Guest Commentary: Should Blended Learning Be Treated Differently from Online Learning in Policy?

Amy Murin is part of the Evergreen Education Group, the Colorado-based firm that represents and consults with some of the nation's leading online learning organizations. Murin has more than 15 years of education, nonprofit management and tech experience. She started her career in AmeriCorps as a corps member and then the program manager. Murin then spent six years at eCollege, first working with K-12 and higher education clients to launch and grow their online programs, and then managing their administrative product line. She recently posted an article in the "Keeping Pace with K-12 Online Learning" Blog that asked a provocative question: should blended learning be treated differently from online learning when it comes to public policy? "There are at least two ways to approach this question. The first is to explore whether blended learning can be defined and perhaps regulated as its own category in terms of data tracking, instructional requirements, and other regulations," Murin wrote. "The second issue is whether blended learning should be encouraged and supported." Click here to read her complete post and feel free to weigh in with your opinion.