Development of Implementation Plan for Blended Learning Practices in Higher Education

CEMCA in collaboration with Netaji Subhas Open University, Kolkata, West Bengal conducted a project during December 2021-April 2022 on Implementation of Blended Learning in Higher Education Institutions through enhancing capacity of Higher Education teachers in West Bengal. Under this project, five workshops (F2F & blended) were conducted at different zones across the state of West Bengal and around 267 Higher Education teachers participated in those workshops. NSOU with the active support of CEMCA took the initiative to orient the teachers to remain relevant in ever changing academic environment specially in the light of NEP 2020. The outcome of the project are 1. Capacity building of teachers to use ICT tools, 2. Assessing the teacher’s perception on online learning, 3. Process of development of Online course etc. The other important outcome of the project was the development of MOOC on Heutagogy.

To take this project forward the implementation of blended learning is very important. So it needs some well chalked out plans and strategies for effective implementation of blended learning approach in teaching-learning process. CEMCA in association with NSOU organized a two-day workshop on ‘Development of Implementation Plan for Blended Learning Practices in Higher Education’ at the NSOU, Kolkata on 26-27 May 2022. 43 participants, comprising of 15 females and 28 males from 18 Higher Education Institutions across West Bengal actively participated in the workshop.

In the Inaugural Session, Professor Anirban Ghosh, Director-CIQA, NSOU welcomed the august congregation and set the tenor of the workshop. Dr. Manas Ranjan Panigrahi, Sr. Programme Officer, CEMCA fortified the theme and activities of the 2- day workshop in his elucidative speech. The Key-note speaker Dr. Chinmoy Kumar Ghosh, Former Director, National Centre for Innovation in Distance Education (NCIDE), IGNOU raised a pertinent question if teachers were interested in a blended teaching or blended learning approach. He also highlighted two key issues relating to blended learning and blended teaching. The teachers have the dual role in this process. In one hand they may adopt the blended teaching approach for their students but at the same time they have to learn how the various components would be judiciously blended for their effective teaching. Professor Subha Sankar Sarkar, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, NSOU, appreciated CEMCA’s initiative in promoting blended methodologies for a learner-centric sustainable and lifelong learning. The workshop would eye to engage academic & administrative staff of the Higher Education Institutions together with representatives from almost all the DDEs in West Bengal to develop a trajectory on present needs of higher education including open and distance mode through implementation plan for Bended Learning practices as an expected outcome of the workshop. This academic endeavour would help to realise the key targets of NEP 2020 and UN-SDG-4 by 2030. All the participants were given the activity to prepare a draft plan of action, appropriate for their individual institution with the help of a standard template and concept. On this occasion, the e-content of the 4-week MOOC on “Foundations of Heutagogy” was released by the Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, NSOU.