How do you deal with technical issues and glitches in blended learning?

1 Plan ahead

The first step to avoid technical issues and glitches is to plan ahead and prepare for different scenarios. Before you start your blended learning course, test your equipment, software, internet connection, and backup options. Make sure you have a reliable platform for delivering your online content and activities, and that you know how to use its features and functions. Also, familiarize yourself with the policies and procedures of your school or organization regarding technical support, troubleshooting, and reporting. Finally, communicate your expectations and instructions to your learners clearly and provide them with alternative ways to access the course materials and contact you in case of technical difficulties.

3 Involve learners

Another way to deal with technical issues and glitches in blended learning is to involve your learners in the process and make them part of the solution. You can do this by encouraging them to share their feedback, suggestions, and experiences with you and their peers. You can also ask them to help each other with technical problems, such as troubleshooting, setting up, or navigating the online platform or tools. This can foster a sense of collaboration and community among your learners, as well as enhance their digital skills and confidence. Moreover, you can use technical issues and glitches as learning opportunities, by asking your learners to reflect on how they cope with them, what they learn from them, and how they can prevent or solve them in the future.

4 Learn and improve

The last tip to deal with technical issues and glitches in blended learning is to learn from them and improve your practice. You can do this by keeping track of the technical problems that occur in your course, how you handle them, and how they affect your learners and your learning outcomes. You can also collect feedback from your learners, colleagues, and technical support staff on how they perceive and deal with the technical issues and glitches in your course. Based on this information, you can identify the strengths and weaknesses of your blended learning design and delivery, and make adjustments and improvements accordingly. You can also seek professional development opportunities, such as workshops, webinars, or courses, to enhance your technical skills and knowledge, and to learn from other blended learning practitioners.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?