Blended learning

Blended learning, a new approach in educational planning, is defined as an applying m ore than one m ethod,strategy,technique or m edia in education.Today’s,due to the developm entofinfrastructure ofInternetnetw orks and the access ofm ostofthe students,the Internetcan be utilized along w ith traditionaland conventionalm ethods oftraining.Training is know n as an agent ofchange and progress in hum an.Im provem entofeducationalquality has been considered in m edical fields, and its im portance is grow ing gradually. The blended revolution that has em pow ered students in developing nations is just now spreading to developing countries w ith im proved internetaccess,students have opportunities to experience blended and m obile learning. Blended and m obile learning can assist countries w ith increased educational access and online providers opportunities to reach new internationalm arkets.Technology has furled the distance – learning environm entfrom correspondence courses,to radio and TV to videoconferencing,to online and now to blended and m obile learning.

Blended learning is an interactive,student-centered approach that integrates engaging online content w ith the best features of classroom interaction. This approach also personalizes student learning and includes severalform s ofassessm entforstudents and instructor.Severaldefinitions of blended learning w ere proposed by severalresearchers.It should be noted that there are other nam es being used for blended learning such as hybrid learning,

integrated learning,m ulti-m ethod learning,orm ixed m ethod learning (Node,2001).

Al-Zoubiand Bani-Doum i(2013)sum m arized the factors w hich contribute to the success ofblended learning as follow s:

• Com m unicating and guidance:the learner in this m ethod doesn’t

know w hen w ill he need help, and the equipm ent, tools and applications needed in order to exam ine his skills, so, blended learning oughtto incorporate instructions concerning the behaviors, activities and expectations,as w ellas m ethods fordiagnosis and tasks recom m ended forthe learnerand w ritten and w ellspecified roles.
• Collective w ork:in blended learning,every individualought to be persuaded that participation of allstudents as a team ,in w hich each m em berhas specific roles,is im portant.
• Encouraging innovative w ork: blended learning encourages self-learning and group learning, because the technological m eans available in blended learning m akes this possible,through class interactions w hich encourage innovation and im proves w ork.
• Flexible choices: blended learning enables students to access inform ation and answ er questions regardless of tim e and place, and the previous learning of the student.Thus,blended learning should incorporate severalflexible choices w hich enable students to find those suitable to theirpreferences.
•????Participation of the students in choosing the suitable blend:the teacheroughtto assisthis students in choosing the suitable blend

(online learning, individual w ork, traditional lecturing, reading printed m aterials,e-m ail).The teacherm otivates students as w ell, and ensures that they choose activities suitable for the achievem entofm asteryand m axim um efficiency.
• Continuous com m unication: a quick m eans of com m unication should be available forboth learners and instructors forguidance allthe tim e,and netw ork com m unication am ong students should be available for the purposes of sharing inform ation, solving problem s and sharing applications.
• Repetition: repetition is one of the m ost im portant features of blended learning,and one of the factors w hich contribute to its success,because itenables learners to receive the sam e m essage from several sources,in different form s and at different tim es. Thus, a lesson can be delivered in a traditional m anner, then through the w eb. And supervisors of the program can hold a sem inarw hich tackles the topic anothertim e,and video conference aboutthe sam e topic can be used,in addition to the use ofchatting and e-m ails and Self-adm inistered exam s can be applied also.All those repetitions enrich the topic,and m eetthe needs oflearners. W hatis im portantis thatallthose repetitions and various versions oughtto be ofa high leveltechnology.

1.1 SCIENCE LEARNING

Science education is designs to share scientific data and events w ith students w ho are notpartofthe scientific com m unity buthave to benefitfrom scientific understanding.Itis a w ay to m ake students scientifically literate about generalconcepts thatpertain to scientific discovery.Science education usually includes the subjectareas ofphysical,life,earth and space sciences.The aim of teaching any schoolsubjectm ustalw ays be directed tow ards achieving the aim s

of education in general.The teaching of science as a subject m ust,therefore contribute to the all-round developm entof the child so thatthey com es outas socially usefuland efficientcitizen ofthe m odern scientific w orld.According to Kotharicom m ission “The destiny of the country is being shaped in the class room s”.To achieve the designed goals and to m eet the situation in a suitable w ay the teacherhas to play a very vitalrole in educationalinstitution.Teaching is considered both an artand a science.

Successfuland effective teaching requires tw o basic things.The teacher should be com petentto teach the subjectallotted to him /herand atthe sam e tim e he/she should follow new techniques of teaching to m ake the learning fruitfuland interesting.Teaching and learning process form s an integralpartof education. The effectiveness of teaching and learning could be m easured in term s of the levelof achievem ent of students in the subject of study and the effectiveness of teaching and learning depends upon both the teacher and the student.To increase the levelofachievem entin any subject,the teacherand the students need to have know ledge ofblended learning to be em ployed.The new educationalpolicy suggested m easure to redesign the science curriculum so as to m ake itrelated to life.To im prove the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning in schools m ust look into w hat teachers and students do in classroom s.During this period the subjectw as usually taughtas generalscience in m ostofthe states.How ever,atthe secondary stage science w as an optional subject,w hich w as offered either as a com bination of physical science and biology or as physics, chem istry and biology. The syllabus of science and textbooks w ere prescribed by the respective state agencies.The content and process of science teaching in schools, therefore, varied from one state to another.

The m ajorobjectives identified w ere:

• To acquire the know ledge ofchem istry.

• To develop scientific attitudes such as objectives outlook,integrity,

accuracyand precision,avoiding hastyconclusion on insufficientdata.

The technology m odules introduced atthis stage should be m ore advanced than atthe upperprim ary stage.The m odules should involve design, im plem entation using the schoolw orkshop,ifpossible,and testing the efficacy of the m odules by qualitative and quantitative param eters. The various com ponents of the science curriculum indicated above should be integrated im aginatively.

1.2 LEARNING CHEM ISTRY:

Chem istryis one ofthe m ostim portantbranches ofscience;it enables learners to understand w hathappened around them .Because chem istry topics are generallyrelated to orbased on the structure ofm atter,chem istry proves a difficultsubjectform anystudents.Chem istrycurricula com m only incorporate m anyabstractconcepts,w hich are centralto furtherlearning in both chem istryand othersciences (Taber,2002).These abstractconcepts are
im portantbecause furtherchem istry/science concepts ortheories cannotbe easilyunderstood ifthese underpinning concepts are notsufficientlygrasped by the student(Zoller,1990;Nakhleh,1992;Ayas & Dem irba?,1997;Coll& Treagust, 2001a;Nicoll,2001).The abstractnature ofchem istryalong w ith othercontent learning difficulties (e.g.the m athem aticalnature ofm uch chem istry)m eans that chem istryclasses require a high-levelskillset(Fensham ,1988;Zoller,1990; Taber,2002).Chem istryis often regarded as a difficultsubject,an observation thatsom etim es repels learners from continuing w ith studies in chem istry.W ith the establishm entofnew syllabuses in chem istryforsecondaryschools in differentcountries in the lastdecayed.One ofthe essentialcharacteristics of chem istryis the constantinterplaybetw een the m acroscopic and m icroscopic levels ofthought,and itis this aspectofchem istry(and physics)learning that represents a significantchallenge to novices (Bradley& Brand,1985).In his early study,Johnstone (1974)reported thatthe problem areas in the subject,from the pupils’pointofview ,persisted w ellinto universityeducation,the m ostdifficult topics being the m ole,chem icalform ulae and equations,and,in organic

chem istry,condensations and hydrolysis.Overa num berofyears,m anyofthe above difficultareas w as subjected to system atic studyto tryto identifythe pointofdifficultyand to seek com m on factors am ong the nature ofthese difficulties (Johnstone etal.,1977;Duncan ; Johnstone,1973;Kellett; Johnstone,1974;Garforth etal.,1976).Johnstone and El-Banna (1986) suggested a predictive m odelthatenabled them to raise and testan im portant hypothesis,w hich w as then applied to chem istrylearning as w ellas to learning in otherscience disciplines.
Chem istry,byits verynature,is highlyconceptual.W hile m uch can be acquired byrote learning (this often being reflected byefficientrecallin
exam ination questions),realunderstanding dem ands the bringing togetherof conceptualunderstandings in a m eaningfulw ay.Thus,w hile students show
som e evidence oflearning and understanding in exam ination papers,researchers find evidence ofm isconceptions,rote learning,and ofcertain areas ofbasic
chem istryw hich are stillnotunderstood even atdegree-level(Johnstone,1984; Bodner,1991):W hatis taughtis notalw ays w hatis learned.

1.3 LEARNING DIFFICULTIES IN CHEM ISTRY:

M any students from secondary schools to universities in m any countries struggle to learn chem istry and m any do not succeed (Reid.L.,2008).Research has show n that m any students do not correctly understand fundam ental chem istry concepts (Kam isah,O.,;Nur,S.,2013). And also m any of the scientifically incorrectideas held by the students go unchanged from the early years of the schooling to university and som etim es beyond (Sozbiler,M .;Pynarbapy,A.N.C.,T.,2010). By not fully and appropriately understanding fundam entalconcepts,m any students have trouble understanding the m ore advanced concepts that build upon these fundam ental concepts (Thom as,P.L. ,1997) . M any high school and university students experience difficulties w ith fundam entalideas in chem istry (Carson,J.,; W atson,E.M ,2002).

Despite the im portance of the foundation of chem istry,m ost students em erge from introductory courses w ith very lim ited understanding ofthe subject(Ochs, R.S.,1996) .Chem istry had been regarded as a difficultsubjectforstudents by m any researchers, teachers and science educators because of the abstract nature of m any chem ical concepts, teaching styles applied in class, lack of teaching aids and the difficulty of the language of chem istry.Chem istry being one ofthe m ostim portantbranches ofscience enables learners to understand w hathappened around them .Because chem istry topics are generally related to orbased on the structure ofm atter,chem istry appears to be a difficultsubject form anystudents.

Chem istrycurricula com m onlyincorporate m anyabstractconcepts, w hich are central to further learning in both chem istry and other sciences. Chem istry concepts or theories can never be easily understood if the underpinning concepts are notsufficiently grasped by the student.The abstract nature of chem istry along w ith other content learning difficulties (e.g. the m athem atical nature of m uch of chem istry) m eans that chem istry classes require a high-levelskillset.Science inquiry has been highly advocated to be im plem ented in m iddle and high schoolscience since the last century.Som e com m on constraints to im plem ent inquiry in Chem istry include inadequate Chem istry know ledge and nature of science, lack of pedagogical skills. Inadequate access to appropriate curriculum m aterials and teachers teaching outside theirfields ofexpertise.

1.4 INTRODUCTION TO DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

In recentyears reference to ‘digitaltechnologyin the classroom ‘ (DTC)can be taken to m ean digitalprocessing system s thatencourage active learning,know ledge construction,inquiry,and exploration on the partofthe learners,and w hich allow forrem ote com m unication as w ellas data sharing to take place betw een teachers and/orlearners in differentphysicalclassroom

locations.This is an expanded notion oftechnologies thatrecognises their developm entfrom m ere inform ation deliverysystem s and also clarifies theirrole in classroom s in contrastto theirw ideruse across schools and learning centres.

Otherterm s are associated w ith digitaltechnologies in the classroom :m Definition Exam ple Benefit(s)Risk(s)
Bring yourow n device (BYOD):

Definition :learners bring theirow n technologyinto the classroom foruse as part
ofthe learning activity.

Exam ple research

Benefits

institution

:M obile phone is used to brow se the internetas partofa

Activity.

:Greaterrange oftechnologies available and low ercostto

E-portfolios :

Definition :Learners and teachers create an electronic catalogue ofw ork

that

uses

Exam ple

Benefits

tracks theirlearning journey.This is usuallyonline and often

m ultim edia files.

:A studentportfolio ofartw ork is presented online through an

e-portfolio.This includes scans oftheirsketches,photographs ofdisplays and visits to galleries,w ritten reflections,narrated videos ofthe artist(learner)atw ork and an audio logbook.
:Provides a w ayofquicklyand seam lesslypresenting a w ide

variety of m aterialin differentform ats including details of process.
Flipped classroom :

Definition :Learners discovernew contentbefore the lesson from online videos
Orresources and then applythis know ledge in m ore personalised w ork in the classroom .

Exam ple :Learners w atch a video athom e abouthow sedim entaryrocks are transform ed into m etam orphic rocks.In class theyw ork in groups to collaborativelycreate a diagram explaining this process oftransform ation.

Benefits

and

:M ore tim e foractivities thatprom ote deeperunderstanding

Reflection.

PersonalLearning Netw ork (PLN):

Definition :A PLN is an individual’s loose collection oflinks w ith other people
orresources.The aim ofsuch a netw ork is to facilitate an exchange
ofideas thatsupports learning.

Exam ple :Links can be through,forexam ple:online interestgroups for exam ple on Tw itterand/oronline and face-to-face courses.

Benefits :Access to a w ide range ofperspectives and expertise beyond the

confines ofthe physicalinstitution.

VirtualLearning Environm ent(VLE)

Definition :A VLE is an e-learning education system thatis w eb-based,but m odelled on conventionalface-to-face education. Itprovides
access to courses,course content,assessm ents,hom ew ork,links to external
resources etc.

Exam ple

Benefits

: M oodle Blackboard.

:Easyw ayto collate and organise courses and inform ation

flexibilityofaccess.

classroom continued Interactive W hiteboards (IW B)

Itallow s im ages from a com puterto be displayed through a digital projector,onto a large (usually w all-m ounted)board.Users can interactw ith the contenton the board using fingers ora stylus.

Softw are Applications (Apps)

They are designed to operate on m obile devices such as sm artphones
and tabletcom puters.

W eb 2.0 :

Itrefers to the second generation ofthe W orld W ide W eb.W eb 2.0 includes features and functionalitythatw ere notavailable before,forexam ple.

podcasts,

blogs,w ikis,RSS (Rich Site Sum m ary– used forupdating regularlychanging w eb content),socialnetw orking and tagging.

Benefits ofdigitaltechnologies in the classroom

•The potentialbenefits ofDTC are thatitcan fosterdialogic and em ancipatorypractice.Dialogic practice is thatin w hich students are active,engaged and em pow ered participants in a conversation from
w hich learning em erges.

•Differenttechnologies can im prove learning byaugm enting and connecting learning activities

•Digitaltechnologycan often also be exciting forlearners and offers a potentiallym ore engaging alternative.Atthe sam e tim e itis im portantto be aw are thatsom e learners m aybe less confidentin
learning w ith digitaltechnologies and steps need to be taken to ensure equalityofaccess.

•Digitaltechnologyoffers im m ediate feedback forboth the learner and the teacher.
Term Definition Exam ple Benefit(s)Risk(s)

Teachers supportthe use ofdigitaltechnologies in the classroom :

Teachers can m ake the bestuse oftechnologyin the classroom by developing theiraw areness ofa range ofdigitaltechnologies and considering carefullyboth how and w hytheycan be used to supportstudents’learning. Effective selection ofsoftw are and devices is onlypartofthe story.The

consideration ofw hatlearning

w illbe achieved and how the technologym ayhelp is fundam entalto its effective deploym ent.

The SAM R (Substitution,Augm entation,M odification,Redefinition) m odeldeveloped byDrRuben Puentedura is a usefulreference w hen considering the
im plem entation oftechnologyin the classroom .The educationaltechnology often follow as theyintegrate theirteaching and learning w ith technology. Substitution

1.5 INTRODUCTION TO BLENDED LEARNING

W hitlock and Jelfe (2003) proposed three definitions for blended learning as follow s:the com plete integration oftraditionallearning and internet-assisted learning; the integration of instructional m eans and the use of educationaltechnology in learning;and the integration of severalinstructional m ethods regardless oftechnology.

Bersin (2003)defines blended learning as a m odern m ethod w hich depends on technology and the use ofinstructionalm ethods suitable forsolving the problem s related to class m anagem ent as w ell as the learning-directed activities,w hich require accuracy and m astery.Itcan be concluded thatblended learning is an instructionalm ethod thatintegrates com putertechnology and the traditionalm ethods fam iliarto teachers.

Salam eh (2005) suggests that blended learning is the acceptable alternative of e-Learning,and w hich creates higher returns and requires low er costs and is the m ostdeveloped m odern learning m ethod.Blended learning can be defined as the process ofblending the traditionalroles ofteachers w ith the roles ofthe e-teacherin classes.Thus itis a learning w hich integrates traditional and electronic learning.

Al-Khan (2005) suggests blended learning is a strategy that incorporates both the direct learning through the internet as w ell as indirect learning.Directe-learning usually incorporates the use ofintra-and internet,w hile indirectlearning is the one applied in traditionalclasses.An exam ple ofthis type of learning is a learning program w hich provides educational m aterials and research sources on the w eb,w hile the guidance of the teacher and training sessions provide an essentialinstructionalm eans.

According to Bonk ; Graham (2006)the m ostim portantfeatures of blended learning include decreasing the cost of learning significantly,face to face interaction,supporting the hum anistic aspects and socialrelations am ong learners, and betw een them and the teacher, the flexibility required for the fulfillm entofthe individualneeds,the learning styles ofstudents from different backgrounds, ages and regions, using the technological developm ent in designing,im plem entation and practice,enrichm entofknow ledge,im proving the quality ofteaching process,learning outcom es and the efficiency ofteachers,as w ellas the educated discourse am ong the various cultures and m aking use of the new developm ents in sciences.

The chem istry faculty w ho have taught both lecture and hybrid form ats have noticed an increase in student preparedness. The research evidence from the student course questionnaire,com bined w ith the evidence thatthe m ore tim e students spentusing the blended learning class guides,the betterthey scored on theirfinalexam ,supports the supposition thatthe guides are an integralcom ponent in creating this successfulhybrid course.How ever, the team realizes that because the traditionallecture course did not have any m eans of capturing the am ount of tim e on task students spent outside the classroom ,itis im possible to directly calculate and com pare the im pactofthe guides on the blended learning form at versus the lecture. Additionally, the redesign team realizes that other factors in the Chem ical Principles hybrid course redesign also contributed to studentsuccess and retention.In the future, the team plans to exam ine the extentto w hich the use ofclickers,m ultim edia, and online quizzes contributed to enhancing studentsuccess in the course.

The blended learning class guides provide m ore than a detailed syllabus or sim ple online study guide. The integration of instructor-guided m aterials,practice exercises,and interactive,m ultim edia tutorials,gam es,and sim ulations in the docum ented guides form at has show n prom ise in assisting low erlevel,generaleducation chem istry students in betterunderstanding course content,w hich has led to im proved student test scores and course retention. W hile notevery aspectofa class guide m ay be appropriate forallhybrid courses, this type of guide could be replicated,custom ized,and utilized in a variety of hybrid or online course learning environm ents to further enhance student achievem ent and retention. The im proved student success and retention,the faculty in the chem istry departm ent have com m itted to teaching the General Chem istry course in the blended form at.This has created course consistency am ong allthe sections because the students receive identicalm aterials each class day and take a variation ofthe sam e exam .The tim e spentpreparing for the class by individualinstructors has also dram atically decreased because the lecture has been replaced w ith in-class problem -solving activities and the online blended learning class guides. The instructors collaborate to ensure that the problem s given to students are appropriate and relevant, but no individual instructoris responsible forthe w hole course.Finally,afterthe m odule a short quiz w illbe given in orderto gauge the levelofcom prehension gained from the online m odule. A key elem ent of this project is that there are tw o sets of questions w ith differenttypes ofconstruction.The pre/postquiz scores w illbe

analyzed to tryand see ifone question w as superiorto the other.

Driscoll(2002)identifies fourdifferentconcepts in blended learning

• To com bine or m ix m odes of w eb-based technology (e.g., live virtual

classroom ,self-paced instruction,collaborative learning,stream ing video, audio,and text)to accom plish an educationalgoal.
• To com bine differentteaching m ethods based on m ultiple theories (e.g., constructivism ,behaviourism ,cognitivism )to produce an optim allearning outcom e w ith orw ithoutinstructionaltechnology.
• To com bine any form ofinstructionaltechnology (e.g.,videotape,CD-ROM , w ebbased training,film )w ith face-to-face instructor-led training.
• To m ix orcom bine instructionaltechnology w ith actualjob tasks in order to create a harm onious effectoflearning and w orking.

Learnercharacteristics/background and blended learning effectiveness

Studies indicate that student characteristics such as gender play significantroles in academ ic achievem entbutno study exam ines perform ance ofm ale and fem ale as an im portantfactorin blended learning effectiveness.It has again been noted thatthe success of blended learning is highly dependent on experience in internetand com puterapplications Rigorous discovery ofsuch com petences can finally lead to a confirm ation of high possibilities of establishing blended learning. Research agrees that the success of blended learning can largely depend on students as w ellas teachers gaining confidence and capability to participate in blended learning note in theirresearch that75% of students and 72% ofteachers w ere lacking in skills to utilize ICT based learning com ponents due to insufficient skills and experience in com puter and internet

applications and this m ay lead to failure in e-learning and blended learning.Itis therefore pertinentthatsince the use ofblended learning applies high usage of com puters, com puter com petence is necessary to avoid failure in applying technology in education for learning effectiveness. The learners’ com puter literacy and tim e m anagem ent are crucial in distance learning contexts and concluded thatsuch factors are m eaningfulin online classes.This supportthe learners to posses tim e m anagem ent skills and com puter skills necessary for effectiveness in e-learning and blended learning.Self-regulatory skills of tim e m anagem ent lead to better perform ance and learners’ability to structure the physical learning environm ent leads to efficiency in blended learning environm ents.Learners need to seek helpfulassistance from peers and teachers through chats,em ailand face-to-face m eetings foreffectiveness factors such as learners’hours ofem ploym entand fam ily responsibilities are know n to im pede learners’process oflearning,blended learning.Itw as also noted thata com m on factorin failure and learnerdrop-outis the tim e conflictw hich is com pounded by issues of fam ily,em ploym ent status as w ellas m anagem ent support.A study show s thatw ork,fam ily,insufficienttim e and study load m ade learners w ithdraw from online courses.
Learnerattitudes to blended learning can resultin its effectiveness and these shape behavioralintentions w hich usually lead to persistence in a learning environm ent,blended inclusive.The learners’attitudes tow ards blended learning is success factorforthese learning environm ents.Learnerperform ance by age and genderin blended learning has been found to indicate no significant differences betw een m ale and fem ale learners and different age groups.This im plies that the potential for blended learning to be effective exists and is unham pered bygenderorage differences.

Blended learning success factors:

The success ofblended learning is based on a num beroffactors that m ust be m et and taken into account w hen designing and im plem enting blended learning. Baldw in-Evans (2006),Alm ousa (2005) have all indicated a num berofthese factors,including:

1. Good planning: includes determ ining the function and role of both the teacher and the learner,and to identify how to use e-learning tools byboth teachers and learners accurately.

2. Providing hardw are: by ensuring the availability of various devices used in a blended learning environm ent,both forlearners oratthe educationalinstitution.

3. The diversity of sources: the blended learning environm ent enables learners to access differentinform ation and resources,regardless ofplace ortim e.

4.Ensure learner readiness:This is done by ensuring their skills levels in the use ofthe com puterand Internet,and technologicalculture.

5. Training: train learners on how to use the e-learning com m unication tools via the internet,and how to access the learning resources through these tools.

6.Providing supportand assistance:this begins atthe end ofthe training.Som e essentials of a new skillm ay not be used directly in the

training program m e,and can be easily lost;therefore,it is im portant to provide learners continued support.

1.6.APPROACHES IN TEACHING LEARNING PROCESS :

An approach is an enlightened view point tow ard teaching. It provides philosophy to the w hole process of instruction. The m ethod and technique are just part and parcel of approach. Approach gives the overall w isdom ;itprovides direction,and setexpectations to the entire spectrum ofthe teaching process. Furtherm ore, approach sets the general rule or general principle to m ake learning possible.

Teaching Approach is like a description of how w e go about teaching ourstudents.This description explains w hatw e do w hen w e teach.

• The sorts of teaching and learning activities that w e have

planned (lecture,tutorial,self – directed learning,case study, w orkshop,w orkplace learning);
• W ays in w hich w e try to engage students w ith the subject m atter ( provide students w ith basic facts, relate new know ledge to w hatstudents already know ,build in interaction, be passionate,be enthusiastic);
• The w ays in w hich w e support our students ( encourage questions,setform ative assessm ents and provide constructive feedback).

Advantages ofBlended Learning

Asynchronous learning:

This m eans that students can learn the sam e m aterial at differenttim es and locations (Any Tim e and Any Place)in addition to face-to-face learning.The learnercan have access to the course atany tim e thatis convenient,not just during the specific 2-3 hour period that is set for a traditionalcourse.Also,learners do nothave to m eetin a lotofface-to-face lessons.Thatm eans they can be anyw here.Individuals can log-on athom e, w ork,in the library,in a com m unity learning centre or from their flats and hotels w hen they travel. Also, asynchronous learning leads to increased reflection tim e (Heckm an and Annabi,2005).

Self-study:

This m eans students w ill learn how they can study independently and individually. They w ill need to m anage them selves as learners,and notto relyon teachers and lecturers to give them directansw ers and all the inform ation and, m ost im portantly, to w ork on achieving intellectual independence. Also, student-centered learning is generally perceived by students as m ore appealing and puts greaterresponsibility on the student(M cM ahon & Oliver,2001).

Flexibilityofattendance:

In m any of the blended learning classroom s, there is the possibility to study w heneverthe studentchooses to do so.Forexam ple,if any student is absent,she m ay view som e of the m issed m aterials at the sam e tim e as the rest of the class, even though the student cannot be physically in the classroom .This helps students stay on track and not fall behind,w hich is especially helpfulfor students w ith prolonged sickness or injurythatcould preventthem from attending class (Alvarez,2005).

Benefits offace-to-face:

w hen students have a m eeting,theyactuallyw illgetdirectface-to-face interaction w ith the teachers w ho can help them .This face-to-face learning w here the students and teacherm eetin a classroom is very effective in giving learning a personaltouch as itw ere.Itis good forw orkshops,job training and coaching.Also,there w illbe a sense ofease in com m unication and inform ation sharing,exercises,im m ediate feedback on activities.

1.7 DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY BASED BLENDED LEARNING APPROACH

M ost psychologists believe that transm itting the Education to Learners is related to educationalconditions,and this education should be organized for each learner based on her/his talent and capability.Due to the lim itations of the lecture m ethod, m any experts em phasize com pletion of traditionalteaching m ethods and use ofblended teaching m ethods.The Digital Technology Based Blended Learning is actually a com bination of tw o or m ore m ethods thatuse otherteaching m ethods such as m ultim edia courses,sem inars and e-learning,in addition to the presence classes.Experience has show n that w ell-designed hybrid courses enhance student learning and increase student retention,even in large introductory science classes.DigitalTechnology Based Blended learning class guides presentdigitalcontentin an instructor-guided and consistent form at w ithin a course m anagem ent system . Digital learning m aterials em bedded in blended learning guides interactive m ultim edia tutorials, podcasts,videos,and sim ulations can furtherengage students,influencing tim e on task in theirlearning and prom oting theirsuccess.One ofthe firstchallenges the investigaor faced in creating the online guides w as determ ining the m ost appropriate technology to use.The principalcriteria applied to the selection of technology w ere:costand developm enttim e,ease ofm aintaining and updating

forfaculty,and ease ofuse forstudents.The investigatordecided thatusing a com bination of m ature and sim ple to use technologies w as the m ost sensible choice,w hich led to initially designing and developing the guides in M icrosoft Pow erPoint.Because ofa university-w ide licensing agreem ent,Pow erPointw as freely available softw are that both faculty m em bers w ere com fortable using. Also,itw as possible to use this softw are to create a pleasing design background, develop navigation buttons, and integrate hyperlinks. This Pow erPoint class guide w ould then be saved in a Portable Docum ent Form at (PDF).This w ould allow the instructorto upload a self-contained guide thatcould notbe edited by the students but allow ed universal access through a freely available Adobe Reader softw are package preinstalled on allcam pus lab com puters as w ellas being dow nloadable forthe students’personalcom puters.The blended learning class guides aided in the transform ation of a traditionallecture-based course into a successful hybrid course. The class guides enabled the instructors to m ove m uch ofthe lecture contentoutside the classroom ,and as a resultallow ed them to create a peer-led team -learning environm entin class.
The chem istry faculty, through the use of clickers, can m ore actively guide and engage students in learning in the classroom .A centralaim of the guides w as to expose the students to im portant content just prior to the class session covering the m aterial, enabling them to com e to class better prepared.The guides encouraged student use in a num ber of w ays,including assigning a few points to the pre-class assignm ent com ponent, providing a helpful textbook study guide resource, and integrating both m ultim edia and interactive learning m aterials thatcan engage various studentlearning styles.
Thus from the above discussion it is clear that in the Digital technologyBased Blended Learning approach ofChem istrylearning.

1.8 STATEM ENT OF THE PROBLEM

Chem istry is a search forexplanation and interaction offacts and ideas. The m ajortask ofprofessionalpreparation forChem istry teacheris to develop a teaching style based on approach w hich helps students to im prove the achievem ent.Technology and education are a greatcom bination ifused together w ith a rightreason and vision.Technology gives students im m ediate access to an abundance of quality inform ation w hich leads to learning at m uch quicker rates than before.This m ade the investigatorto proceed to develop a m odelto im prove the levelo achievem entin Chem istry.The title of the presentstudy is “EFFECTIVENESS OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY BASED BLENDED LEARNING ON ACHIEVEM ENT IN CHEM ISTRY AM ONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.”

1.9 NEED AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Students’ achievem ent in science is derived from the teachers’ capacity to reach out to deprived children and to create a rich an digital technology based blended learning environm ent for them . Effective teaching depends on the m ethodology and technology ofteaching.Teaching is a process in w hich the teacherand the students create an interactive environm entin such a w ay that the students becom e effective and productive learners. So it is necessaryto enhance the student’s achievem entin science.

1.10 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

In this rapidly changing w orld the challenge ofteaching is to help students’ skills w hich w ill not becom e obsolete. Digital technology based blended learning Approach is essentialfor the tw enty first century. They w ill enable the students to successfully cope up w ith new situations.Teachers in particular and schoolin generalto refer technology strategies that have been m ore successful in increasing sustained voluntary attention in classroom settings than approaches that assum es a passive learner. Research on technology strategies has produced effective tools forclassroom teaching and

learning.

1.11 CONCLUSION

From the perspectives of instructional m ethodologies digital technology based blended learning approach w hich involves m ore efficientuse ofknow ledge and strategies is found desirable.Digitaltechnology based blended learning benefits the learners m ore than any otherlearning m ethodology.This is because in a technology environm ent enhance optim um level of inform ation processing ability.The focalization and concentration of attention is achieved through facilitating consciousness.A case us m ade out in this thesis for the prom otion of a Digital technology based blended learning approach and corresponding creation of a technology environm ent to facilitate effective instruction and learning ofscience.