Blended Learning becomes Real

So here I am scratching my head thinking how do I do a flipped class room lesson?

I have a cunning plan a little voice in my head says and off we go. You tube is first point of call for my cunning plan, I don't want to pester my mentor and feel I can work this out if I just dedicate a few hours to it. I have already at this point researched the topic I am covering so I know that's ready to go at least. I found a very useful little clip which enabled me to learn how to put audio on a power point with timings so the slides move as and when I want them too. It is at this point PANIC sets in. I haven't done a power point yet..... In my haste I overlooked the one thing I needed most. All I can do now is smile and start work on the power point presentation.

Qualitative research SMALL AUDIO pp from Sarah Rees

The power point was ready just a few hours later and hopefully you can see it here!  now I haven't worked out yet how to blog a Power Point with audio but I am sure I will no doubt work it. Anyway back to my story so after watching the You tube clip and finally completing my presentation I record my audio, It goes well and I am happy with it, but I can't get the darn thing to play back, nothing, not a word, so I record it again and then again and still nothing, panic and frustration set in. I walk away from the computer, stand back to take a deep breath, think, think, think, means I can't think.... eventually I check it is not on mute...bet you can't GUESS the issue... It was on MUTE... while I was happy and pleased, I felt so dumb, technology and me just don't seem to mix but I did learn a new skill and was super pleased sending the finished presentation to my mentor for uploading to the VLE.
It did make me think though about the pro's and cons of a blended learning program and I can across a good web page reagrding the Pro's and Cons of Blended learning.

 My own experience was overall a great one when I used a system designed by the Open University, but I can see how easy it would be for students to fall behind when registered upon a self-directed learning course. One of the benefits of seeing your students is that you remind them, encourage them and offer extra support, but when everything is done via email I think it may not have the same impact. Another issue would be how do you keep the students motivated if they are self-directed? It is a tough one for an educator to balance out but I am sure those are skills I will no doubt learn soon enough. The main pro for blended learning which makes me a great advocate for it is that Increases accessibility, which no doubt means individuals who may never get access to education surely have a better chance now.

References
Bright, S. (2014). Pros and Cons of Blended Learning. Available:http://www.digitalchalk.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-blended-learning . Last accessed 17/11/2014