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Presenting a higher education case study from Mexico: "Institute Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey" (ITESM-CCM) College, Mexico city campus, describing faculty best and worst practices using a blended learning approach in e-learning and face-to-face instruction. The article comments on conceptual definitions of blended learning, its epistemological and pedagogical bases and foundations, and the technological and instructional problems, difficulties, constraints, and successes that ITESM-CCM faculty has when they are using a blended learning approach.
Blended Learning (B.L.) is widely used today in many higher education institutions, especially those which have embraced distance education and any other form of e-learning as one of their major institutional and teaching efforts, such as "The Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey" (ITESM) has done in Mexico.
One of the most competitive private higher education institutions in Mexico, "El Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey" (ITESM) (also named TEC de Monterrey), has implemented for more than eight years, videoconferencing, TV satellite, and online instruction to deliver distance education courses and programs; and also more than six years using different e-learning platforms (LearningSpace, BlackBoard, FirstClass, BSCW, WebTec) to enhance its traditional face-to-face and distance education programs at undergraduate and graduate level (masters and doctoral).
This effort has produced new and unique teaching and instructional experiences in blended learning environments (a combination with computer technology and Internet components with traditional face-to-face teaching forms and e-learning formats), going from those environments, which are entirely e-learning (online, web-based, videoconferencing, TV-satellite), to others, which are just mediated by computer communication (using multimedia, CDRoms, Internet), and also, from those environments which are just traditional face-to-face instruction using computer and online tools to enhance their courses.
This blended learning continuum has produced many teaching, instructional, and learning situations and practices; some with success, others with failures and frustrations for teachers, instructors, and learners. ITESM has a particular background on faculty best and worst practices using a blended learning approach for its e-learning courses and face-to-face courses. The intent of this article is to show such best and worst teaching practices, reflect on them, and present an urgent need for a deeply pedagogical and academic reflection on this type of education (Blended Learning) so widely used today in many places around the world. As Osguthorpe...