BLENDED LEARNING AS A NEW APPROACH TO SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION

The use of technology and online learning in social work education has increased in recent years. These innovations are having an impact on traditional education as they become integrated into face-to-face classes. The result has been a rising convergence between online and traditional education and the emergence of a new educational paradigm that aims to purposefully integrate elements of both approaches. This blended learning may have much potential for social work in providing educational opportunities that take advantage of the best of what both online and traditional education can offer. This article proposes that it is time for social work to more fully explore this new approach to education. Recommendations for research in evaluating the effectiveness of blended learning are made.