Educational Technology for Active Connections in Blended Learning Environments

Abstract

This conference focuses on employing educational technology for connections. It assumes that these connections will be active, and not latent – otherwise these will be meaningless and ineffective. The emphasis is thus on creating effective learning environments. Such learning environments are not just online or digital, but can also be physical learning spaces in which educational technology can play a key role.A key strategy to ensure that educational technology connections are indeed active is to employ educational technology within an active learning framework for both online and on-campus learning i.e. blended learning. Educational technology on its own does not lead to active learning – only when it is used within well-founded learning designs – of which constructive alignment is highlighted below. I am thus agreeing with Veletsianos and Moe (2017) that educational technology by itself is not “education’s silver bullet” but should be located within “the essentials of teaching and learning: theory, pedagogy and emergent trends in the research.” Such active learning will lead to learner engagement, leading to effective learning and learner success. The vision for instance for educational technologies at Charles Sturt University is to “support educational practices focussed on student success by providing cutting edge, stable learning environments”.