Recipes for second generation blended learning

 
Blended learning is no longer a major talking point in learning and development and perhaps that’s not such a bad thing. Bandwagons are fun when they arrive in town and they certainly make some money for those selling conferences, books, magazines and consultancy; but more often than not, when they’ve made a lot of noise parading down the main street, they disappear off into the distance, leaving behind a whole load of headaches and hangovers. But, as ever, there’s little chance of much peace and quiet, because there’s always another bandwagon not far behind. In the case of blended learning, following it into town came the bandwagon snappily labelled Learning 2.0, laden with musicians trumpeting blogs, wikis and social networks.

Now, if I was cynical (and most Brits are), I’d spot an opportunity here. After all, the Learning 2.0 bandwagon is itself losing a bit of momentum while organisations work out how on earth they put it into practice and when ‘sticking to the knitting’ seems to be more appropriate as we enter a recession of potentially monumental proportions. What is the opportunity? Well, it comes from the realisation that blended learning and informal learning are not actually mutually exclusive concepts; in fact I will argue that they make very compatible bed-fellows. Blended learning can integrate informal learning methods; it can also act as a bridge to true informal learning; well beyond the scope of the formalised training course, in that area of our lives where real work gets done. The partnership of blended and informal learning has to have a name, and so I’m going to call it Blended Learning 2.0. Groans all round, I know, but it has to be done.

The revised collection of recipes in this second edition of The Blended Learning Cookbook reflects the shift to a second generation of blended solutions, solutions that go well beyond the stereotypical combinations of classroom courses and self-study e-learning. Training methods are relatively timeless, but are beginning to be questioned as never before, so you’ll find recipes here that demonstrate radically new approaches to learning at work. At the same time, in the three years since the first edition of this book, options for learning media have continued to multiply and evolve, providing ever more cost-effective choices for anyone responsible for assembling the blend. It seems impossible to believe that so much change will occur in the next three years, but somehow you have to believe it will.

If you're at Learning Technologies in London 28-29 January, you can pick up a free copy of the Cookbook at the Saffron Interactive stand. If you want to reduce its value, I'll even sign it for you! Those not able to get to London can obtain own online from Amazon.