Vol. 4 Issue 14 – ELTWO Research Paper: ‘Blended E-learning: The Way to Go?’ by Sujata S Kathpalia

Research Paper Abstract

Blending is an art which integrates different types of resources and activities to make learning more effective. In the last decade, blended learning has extended to include e-learning, with teachers in higher education integrating e-learning into traditional methods of teaching (Littlejohn & Pegler, 2007). The objective of this paper is to present one such experiment with blended e-learning, which combines face-to-face interaction and computer-mediated communication to teach oral presentation skills in a communication skills course. Through an analysis of student comments (on video presentations) in the discussion board of Nanyang Technological University’s e-learning system, this paper aims to gauge whether blended e-learning is a student-centered and constructivist way of learning and how student participants feel about this type of learning. It is hoped that this preliminary investigation will throw light on the controversial issue of whether Information and Communication Technologies in education should be used to augment or replace the face-to-face learning environment.

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