APPLICATION OF BLENDED EDUCATION MODELS IN TEACHING STUDENTS OF NON-

LANGUAGE UNIVERSITIES A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (ENGLISH): PROBLEMS AND

PROSPECTS FOR IMPLEMENTING DIDACTIC GOALS

Annotation: blended learning is one of the trends in modern education and, according to forecasters, will
remain so in the years to come. The report considers the technology of blended learning as a synergistic
technology that enables to more effectively use the advantages of both face-to-face and e-learning, and
neutralize or mutually compensate their disadvantages.

Key words: modern education, face-to-face learning, e-learning, blended learning.

The History of Blended Learning

The Russian-language term blended learning is a literal translation of the English words blended learning.
Note that in the English version it is the word learning that is used, i.e. the process of acquiring
knowledge and skills, in which the student is an actively acting subject.

First the basic principles of blended learning were applied back in the 1960s in corporate and higher
education, but the term itself was first used in 1999, when the American Interactive Learning Center
began to launch software programs designed for teaching over the Internet.

Unlike many other pedagogical technologies, blended learning has no specific authorship and has evolved
in many ways spontaneously, as a result of numerous attempts to change existing teaching methods and
principles. Such spontaneity and multifactorial development of blended learning causes difficulties in the
analysis of this technology, which begin with attempts to formulate a clear definition.

Blended learning is a learning system based on a combination of face-to-face learning and computer-
aided learning.

The Clayton Christensen Institute gives an even narrower and more specific definition:

Blended learning is an educational approach that combines instructor-led (face-to-face) learning with
online learning, with elements of student self-control over the path, time, place and pace of learning, and
the integration of instructor-led and online learning experiences..

It should be noted, however, that with the expansion of the variety of computer technologies, the
emergence of the concepts of “e-learning” (as a concept broader than online learning) and “mobile
learning”, as well as the use of offline digital resources in blended learning models, it should be formulate
the definition somewhat differently:

Blended learning is an educational technology that combines and interpenetrates face-to-face and e-
learning with the ability for students to independently choose the time, place, pace and trajectory of
learning.

Thus, blended learning technology can be viewed as a synergistic technology that allows you to more
effectively use the advantages of both face-to-face and e-learning, and neutralize or mutually compensate
the disadvantages of each of them.

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Advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face and e-learning.

Off-line education Electronic education

(+) the possibility of constant interactive interaction,

(–) a certain limited time to get feedback from the the ability to receive feedback anywhere at any time
teacher, the impossibility of interactive interaction
with educational materials on polygraphic media
High degree of student involvement in the
educational process

(+) spontaneity of reaction, everything that

(–) pre-laid down options for the reaction of an
happens happens here and now, the possibility of a
electronic resource to the student’s actions, a delay in
more flexible and instant reaction of the teacher to
the teacher’s reaction during online interaction
the student’s actions
(+) increasing the degree of individualization due to
(–) low degree of individualization, the same
a variety of redundancy, flexibility and adaptability
educational trajectory for all students
(for individual requests) of electronic resources
(+) a wider communication field (interaction through
(–) limited communication field (interaction with a
communication systems, social networks and their
small number of classmates, similar in age,
analogs with a different age, geographically and
geographic location and social status)
socially distributed group)
(–) indirect (through computer communication) the
(+) the possibility of forming direct personal
formation of personal connections, limited emotional
human ties with deep emotional interaction
interaction

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What digital resources are needed for blended learning?

The use of digital educational resources is an integral and very important part of blended learning. They
have a number of features arising from the general properties of electronic media, which distinguish them
from printed publications and give them a number of significant advantages.

Features of digital educational resources and their technological advantages.

Features of digital educational Technological advantages of digital educational

#
resources resources

• inclusion of redundant educational information into

digital educational resources without increasing the
A large amount of information physical weight of the carrier;
1.
placed on electronic media
• placement on one medium of several different resources
(collections of tasks, problem books, atlases, guidelines,
etc.);

Variety of forms of information • simultaneous presentation of information in different

2.
presentation forms (text, graphic and multimedia);
• compact placement of large amounts of information due
to different levels of hypertext nesting;

• establishment of materially expressed logical

relationships between information units (cross-referencing
Hypertext structure of system);
3.
information presentation
• ease of navigation through the content (e.g. interactive
table of contents);

• the ability to add contextual hints;

• creation of tools and services for working with

educational information (highlighting fragments of text
with markers, creating bookmarks and notes, adding
individual content items to favorites, etc.);

• a quick content-based engine search;

• interactive modeling of processes and phenomena;

Possibility of interactive
4.
interaction with content • operational automatic assessment of assignments;

• creation of tools and services for organizing the

educational process (electronic journal, fixing the progress
of passing, storing assessment results, etc.);

• creation of services for communication between

participants in the educational process.

Thanks to the listed advantages, digital resources acquire completely new didactic properties:

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• variety of forms of presentation of educational information and multimedia;

• redundancy, multilevel and, as a consequence, variability;

• interactivity;

• flexibility and adaptability.

At the same time, such traditional properties as scientific character, clarity, structuredness and systematic
presentation of educational material can be preserved in digital educational resources.

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New properties and new didactic functions of digital educational resources

№ New properties of the content of

Examples of new didactic functions
п/п digital educational resources

• taking into account the characteristics of the student's

perception;

A variety of forms of presentation of

1. educational information and • development of the skill of transferring information from
multimedia one form to another;

• increased visibility;

• presentation of objects and phenomena in a realistic way;

• an opportunity of non-linear study of content;

2. Interactivity of content • an opportunity to manipulate objects, change their

parameters and modeling;

• presentation of information at the request of the student, the

manifestation of selectivity to information, the
implementation of an individual educational trajectory;

• the use of various combinations of interrelated fragments of

Redundancy, multi-level and, as a content presented in different forms (text, graphic, sound,
3. multimedia) in order to comprehensively cover the studied
result, variability of content
material;

• implementation of level differentiation of learning;

• implementation of the principle of variability;

It should be noted that such properties of digital educational resources as redundancy, a variety of tasks
and forms of presentation of educational information, multilevel content allow to implement with its help
the principle of content variability, to ensure flexibility and adaptability of the educational process, which,
in turn, creates conditions for personalization. learning. This principle assumes a variety of teaching
materials, assignments, forms of organization of the educational process, which ensures the self-
realization of each student through the possibility of choosing the type, type and form of activity in
accordance with his personal preferences. As a result, it becomes possible non-linear mastering of
educational material and taking into account the personal characteristics of students in the learning
process, which in turn makes digital educational resources an integral part of blended learning..

When implementing blended learning models, it is possible to use various types of digital educational
resources and online services:

— learning management systems (LMS, Learning Management System, for example, Moodle, Edmodo,
etc.);

— digital collections of educational objects (for example, the Unified Collection of Educational
Resources);

— online training courses;

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— tools for creating and publishing content and educational objects (for example, 1C test designer);

— communication and feedback tools (Mirapolis, Vebinar.ru, Skype, Google chat, etc.);

— collaboration tools (e.g. Google Docs, Word Online, etc.);

— community building tools (social media);

— planning tools for educational activities (electronic journals, organizers).

In blended learning, both ready-made digital resources and those created by the teachers themselves can
be used. At the same time, it is better to give preference to complex electronic resources that combine
educational content that meets the requirements of redundancy and tools for organizing educational
activities.

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Common features, advantages and difficulties in implementing blended learning

Blended learning is undoubtedly a progressive educational technology that has broad prospects for use
and further development..

This is primarily due to the fact that, when properly and fully applied, blended learning works to form
valuable personality traits, which are also known as the 21st century skills. They are as follows:

— the ability to comprehensively solve problems, taking into account all aspects of the problem being
solved;

— critical thinking, the ability to select reliable data sources and select the information that is really
needed to solve a problem;

— creativity, the ability to creatively rethink existing information, synthesize new ideas and solutions;

— teamwork, the ability to productively interact with other people, look for like-minded people and
create teams;

— ability and desire to learn throughout life;

— ability to make decisions and take responsibility for them;

Blended learning, like any other innovative technology, requires time and additional effort on the part of
the teacher to form the educational culture of the classroom. Unlike the classroom-lesson system, where
most of the time is spent on the formation of educational skills and the establishment of discipline, when
using blended learning, the main emphasis is on the formation of skills for independent work, group
work, mutual assistance and communication competencies.

1. Organizational features

The main organizational feature of blended learning is the gradual departure from the frontal forms of
work, well mastered and used by teachers, as well as student individualism as the main educational
strategy. In a traditional classroom, all organizational forms depend on the location of the teacher's table,
board and desks. They are adapted for lectures and other activities conducted in the monologue genre.
Lesson timelines also limit the scope of the learning task that can be presented to students. Typically, 45
minutes is barely enough to reproduce knowledge and practice skills. In these conditions, there is no time
left for the productive activity of students, not to mention the organization of analysis and reflection.

Therefore, the second important organizational feature is the restructuring of the study space: the
allocation of work areas, and in some cases even a complete rejection of the rigid classroom-lesson
organization of study time and space. As a result, the transition to blended learning can lead to a radical
transformation of the general organizational model of the school.

2. Technical features

From a technical point of view, a prerequisite for implementing blended learning is the use of computers.
These can be computer or mobile classrooms, computers in the school library, personal mobile devices of
students. It should be noted that blended learning does not require each student to have a device at the
same time, although in blended learning, the 1: 1 model (one student - one device), as well as the BYOD
model (“bring your device).

The use of modern web services allows you to organize distributed work in a joint document or collective
map, even for remote participants.

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 3. Informational features

Information resources (including digital ones) used in the implementation of blended learning should
have a high level of redundancy, which will allow you to select educational content in accordance with
the characteristics of each student. In addition, the tasks used should provide a variety of activity-based
forms of work with educational content (analysis of proposed data, mini-studies, projects, games, debates
and discussions).

4. Methodological features

A change in teaching methods is one of the main signs of a change in the introduction of blended
learning. The work of teachers includes methodological techniques aimed at the effective use of
technology and the expansion of the information and educational environment. It supports teaching
methods aimed at developing high-level thinking skills, life skills, career and work skills, problem solving
skills. Teaching methods based on teamwork, collaboration, self- and peer learning are disseminated and
supported. In blended learning, the practice of developing and sharing digital educational resources is
important.

There is no doubt that the use of blended learning technology places high demands for teachers, namely:

— high IT competence, possession of a variety of electronic tools, including communication services,

online collaboration, social tools, learning management systems, etc.;

— the ability to create your own educational content, because existing information resources do not
always have the level of redundancy of educational information that is necessary for organizing blended
learning;

— the ability to differentiate the educational process, taking into account the characteristics of each
student.

The introduction of blended learning requires from the teacher much more effort and time than the usual
frontal form of work that has been worked out for centuries. It is also unambiguously hampered by the
lack of psychological readiness of the teacher to change their role in the learning process, turning from a
mentor to an assistant. The introduction of blended learning as an innovation leads to a number of
changes in the self-determination and ways of the student and teacher. The student acquires a space of
freedom and responsibility, in which he learns to make an informed choice and be responsible for its
consequences. The teacher begins to function in new roles for himself, in particular, moves away from the
role of a translator to the role of a tutor, and the learning environment becomes a key instrument of the
teacher, in which the boundaries between the classroom environment and the online environment are
blurred.

As a result of the analysis of blended learning, we can confidently single out the following advantages
associated with the peculiarities of using digital educational resources:

1) unlimited access to educational and other types of information posted on electronic media and in the
online space (including in the form of online courses); with blended learning, the teacher ceases to be the
only source of information, and the redundancy of information received by the student allows him to form
a variety of skills in working with it;

2) the ability to “fine-tune” the content, methods and methods of teaching, allowing to satisfy the learning
needs of almost every student;

3) transparency and comprehensibility of the grading system, especially in that part of it where grading is
based on electronic assignments with automatic verification, and the teacher's subjective opinion does not
affect the grade;

4) the ability to track the learning process through an LMS with a variety of functionality.

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Difficulties and risks in implementing blended learning

One of the main problems in the development of blended learning models is the rigidity of lesson forms,
the dominance of narrow subject specialization in the development of curricula, the prevalence of top-
down planning principles and, of course, the formats and content of existing reporting. The teacher does
not break: realizing the need for changes, he, at the same time, is forced to fulfill the plan, and in this
sense he remains a ‘hostage’ of the existing teaching system.

Another problem is lack of IT literacy, dependence on technology, broadband Internet, stability of the
online regime and unlimited tariffs. Often, a low level of technology skills becomes an obstacle to the
implementation of this approach, therefore, a technological educational program, as well as training in
working with the LMS platform, is necessary for teachers and students.

A significant “inhibiting” factor – blended learning requires technical support and certain costs for the
creation of videos, training programs and testing modules. Under the conditions of a Russian school,
additional costs are also required for the modernization of the classroom space (for example, zoning the
space when using the “change of working areas” model, equipping classrooms with computers,
purchasing mobile devices for a student).

In the future, blended learning will develop thanks to the introduction of new forms of e-learning and the
development of models of interaction between the subjects of the educational process, which will
significantly expand the possibilities of the educational environment of the school and even go beyond it.

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3750648