5 Maintaining a Strong and Oriented Relation
In researching lived experience, our texts need to be oriented, strong, rich and deep. A rich and thick description is concrete, exploring a phenomenon in all
its experiential ramification. Depth is what gives phenomenon or lived experience to which we orient ourselves its meaning and its resistance to our fuller
understanding Manen, 1990
6 Balancing The Research Context by considering Parts and Whole
To grasp the meaning of a lived experience the text needs to be written in balance thematically, analytically, exemplificatively, exegetically and existentially
Manen, 1990. It is written based on the theme. It is analyzed through anecdotes. It is exemplificatively through rendering the nature of phenomenon and filling out
the nature of description by examples. It is exegetically through comparing to other work. It is existentially through lived time, lived body, lived shape and lived
relationship to other Manen, 1990.
2. Blended learning
The next keyword the researcher needs to review is blended learning. there are some definitions about it but significantly they share the same underlying
thing. a.
Definition Blended learning can be described as a learning program where more than
one delivery mode is being used with the objective of optimizing the learning outcome and cost of program delivery. Therefore, as suggested by Singh and
Reed 2001 blended learning focuses on optimizing achievement of learning objectives by applying the appropriate learning technologies. It is done also to fit
the right learner‟s personal learning style. On the other hand, debates are still going on over the definition of blended
learning Whittaker, 2013. It is due to the consensus that is hard to achieve. According to him, there are also other terms such as hybrid or mixed learning as
coined by Stracke 2007. However, he suggests Banados 2006 definition. It says that blended learning can be defined as: a combination of technology and
classroom instruction in a flexible approach to learning.
b. Principles
The followings are the principles of blended learning. They are: 1 it focuses on the learning objective instead of
the method of delivery; 2 student‟s learning styles need to be supported; 3 each of learners brings different
knowledge into the learning experience. The experience in blended learning shows that applying these principles can result in significant improvements in the
effectiveness of the learning Singh and Reed, 2001. Blended learning framework, refers to Khan‟s Octagonal Framework see
Figure 1, enables one to select appropriate ingredients. Khan‟s framework serves as a guide to plan, develop, deliver, manage, and evaluate blended learning
programs Singh, 2003.
Figure 1.
Khan‟s Octagonal Framework Singh, 2003.
c. Components
To create a meaningful learning environment a variety of factors needs to be accommodated. Many of these factors are related each other. The framework
has eight dimensions: institutional, pedagogical, technological, interface design, evaluation, management, resource support, and ethical see Figure 1. Each
dimension in the framework represents a category of issues that need to be addressed. These issues help us organize thinking, and ensure that the resulting
learning program creates a meaningful learning experience. The institutional dimension deals with issues from the institutional matters.
The Pedagogical dimension is concerned with the combination of learning content, the learner needs and learning objectives. Technological dimension is
related to technological support. This dimension includes the need for the most suitable learning management system LMS Marsh, 2012. The interface design
dimension is related to factors the user interface of each element in the blended learning program. The evaluation dimension is concerned with the usability of a
blended learning program. The management dimension deals with issues related
to the management of a blended learning program, such as infrastructure and logistics to manage multiple delivery types. The resource support dimension deals
with making different types of resources offline and online available for learners as well as organizing them. The ethical dimension identifies the ethical issues that
need to be addressed when developing a blended learning program Singh, 2003. d.
Strategy Creating a blended learning strategy is an endless process. Once a teacher
has built experience and confidence using the key tools available to the learners, it is appropriate to give more effort for maximum learning outcome. What the
learner should be able to do in the end of the class must be set clearly. With that goal in mind, a teacher needs to perform an instructional design analysis Singh
and Reed, 2001. However, as suggested by Whittaker 2013 the flexibility becomes the
underlying principles in it. Maximum learning outcome and cost minimization should be addressed as the goal. To achieve it, one‟s strategy should consider the
existing ones. Moreover, Singh and Reed 2001 also suggest that in implementing it, goal should be the major consideration.
3. Teacher
