1. MuLLLti
Blended Learning for Lifelong Learners in a
Multicampus Context.
DIVERSE 2012 – “Enrich the learning experience”
04 07 2012
Y. Blieck, K. Goeman, L. Vandeput, S. Van Laer
(KHLeuven) (HUBrussel) (KHLeuven) (KU Leuven)

2. LLL1
• Age: 25
• Bachelor marketing
• Workweek 60-70h
• Interested in master
Psychology out of interest and
for professional purposes.
Would like to graduate at 30
Photo: http://www.cepolina.com/fr/sourire_les_gens_fille_lunettes.htm

3. LLL2
• Age: 58
• Master Economics
• Currently unemployed
• Looking for a new
professional challenge.
Interested in a teacher
education program
image &copy; <A HREF="http://miro.openphoto.net">MIROSLAV VAJDIĆ</A>
for <A HREF="http://23895.openphoto.net">openphoto.net</A> CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

4. LLL3
• Age: 28
• Master of Law
• Has resigned from job
• Looking for other
professional challenge. Not
sure what.
image &copy; <A HREF="http://pinarkbulut.openphoto.net">pinar </A>
for <A HREF="http://17953.openphoto.net">openphoto.net</A> CC:Attribution-ShareAlike

5. LLL4
• Age 50
• Housewife
• (did not finish high school)
• Wants to finish high school
and then pursue studies at
university
image &copy; <A HREF="http://rrosales.openphoto.net">Rene Rosales</A>
for <A HREF="http://7624.openphoto.net">openphoto.net</A> CC:Attribution-NonCommercial

6. To conclude: possibilities and
challenges for all

7. To conclude: possibilities and
challenges for all

8. Lifelong learning (LLL)
- WHO ARE THEY?
- WHAT IS LLL?
- MULLLTI
- CHALLENGES FOR LLL

9. Lifelong learners who are they?
• Age
• Motivation and interest?
• Origin of motivation…
• Workload
• Family
• Prior education

10. MuLLLti – lifelong learners
• students in
formal Higher
Educational
Institutions
(HEI’s)
• who often
combine work
and study

11. Challenges for LLL in higher
education
• Educational
• Social
• Economical
http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinvanmourik/488068701/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

12. To conclude: possibilities and
challenges for all

13. LLL and higher educational
institutes (HEI)?
- INCREASING DEMAND
- CHALLENGES FOR HEI

14. Increasing demand
• Knowledge society
• Initial diploma quickly loses value
• Diploma no lifelong guarantee for proper professional
functioning
• Shortage of human capital
=> Lifelong learning high on the agenda in various organisations :

15. Challenges for HEI
• Face mismatch skills levels and jobs requirements
• Open flexible learning pathways
• A lifelong approach to learning
• Reform themselves in order to adapt
• Be open for cooperation on all levels

16. MuLLLti – some observations so
far...
• LLL is a concern for our institutions
• But:
• Effective participation of adults is low
• Nog aanvullen

17. To conclude: possibilities and
challenges for all

18. Can Blended Learning help?
- WHAT IS BLENDED LEARNING?
- WHY IS IT CONSIDERED?
- TYPES OF BLENDS?
- HURDLES TO TAKE

19. What is Blended Learning?
• Variety of definitions
• “a combination of face-to-face learning experiences
and on-line learning experiences”
• Describes an instructional rather than learning
approach
• Risk to define Blended Learning in this narrow way

20. MuLLLti – Blended learning
“A good blend is a mix:
- of study materials,
- of didactical activities of the instructor/designers and
- technology based or enhanced learning activities
that contributes to the realization of the objectives,
which motivate and challenge the students to show the best of
themselves.”
(Vandeput, 2011: p.1.11).

21. Why consider Blended Learning?
1. To increase accessibility to education
2. Can act as catalyst to transform traditional approaches of
instruction and teaching
3. Enhance cost and resource effectiveness
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wakingtiger/3157621376/sizes/m/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xandercage/4642632285/sizes/m/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/drb62/2474763910/sizes/m/in/photostream/

22. Why consider Blended Learning?
1.
Improved learning outcomes should
remain the reason to consider BL
(Mitchell and Honore, 2007; Trasler, 2002 in Poon et al.
(2010)).
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wakingtiger/3157621376/sizes/m/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xandercage/4642632285/sizes/m/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/drb62/2474763910/sizes/m/in/photostream/

23. Blended Courses can offer
solutions
• Increased access
• Increased flexibility
• Suited to educational needs
• Suited to social needs
• Active engagement
• Connection to real life contexts

24. Types of Blends…
What learner activity does the technology allow?
Graham & Robison (2007)
In Picciano, A. and Dziuban, C. (EDs.) (2007). Blended Learning: Research Perspectives. United States of America: the Sloan
Consortium.

25. Transforming Blends?
• Four fundamental characteristics of effective
learning environments (Roschelle et al., 2000):
– Active engagement
– Participation in groups
– Frequent interaction and feedback
– Connections to real world contexts

26. Hurdles to take…
• ‘The proliferation of superficial Blends’
• ‘A focus on the scope of a Blend’
• ‘Too much consideration to efficiency and
productivity at the expense of the goal of
effective pedagogy

27. MuLLLti – some observations so
far…
• Course re-design seems difficult for lecturers
Instructional design and pedagogy
• Their technological competencies vary
• Copyright can be an issue but Creative Commons and
Open Educational Resources are not considered at this
point
• LLL / BL seems not a concern to all lecturers

28. Possible within one institution?
• Sufficient Blended courses have to be offered
• Course design involves a lot of effort (know-how as well as
time and costs) for the HEI
• Participation rate of LLL in HEI?
• Unlikely that HEI’s will be able to redesign any, if enough,
courses to increase accessibility for lifelong learners

29. To conclude: possibilities and
challenges for all

30. Can Multicampus Education
(MCE) help?
- MCE
- IMPLICATIONS

31. MuLLLti – Multicampus Education
‘Education that is designed, developed implemented, supported
and/or assessed between two or more geographical sites’.
(Multicampus education within KU Leuven Association).

32. Multicampus Education (MCE)
• Spearhead of KU Leuven Association
• Institutions can choose to combine resources (staff and
infrastructure)
• Several institutions could provide entire curricula (for lifelong
learners)
• Cooperation can be regional, national and international

33. MuLLLti – 3 MCE groups
1. Social Work
2. Teacher
Education
3. Business
Administration

34. Some implications of BL in MCE
• New teaching roles for lecturers
• Copyright, Creative Commons and Open
Educational Resources
• Quality Control

35. MuLLLti – some observations so
far?
• Co-operation between lecturers / institutions is challenging e.g.
- Level (professional bachelor vs. academic bachelor)
- Experience with LLL
- Experience(s) with BL
• aanvullen

36. To conclude: possibilities and
challenges for all

37. To conclude: possibilities and
challenges for all

38. MuLLLti
• Project Leader:
Luc Vandeput: luc.vandeput@khleuven.be
• Project assisstant:
Yves Blieck: yves.blieck@khleuven.be
• Twitter: @MuLLLti
• Projectpartners:

39. Relevant literature
• Boeren, E. & Nicaise, I. (2009). Onderwijs voor volwassenen: wie neemt deel en waarom?
in L. Vanderleyden, M. Callens & J. Noppe (red.), De Sociale Staat van Vlaanderen 2009, pp. 315-333.
Brussel: Studiedienst van de Vlaamse regering 466 p., ISBN 9789018179106 publicatienr. 1277
• Flllex consortium (2012). FLLLEX: Towards an institutional strategy for lifelong long learning in
professional higher education (in press).
• Picciano, A. and Dziuban, C. (EDs.) (2007). Blended Learning: Research Perspectives. United States of
America: the Sloan Consortium.
• Roschelle, J. M., Pea, R. D., Hoadley, C. M., Gordin, D. N. & Means, B. (2000). Changing how and what
children learn in school with computer-based technologies. Children and computer technology, 10(2), 76-
101.
Any part of this document may be reproduced without permission but with attribution to the
authors.
© 2012 MuLLLti (Blieck, Goeman, Vandeput and Van Laer) under a Creative Commons
Attribution-ShareAlike license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/.