What is "Blended Learning"? Does it really work?

When we speak of "blended learning", we speak of a combination of digital content and activity, and face-to-face content and activity. Blended learning does not replace any method in particular; it integrates both contents and calls for the need to strike balance in our lessons. 

Blended learning can provide teachers with a variety of ways to address students' needs and different ways of giving instructions. One of the main characteristics of blended learning is the possibility of identifying what is already working well in the classroom, and what might work better as digital content. Teachers need to know that adding digital content doesn't mean leaving behind all classroom instruction. That is to say, teachers must keep what is working well in a face-to-face mode, and add what could be more effective in a digital format.

That is similar to what has happened all through the year with Eco II. Our teacher taught us what kinds of resources we will need and what kind of access students will have to the technology necessary for a blended learning activity or lesson. Human relationships are also important, i.e., we need to keep adding new components to empathize with the students and to be really committed to providing students with what's necessary.

After all, as Sophie Partarrieu (2005) stated that "there is no single recipe for success when combining traditional and digital methods, but it’s clear that human presence – even remotely – still plays an important role in student motivation and progress."