Blended learning 'the most effective kind'

A combination of face-to-face instruction and online training, otherwise known as blended learning, is the most effective form of education.

This is according to Alex Williams, a course leader at Buckinghamshire New University who has pointed out the benefits of using online resources to aid classroom study.

He argued in a post for Digital Arts Online that face-to-face time with a lecturer should be spent taking part in workshops and receiving personal feedback, while the internet is great for catching up on missed lectures and doing homework.

"The beauty of an online lecture is if you don't get it the first time, you just watch it again. In fact, you keep watching it until you do get it," Mr Williams said.

Blended learning is a far more engaging way of educating students, schoolchildren and employees, as it allows individuals to access more interactive and exciting models of teaching, but still lets them benefit from being to talk to their tutors and bosses face-to-face.

Because of Mr Williams' decision to 'flip the classroom', his pupils now can now watch hundreds of online videos that serve as preliminary education to lectures, which can be used as workshops and practical sessions instead.

Professionals are just as able to take advantage of the materials found online, and the internet gives them the chance just to study the bits that are relevant to their career and interests.

"The beauty of online learning is its flexibility and the fact that it can be organised around a day job or other commitments," Mr Williams explained.

Indeed, traditional educational models are slowly being phased out in favour of more innovative structures, with schools and businesses across the country looking to give their company a digital overhaul in order to meet the advancing technological demands of the next generation.