Flexible Learning Environments

http://community.flexiblelearning.net.au/ProfessionalDevelopment/content/article_6878.htm
What are some different educational strategies that I could use in flexible learning?Adopting a flexible learning approach doesn't mean changing everything about your approach to teaching and learning. Many current practices can be part of a flexible approach. Educational approaches and strategies that contribute to flexible learning include:
Workplace training
Community classes
Study centres
Recognition of Prior Learning
Alternative learning pathways to various levels of accreditation
Self-paced and self-access study
Work-based projects
Mentored learning
Teleconferencing
Video conferencing
Using a range of learning activities (role play, simulation, reading, listening, presentations, group work, discussion, out-of-class projects etc)
Student support services
Using a range of resource types (print-based, web-based, multi-media)

Flexible learning can be viewed as an incentive to reflect on teaching and learning environments, and develop new ways to engage with students. Flexible learning is not a goal in itself; the goal is to improve the learning experience and the learning outcomes. Flexible learning is a method by which educational goals can be achieved. This means that the decision to implement particular flexible learning strategies should be informed by educational values and goals and by specific educational contexts

Why use flexible learning?Recognition of the need for and value of a flexible learning approach has been a response to a number of factors. As higher education has become more widely accessible it has needed to cater for a more diverse range of students. There has also been greater recognition of individual differences in preferred learning styes, cultural differences and gender differences, and a greater understanding of how these differences can be catered for in educational programs.

A demand for more flexible approaches to education and training has also emerged from the changing social context of education and the diverse needs of employers. Flexible learning is seen as a mechanism for making learning more contextualised than classroom based learning alone. The increasing pace of social change and the consequent focus on lifelong learning are further factors.

What are the main Features of Flexible Learning?
Learner centred Underlying the practice of flexible learning is an educational philosophy that puts the learner at the centre of the learning experience. The aim of a flexible learning approach is to respond to the diverse needs of learners. Constructivist learning theories Related to this learner-centred philosophy is a view of learning as being an active and interactive process that fosters independent learning rather than a passive learning experience. Learners are engaged in a process of guided discovery and exploration that involves using what they know to learn more about what they are interested in. Learning strategies such as contextualised or situated learning, collaborative learning, team work, project-based or activity based learning, and problem based learning facilitate a process where learners construct meaning to make new knowledge relevant to them. Flexible learning approaches support such a constructivist approach to teaching and learning by offering choices in learning strategies, and access to a wide range of resources.