Blended Learning: Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy

Abstract

A book's title should pull readers in, entice them to visualize its content, and make them want to open the book and flip through its pages.Francine Glazer's Blended Learning does just that.Any instructor who makes his or her living teaching online should welcome a book on blended learning.But don't make the same mistake I did: I didn't read the sub-title, "Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy."I assumed that a book with the words "blended learning" in the title was going to be chock-a-block with facts, with tips and tricks on how to design and deliver blended learning.I was disappointed.Paraphrasing Glazer's words, this book consists of five accomplished academics having frank discussions of pedagogy and the challenges they experienced when transforming their courses from face-to-face to online.It provides a clear appreciation of how these transitions were fraught with multiple challenges in the face of administrative skepticism that could have deterred the most determined instructor from trying new instructional methods.Still, Glazer's 12-page introduction is a must read.It is a superb, concise summation of blended learning and why instructors must pay close attention to how they structure blended courses.These 12 pages provide an explanation of the pedagogical approaches to blended learning that is grounded in the literature.Drawing from the works of over 21 authors, including Randy Garrison, Glazer presents a clear rationale on how well-structured blended courses channel students to be better online learners.If you're looking for a book that details the pedagogy of blended learning, read Glazer's introduction to Blended learning: Across the Disciplines, Across the Academy.If you're looking for a book that tells the story of five academics and their journey to transform face-to-face courses to a blended environment, this may be the book for you.Although Glazer's book is not a just-in-time reference guide for instructing blended courses, each academic's story of transition contains important insights into online pedagogy that inform the novice and expert instructor alike, albeit in a rather circuitous fashion.Contributors use the art of storytelling to explain their experiences of moving to and instructing in a blended environment.While the stories are entertaining, the description of blended learning is thin.This may explain why, in his foreword to the book, James Rhem focuses on the need for