In Love and War: Blended learning theories for computer scientists and educationists

Blended learning involves the combination of two fields of concern: technological and instrumental considerations are, to a greater or lesser extent, combined with pedagogy and educational theory. The result of this is that blended learning suffers from considerable difficulties of definition, and its theoretical foundation is correspondingly weak. For this reason it is desirable to expose the philosophical and theoretical foundations of blended learning to critical scrutiny. Creating a foundation for blended learning will involve an examination of the gap between the paradigms and practices of educational theory and educational technology. The result should be a space within which academics from the diverse disciplines involved may be able to discuss and resolve their problems. This chapter will explore the contrasting disciplinary perceptions and suggest a sketch for blended learning theory.