We think that the development of blended learning has revolutionised flexibility for learners and Nursery, School Managers, and Owners. However is it right for your team and how they learn?
Above you can see the current Pros and Cons for the use of Blended Learning for Professional Development for teams working in the Early Years Sector. We will go into more detail below on each point, to help you decide if this training is right for your School or Nursery, and for your team.
We should make it clear that OFSTED and the EYFS guidelines clearly state first aid training CAN NOT be completed via online options only, and at least 6 hours of the 12-hour paediatric course should be completed in a classroom, and the whole of the 6 hour Emergency Paediatric First Aid course should be completed in a classroom.
Benefits of Blended Learning for the Early Years Sector
We have now been offering blended learning to our clients for the past 2 years, with 10 years of experience offering face-to-face learning in paediatric first aid, and safety training in the Early Years Sector. Exhibiting at Nursery World Show for a number of years.
These are our own views on the benefits of Blended Learning options for those who operate settings and work in the Early Years Sector.
Pro – Flexible Learning that can be completed anywhere
The biggest benefit to online training is that it can be completed anywhere, at any time.
Allowing the learner to complete the online training part of the course at home allows them the flexibility to complete this in their own time on virtually any device, including a mobile phone, whilst sitting anywhere with an internet connection.
Those who have attended similar training previously can draw on this previous knowledge, which can result in learners spending less time in front of a computer, or listening to face-to-face training that is more suited to those who are new to the subject. Allowing more efficient use of the face-to-face time with the trainer to focus on practical skills.
Pro – Cheaper for the client, better for the environment
Less time spent in the classroom reduces the travel time needed to get to and from the face-to-face training sessions. This will not only save the client money, but it is also better for the environment with a reduced carbon footprint for each course.
The training provider uses a generic course via an online training portal. We use Omnia Training Solutions. This results in lower costs for the 6 hours offered remotely or via the online portal, as there is less requirement for a professional trainer via face-to-face learning, including travel time and equipment costs. This saving can be passed on to the client.
Training completed by employees at home should not be completed in the learner’s own time, and should still be paid for by the employer!
Pro – Completed at a time that suits the learner
A large percentage of those working in the Early Years Sector are female (96%) and in the UK women are still seen as providing the vast majority of child care outside of school. This means that time for those completing online training can be in short supply. Online training can be completed at any time and anywhere, allowing parents to reduce childcare costs if completing training outside of the workplace, by completing this training when their children are asleep.
Face-to-face training is also typically completed on Saturdays or outside of typical childcare times. This can result in staff doing 6-day weeks or very long days to attend training, which has a knock-on impact on their effectiveness when at work.
Limitations and downsides to Blended Learning
We must be realistic about how suitable blended learning is for all learners.
Con – Less practical training
We must consider the way people learn when deciding what training method is best, rather than just focusing on cost. Opting for the wrong method could save money, but result in the learner becoming overwhelmed and less able to use their skills when required. Clearly, with a subject such as first aid training, this could be incredibly costly for the safety of children in the setting, and also for the reputation of the business.
Radlett nursery choking death inquest to hear 999 call
bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-60041618
From our experience most learners get the most out of face-to-face learning, allowing them to ask questions directly to the trainer, who can draw on their knowledge to ensure training is adapted to the needs of all learners attending.
Current online training uses a range of options but usually focuses on text, images, and videos. These approaches will suit some and how they learn, but will not be ideal for a great number who can not absorb information this way.
16.4% of adults in England, or 7.1 million people, can be described as having ‘very poor literacy skills.’ They can understand short straightforward texts on familiar topics accurately and independently, and obtain information from everyday sources, but reading information from unfamiliar sources, or on unfamiliar topics, could cause problems. This is also known as being functionally illiterate.
https://literacytrust.org.uk/parents-and-families/adult-literacy/
Con – Less support from the training provider
Online training can now be offered by a much wider range of providers, who do not necessarily specialise in the subjects they offer. Simply buying in the knowledge and developing a generic course to bolt on to other courses they currently offer. This will usually result in less innovation and development of the training provision once this has been initially purchased.
Here at Rainbow first aid, we use Omnia Training Solutions for our online training portal. This offering has been developed and continuously adapted by Stuart our Lead Trainer.
The current system has a number of fail-safes to ensure learners can not rush through the training but does not use a countdown timer, where learners can sit on their phone or become distracted with other things until this clock has stopped, allowing them to progress. We feel a countdown timer method is not a true reflection of how long the learner spent on the course.
There are a number of knowledge reviews, which require learners to achieve a 100% score to progress, confirming their competence and understanding in each learning outcome. For example, would you want a learner to pass a section with 75% but have failed to answer the question about Meningitis correctly?
This allows us to flag learners who may need more support from their managers. However, we are not available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as our online platform is, which can result in issues if learners get locked out from progressing. Particularly if people leave online learning to the last minute. We do advise learners to complete training as early as possible, but unfortunately, often people leave this to the last minute, which does create problems if the learner requires additional support. Typically the learner has 2 weeks to complete the 3-hour online section.
We have noticed a number of people trying to complete training late at night before face-to-face learning, which doesn’t create an ideal learning environment the next day if they are exhausted from lack of sleep. We also feel that learning late at night for most people results in poor knowledge retention.
We advise all clients to ensure their learners have completed their online training by 9 am the day before the face-to-face training to allow us time to deal with any issues.
Lack of adequate sleep affects mood, motivation, judgment, and our perception of events.
https://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory
We have also developed a mixture of Virtual, Online, and Classroom learning to reduce the impact on those who do not learn by reading and watching videos. Spending 6 hours of a 12-hour course completing the online element, we feel is too much.
Con – More support is needed from Management for the learner
Face-to-face training allows the learner to be adequately supported by the experienced trainer, using their knowledge and skills to adapt to each group and each learner, creating a more suitable environment to learn, and for the learner to leave feeling confident to use their newfound skills.
However online learning creates a more isolated environment for the learner, particularly when completing this at home. We recommend online training is completed at work, with the support of their learner’s manager, to help answer questions, build rapport with other first aiders, and drawdown knowledge about the setting and experience of their managers who have often completed training previously.
Unfortunately, training providers can not offer 24/7 support to learners, and blended learning must be seen as requiring much more support from those around the learner in the workplace. This is a big shift from classroom-based learning, which is not factored in when purchasing training.
We have also noticed a varying array of online platforms being developed. Some with unlimited quiz retries could allow an environment of guessing rather than learning. We have also seen systems with countdowns that result in learners becoming distracted by other tasks or social media until this has finished counting down, even though this should be time for them to read information. However, people can skim read information, which can reduce their learning potential.
Skim reading is the new normal. The effect on society is profound
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/25/skim-reading-new-normal-maryanne-wolf
Unfortunately, we are also seeing a rise in those who fail to complete online training meaning they can not attend the face-to-face sessions. We feel this is due to a lack of support being provided by management, which clients need to consider when opting for online training. If learners have not completed the online elements prior to face-to-face training they often struggle to understand the more complex subjects, which can then impact their confidence. Alternatively, sessions run over, which then impacts childcare and other areas of the learner’s social life. This is not fair to those who have completed the online training successfully, so we do not allow sessions in the classroom to overrun where possible.
Con – Technology issues impacting learning
Technology evolves at an incredible speed, which has allowed us to go from a generation that 40 years ago would rely on a telephone box to call 999, to a generation who has grown up using technology in every aspect of their life.
Online training is aimed more at those who have grown up using technology and is not ideal for those who are not as tech-savvy. Online training also requires users’ devices to be up to date and allow cookies to be stored on their devices.
With security being very important to secure data, most online providers require users’ devices to have the latest updates, and to use ever more complex passwords, and areas such as two-factor authentication. This can often seem like jargon to some, and this alone can put people off completing training, and blame issues on the technology of the website providing the training, rather than realising the issues often come with their own devices and lack of understanding of how modern technology works.
We also need to be realistic with how people use technology, and how easy it is to become distracted whilst completing online training. We wouldn’t expect someone to turn up to a classroom with their dog and child, whilst trying to do the weekly online order, and with the tv in the background, and headphones in. We appreciate some find it easier to learn while listening to music, however, distractions can seriously impact learning.
The Influence of Background Music on Learning in the Light of Different Theoretical Perspectives and the Role of Working Memory Capacity
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01902/full
We do advise learners complete online training while at work, to reduce the above issues. However virtual training is often completed at home. Like with people who fail to attend classroom learning due to their car breaking down if people’s tech fails on the day of the virtual training, they may be unable to hear the trainer, interact, or attend at all. This again impacts the learning environment which can impact its effectiveness.
We encourage all learners to test their tech well in advance of virtual training, testing their camera and mic, as this is required to confirm attendance. We also encourage learners to be in a distraction-free environment, however, we have had people trying to attend whilst on the bus, with other people in the room, or whilst providing childcare. Particularly when the wifi signal is an issue and sitting in one place gives them the best quality video for virtual training.
We are also realistic about the opportunities for people to cheat when carrying out online training. Either by having someone else complete the training for them, which is hard to combat without recording their learning and having that stored. This is intrusive and understandably is not wanted by the learner. We have a number of methods to spot cheating, but it is much easier to spot in the classroom.
Conclusion – is blending learning right for your setting and for your learners?
So is blended learning right for you, your employees, and learners, and for a subject such as first aid?
I think we are realistic that online learning and the expectation of this method being provided by training centers is here to stay. However, we do feel face to face training carried out in a classroom will always be the best method for most learners. We would recommend that if you can send learners to courses that are all face to face with a qualified trainer, you will expect the highest levels of knowledge retention and ability to use their new skills. This is also ideal for those renewing skills, as the trainer can adapt and add extra knowledge.
Online training can not adapt to the learner with the current technology provided. This results in a generic offering for both brand new learners and those who have been doing this training for many years.
Also, we have to be realistic about those attending training in the Early Years sector, many of whom are new to the industry and due to their level of experience, expectations of online training, and ability to learn using this method, are more likely to struggle with this.
Those who have been in the care sector longer, and may have done many face-to-face training sessions, are more likely to struggle with the technology and feel that this puts them at a disadvantage when progressing. This in turn impacts their confidence.
The lack of monitoring when learners complete online training in an isolated setting, does increase the risk of cheating, which is why some Awarding Organisations are not allowing this method to be used for subjects such as first aid.
Having said all of that, blended learning is flexible, reduces the carbon footprint of training, and as technology develops, and as the understanding of how technology works increases, we see this platform as being the future, particularly in the world of virtual reality.
So we are keen to continue developing online training in a way that maintains high standards of learning and skill knowledge retention, whilst blending this with face-to-face learning with excellent trainers to ensure when it matters learners can use these skills to save lives.
Book a blended or face-to-face Paediatric First Aid course with us!
We hope you have found this article helpful. If you would like to book a course with us, please contact us!