Nontraditional Learning Environments and Blended Learning

While the subject of non-traditional students (returning adults, military veterans, ESL students, etc.) and blended learning are important to consider within the traditional teaching/learning environment in schools, colleges, and universities,  I have been excited by blended learning opportunities within non-traditional learning environments (such as public libraries).

For example, I was visiting a colleague at a public library and he was working with a user who did not have much experience searching for books using the general catalog or Worldcat. I wondered if it might have been possible to have created a screen capture video (using JING or Camtasia) as he searched the catalog and requested the book title through interlibrary loan. Both long term teaching goals and short term service goals might be accomplished with this approach, as the interaction would result in an interlibrary loan request and also a video (with a link to the video emailed to the user) would be created to be used for user generated requests or just a better understanding (authentic learning) on how the interlibrary loan process works.

There are also many learning situations in libraries that might be developed by utilizing the cognitive time before and after the learning event. For example, I went to a technical training program at my public library for a one hour tutorial on how to operate some software.  Perhaps that class could have been enhanced with pre-learning modalities, such as sending a reading or video to prompt us to prepare on certain concepts and then there could have been post-learning scenarios as with the instructor following up with class participants and providing guidance on projects to further develop software skills. There could also have been a user group of sorts so that the participants could have built on the cohesion of the class.

This is all to say that we can import some of the traditional learning organizational tools into nontraditional learning environments and build more creative and productive learning outcomes, whether participants are being formally evaluated or not.

Just as blended learning in traditional learning environments may have benefits because of increased access/flexibility and/or an increased detriment because of lack of computer access or computer skills, so too blended learning within non-traditional environments should be considered within these lights.