Arab Educational Information Network

Recently, there has been an increasing need to come up with means to reach for students who cannot attend classes in person, and technology has been there for the rescue, exponentially increasing the opportunities to learn and absorb information in new and creative ways. Thus it is the social responsibility of the teachers to cater for the students’ diverse needs by adopting 21st century methodologies and offering student-centered education, and reciprocally it is the social responsibility of the student to be an active participant in this learning process and not merely a recipient. Online learning options and hybrid instruction started to become increasingly proposed as an alternative learning paradigm stimulating greater engagement with the course material. This article addresses the issue of blended learning which encompasses the teaching methods and materials of direct learning or face-to-face instruction and e-learning by online methodologies in formal education. It specifically reviews the literature on blended learning, examines a number of case studies and empirical research on the topic, and offers an outlook on how blended learning has been introduced and utilized in the Middle East in general, and in Lebanon in particular. The article ends with effective and practical implications to facilitate the social responsibility of teachers and students for effective blended learning. (Published abstract)