovative ways.

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Here are a few examples of the hybrid model that illustrates different ways in
integrating in-person and online learning activities:

• The teacher delivers and facilitates class discussion in the face-to-face class,
students complete online assignments based on the classroom activities, then
these online assignments are posted to asynchronous discussion for online
discussion.
• The teacher uploads lesson online using voiceover software e.g. PowerPoint or
streaming media for students to review, then subsequently students in the face-
to-face class use these preliminary online materials to engage in small group
activities and discussions.
• Students prepare small group projects online, post them to discussion forums
for debate and revision, then present them in the in-person class for final
discussion and assessment.

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Strategic Questions:

i. Which of the models aligns best to support your vision for learning and
teaching?
ii. Would a combination of the models best meet the needs of the students?
iii. What opportunities do each of the models give for differentiation and
personalisation for students?
iv. What are the operational challenges of each of the models?
v. What information will students and parents need in order for the blended
learning to work effectively?
vi. Which blend is most appropriate for each age group and subject area?

9. Addressing Low-Bandwidth in Delivering Blended Learning

The purpose of this section is to provide options for school to ensure all students
receive quality education through the blended learning models with awareness on the
inequitable access to technology access (internet speeds, quality of internet and
connected devices). Until equity is achieved in technology access, low-cost and low-
bandwidth strategies must be implemented into teacher’s instruction.

Before planning out lessons with a blended learning approach, these basic steps are
proposed to ensure the students are able to access quality education:

Step 1: Gather real data from students

It is essential to know which aspects of technology access inequity are necessary to
be addressed. Teachers must be aware of the level of technology access their students
have, as task or materials must be accessible to all students.

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Questions to Ask Students Purpose of Asking Question

What is the best number to reach you or When planning for blended learning,
your family? communication with students and their
family member are essential, especially
through channels that do not require
internet access.
Do you have access to a computer (laptop, Knowing the number of potential devices in
desktop) or tablet at home? If yes, how the home will be helpful in understanding
many? the student’s ability to have access to a
device as needed or if they have to share.
Do you have access to a smart phone? Are Educational online platforms have
data limits an issue? applications available download that allow
students to see, complete and remind
students of assignments. Some type of
assignments can be completed on a phone.
Do you have Wi-Fi at home? It is necessary to understand the
percentage of students with access to the
internet via mobile data plans versus those
with Wi-Fi.
How many people are in your home that If there are multiple people in the student’s
also need to use the computer or tablet home that also require the use of a device,
(siblings, parents, etc.)? the student cannot be expected to have
unlimited access to the computer as
needed. Increase number of individuals
accessing the internet may also interfere
with the speed of the connection.
Are you and another person able to watch Streaming content and watching videos are
videos or stream content (e.g. YouTube, high-bandwidth activities. If a student and
etc.) at the same time? another person are able to do these
activities simultaneously, then the student
has access to a reliable internet connection
and allow them to participate in video
conferencing etc.

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Questions to Ask Students Purpose of Asking Question

How would you rate your ability to do the Online learning requires students to have
following on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 meaning literacy in using technology. Even if all
that you are confident in your ability): students have access to computers and the
• Upload/download a file? internet, if they do not have an
• Attach a file to your email? understanding on how the technology
• Change the formatting in Google works, an instructional plan utilizing online
Docs, Word Online or Microsoft learning platforms may not be effective.
Word?
• Make a presentation using Google
Slides, PowerPoint Online or
Microsoft PowerPoint?
• How comfortable are you in using a
computer for school projects?

Step 2: Create low-bandwidth teaching plan

If the students have access to technology required to successfully engage in remote
or distance learning, such as small group work in Zoom or Microsoft Teams breakout
rooms which required high-bandwidth, then these should be used. Otherwise, creating
a low-bandwidth plan for students need to be developed depending on the variability
of technology access.

The bandwidth-immediacy matrix can help teachers to visualize methods of instruction

when planning online instruction outside of the high-bandwidth activities (low-
bandwidth).

Bandwidth refers to the amount of information that is available to be transferred at

one time. High Bandwidth technologies works well for students who have fast and
reliable internet access at home, and unlimited data plans on their mobile
phones. For other students, this can limit their ability to fully participate in lesson
activities.

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Immediacy refers to how quickly teachers expect their students to respond when
interacting with them and amongst the students. In traditional face-to-face learning,
immediacy is a good thing. However, the biggest advantage of online learning is it can
provide teachers and students with more flexibility. Online learning can make online
learning more of a burden if teachers and students are required to be online
at exactly the same time.

Low Bandwidth – Low Immediacy Quadrant:

Readings with text/images, discussion boards and email are often underappreciated.
Tools for file sharing, email and discussion boards might not seem exciting, but
teachers can create fantastic instructional experiences with them. Tools in Google
Classroom and MS Teams can be used as discussion board to allow members to
discuss without the need for real-time video conference.

Low Bandwidth – High Immediacy Quadrant:

There are low-bandwidth tools that can add immediacy to students’ interactions. Tools
such as Office365 and Google Drive comes with collaborative document editors

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features. There tools allow students to edit and comment on the same document,
spreadsheets, or presentation slides. Depending on how teacher’s structure the
assignment, students could go online at the exact same time, and write and edit each
other’s work simultaneously.

Group chat/messaging tools using mobile-friendly apps such as Slack and GroupMe
allow students to post text-based messages and images without requiring anyone in
the group (including the teacher) to share their phone numbers. These tools allow
students to communicate quickly and easily without scheduling an entire day around
a formal video conference.

High Bandwidth – Low Immediacy Quadrant:

Screencasting (pre-recorded video and audio) allows teachers to record what is on
their computer screen and add audio narration as they record. It adds human element
to the online learning because the teacher’s voice creates a sense of presence that
plain text can’t. To keep students engaged it is recommended for teachers to divide
long screencasts into five to ten-minute segments. Free screencasting tool such as
Bandicam and Screencast-O-Matic allow teachers to create and share videos with
students so that they can learn on their own, and use the in-class time more efficiently.

Asynchronous discussion with video and audio allows students to respond with audio
and video instead of just text. Tools such as Flipgrid and VoiceThread provides user-
friendly feature to video and audio-based commenting that go beyond plain text.

High Bandwidth – High Immediacy Quadrant:

This quadrant is reserved for tools that require both high bandwidth and high
immediacy, and videoconferencing tools such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Meet
Now are a great way to engage students when they truly need to see and hear each
other in real time.

Unfortunately, videoconferencing is one of the most inflexible and bandwidth intensive

activities teachers can ask students to do. Before teachers rely on it too heavily, look

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at the other quadrants and evaluate if there is any other way to accomplish the
learning objectives without it.

Video conferencing can be made more low-bandwidth friendly and below are a few
strategies:
• Having fewer people per video conference
• Decreasing video quality
• Turning off participant video feeds
• Limiting screen sharing

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10. TeachMeHow
To support teachers in adopting technology in a blended learning approach, a self-
paced learning short tutorial videos for teachers is made available, which can be
access from the TeachMeHow website. In due course new videos will be made
available.

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11. Further Reading and Reflection

A Powerful Model for Understanding Good Tech Integration; Terada;

https://www.edutopia.org/article/powerful-model-understanding-good-tech-
integration

K-12 Blended Teaching: A Guide to Personalised Learning and Online Integration;

Graham, Borup, Short and Archambault; https://edtechbooks.org/k12blended

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