Blended Learning in the Campus-Based University: A Case Study Exploring the Student Experience of Technology for Enhancing Learning

The Developing Landscape Of Blended Learning Through The First Decade Of The 21St Century

With the development of e-learning in the last years of the 20^th century and the first decade of the 21^st century, prospective students now have more choice about where and how they might study. Instead of choosing a place to study based on the two traditional options of either studying online or studying at an institution which offers an ‘on-campus’ experience, students can now choose a blended environment which could offer the best of both an online and on-campus learning experience. Blended learning has been variously described in the literature but the one to which this author ascribes and whose description aligns most closely with this case-study institution’s view is the description originally proposed by Garrison and Kanuka (2004): ‘the thoughtful integration of classroom face-to-face learning experiences with online learning experiences” (p.2) .

In this chapter the author discusses her own research into the student experience of blended learning, carried out at a UK-based case study institution. The study aimed to investigate how students have used personal and institutionally provided technologies to enhance their learning and how they describe their developing confidence and ultimately their clear preference for studying with the opportunities provided by a blended environment.