Blended Training Solutions Combine Resources to Support Teaching and Learning

For students in this day and age, using some form of technology to complete class assignments is almost unavoidable, regardless of the subject matter of the class, according to ITS Training Services training specialist April Sheninger. With Blended Training Solutions, a new service from Information Technology Services (ITS) Training Services, faculty can face the challenge of helping their students learn the technology necessary to complete assignments while still maintaining focus on the primary course subject.

"One big challenge for faculty is the fact that students may not know how to use the technology required to complete assignments in a class that is not necessarily technology-related," said Sheninger. "This can distract from the actual focus of the course and dilute the learning potential for the students." Blended Training Solutions provides the "just-in-time" training and long-term resources necessary to help students minimize the time they spend on supplemental learning and, in turn, maximize their learning potential for the course subject.

Through Blended Training Solutions, faculty can meet with an experienced trainer to learn about the technology training resources available to them through ITS Training Services. After an initial discussion, faculty members can work with the trainer to implement the best combination of face-to-face and online training for their classes.

"Blended training goes one step beyond introducing faculty to supplemental learning resources-it shows them how to choose and use those resources that make the most sense for them," said Sheninger.

If a faculty member chooses to incorporate hands-on training into the solution, a professional trainer will provide a brief and focused session for the students. From there, the faculty member can decide whether to incorporate more online training into the class or to provide further resources for future learning.

Penn State's Course Management System, ANGEL, serves as an excellent hub through which students can access the supplemental online courses and resources for their class, according to Sheninger. These resources can include Penn State's Web-Based Training, online handouts, links to external reference pages, and more.

One of the main benefits of Blended Training Solutions is that it is a complete solution, according to former ITS Training Services training specialist Vicki Weidler. "The hands-on training sessions give people experience using the technology, the Web-Based Training is convenient for more information, and the online resources are available for those who want to continue their learning in the future. It is a complete solution that meets every type of learning style," she said.

The flexibility of Blended Training Solutions is another bonus, according to Weidler, who said that the concept for this service grew as the result of faculty feedback indicating that the needs of faculty were not being met effectively.

Through that feedback, as well as some inquiries from faculty members, the ITS Training Services group was able to identify the problem and proceed in developing a solution. "It sort of evolved into a service as more and more requests rolled in and more opportunity for different types of training grew," said Sheninger.

The flexibility, ease, and increasing popularity of ANGEL has also helped to facilitate the success of this service, according to Sheninger, who added that linking directly to supplemental online training from an existing ANGEL course has been a recent development that made Blended Training Solutions possible.

In addition to meeting faculty needs, Blended Training Solutions can also serve students more effectively than traditional training, partially due to the flexible nature of the service. Faculty and students follow fairly rigid schedules and have a limited amount of time for extra training, said Weidler. "We needed to find a solution that could fit into their schedules and target their specific training needs at the same time."

The hands-on portion of Blended Training Solutions is designed to target student learning to a specific skill set in order to accomplish an identified goal. "These hands-on sessions represent just-in-time training, so the students use the skills right away. This reinforces the knowledge, so it stays with them," said Sheninger.

Once the hands-on training has taken place, students are provided with online training resources to continue their learning. In this way, "the students are not abandoned after the initial hands-on session," said Weidler. "They still have the online resources to rely on."

Sheninger feels that the new Blended Training Solutions service is a success and will continue to grow to meet the needs of the Penn State community. "Our goal was to make it easier for faculty and students to focus on their subject matter. Faculty are experts in their specific fields, and they shouldn't have to be experts in technology, too," she said, adding that students should not suffer in a course simply because they do not have an extensive background in technology. "This service takes the stress of learning about technology out of the equation," she said.

Feedback for the new service has been extremely good, according to Weidler, who said that many of the faculty members who use the service are return users. "That's the best feedback we can get," she said.

Blended Training Solutions are offered based on trainer and lab availability. As the service becomes more popular, it is recommended that faculty members plan a semester in advance.

For more information, please visit http://its.psu.edu/training/blendedtraining/ or call 863-9522.

Extended Format Seminars cover popular technology topics, such as Access, Dreamweaver, and Photoshop, in two convenient half-day sessions. Offered by Information Technology Services (ITS) Training Services, Extended Format Seminars explore a wide range of features and functions of the seminar topic. These seminars are more comprehensive than the free seminars and are offered to Penn State faculty, staff, and students for a fee of $85.

Participants of Extended Format Seminars will receive seven hours of fundamental and targeted training that can immediately help them use the software more productively and efficiently. The format combines traditional instruction with hands-on exercises and allows ample time for questions and answers.

Visit the ITS Training Services Web site at http://its.psu.edu/training/ for details and to view a complete list of Extended Format Seminar topics.

Registration is available through the Human Resources Development Center online catalogue at http://www.ohr.psu.edu/hrdc/catalog/HRDC_Catalog.cfm.