Dive Brief:

• Educators can utilize blended learning platforms such as Google Classroom to make it easier for students to complete and hand in assignments on-time, simplifying the grading process for teachers, according to eSchool News.
• For the use of blended learning platforms to be successful, it is essential that both students and educators are afforded the time and opportunity to train themselves on how to use the platform. After learning the system, students can submit their assignments online.
• Using such technology can also reduce classroom expenses and hazards — for example, a chemistry experiment that could require expensive chemicals or extensive safety precautions could be conducted virtually — and the process also reduces unnecessary paper trails and allows for quicker feedback.

Dive Insight:

There may be additional benefits that come with removing the paper trail of grading physical assignments. Many teachers report that there are students of varying grade levels within the same classroom, making an educator’s job all the more difficult. However, as computer use continues to become more ubiquitous, teachers may be able to use blended learning platforms to track and grade students who are at different levels of proficiency with the given material, offering a streamlined and organized approach teachers may lack if doing everything by hand.

It will be important to consider how teachers may approach classroom education differently with the increased popularity of these platforms. What methods will become the most prominent and most celebrated in the classroom? The "station rotation" model, where educators supervise group work at different workstations in the classroom, is one such possibility. As blended learning continues to become more popular, it is possible that approaches like this will overtake the prominence of teacher-led assignments or discussions.

However, educators need to be careful that digital learning does not endanger positive educational outcomes for students. A recent study indicated that higher education professors are potentially more effective in-person than online, and K-12 educators must strive to ensure that blended learning models are meant to be supplemental improvements on the classroom experience as opposed to a replacement of it.