Monday, February 22, 2010

Blended Learning a Success


Stacey Patrick, a student at DePaul and the mother of a newborn baby girl, opens her backpack filled to the brim with books, papers and binders. She opens to a fresh notebook page and begins to take notes on the pamphlets her CPR instructor, Courtney Barber, gave to her upon entering the classroom. It’s a brisk Tuesday afternoon, and Stacey will be finishing up her Red Cross training with a review of the skills she has acquired through a blended learning course.

The blended course Stacey took teaches adult and child CPR, general first aid, and automated external defibrillator (AED) essentials online with a classroom skills session review. In this class, Courtney will walk Stacey through a few videos and hands on demonstrations before testing her skills. Upon asking Stacey why she wanted to become certified in these skills she replied that “it would give my resume a boost when I begin looking for teaching jobs.” She is hoping to secure a job in the suburbs teaching high school biology.

Blended learning was a great fit for Stacey’s busy life since she had the freedom to complete the online courses at her own discretion. The next step was to devote a few hours one day to participate in the classroom skills performance where she passed with flying colors and walked away with a certification card. For more information on how you can take a class online or in the classroom, visit www.chicagoredcross.org/takeaclass.

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