How can schools bring blended learning to life?

On any weekday, students across Victoria and the Northern Territory log in to online classrooms to study subjects such as English, Mathematics, Science, the Arts, Humanities and Languages or around 20 VCE subjects from Economics, Legal Studies and French to Health & Human Development and Modern History.

The Year 5 to Year 12 students join their online classrooms to learn with their teachers and each other. When class is finished, they work independently on assignments, meet with a teacher one-on-one, or gather in smaller groups to collaborate on projects.

They are part of the Haileybury Pangea online campus which showcases blended learning in action. It’s an education model that particularly benefits students whose learning styles or lifestyles don’t fit a traditional school day.

Some students live remotely and study from rural properties, while others are elite athletes who join classes and complete schoolwork while training, competing and travelling. Other students study online to better support their individual learning style, or because illness makes attending school on campus a challenge.

Why blended learning matters

Whatever a student’s individual situation, blended learning aims to deliver an engaging educational experience while equipping students with practical skills that prepare them for study and work after school.

“Blended learning reflects the way that learning and working take place in the real world,” explains Joanna Baker, Head of Campus at Haileybury Pangea.

“Throughout our lives, we need to be self-motivated, to be able to learn independently and collaborate, and to learn through direct instruction. Blended learning brings this together.”

What blended learning looks like

At Haileybury Pangea, subjects consist of a set number of live online teaching periods each week, complemented by three to six hours of self-paced learning. Self-paced learning is a fundamental component of the curriculum, with students supported by an extensive suite of online resources.

In a typical week and in small classes, students take part in a bespoke blend of live instruction, watch prepared video content designed and delivered by their teachers, work on assessment tasks and spend one-on-one or group-based time with their subject teachers.

“The basic rule is that chalk and talk’ – that traditional classroom work when the teacher talks at the front of the class – isn’t done live,” says Michelle.

“Instead, time with the teacher is used for collaboration, asking questions and completing activities where students need a teacher to respond in real time. Every moment a teacher spends with students is as powerful as possible.”

The right technology to support learning

Reliable, safe and easy-to-use technology is crucial to blended learning working effectively and for the second year running, Haileybury Pangea is recognised as a finalist for the Innovation in Learning Environment Design Award in the 2025 Australian Education Awards.

The school uses three core platforms: Canvas, Microsoft Teams and Microsoft OneNote.

“Canvas is our learning space and is a learning management system used by the Ivy League universities in America. It gives us power to create courses that are much more than just a list of documents and we use it to deliver learning materials with videos, too,” says Michelle Dennis, Head of Digital at Haileybury.

Microsoft Teams replaces the traditional classroom.

“Each student is part of a class team and that’s where they have their classes, and at any time they can add a chat about a particular maths question for example, and all the students in their class and teacher receive that question. It’s a moderated and safe space in which to communicate and collaborate,” says Michelle.

“Microsoft OneNote is where the ‘messy’ learning occurs and it’s like a student notebook. However, unlike a traditional notebook, the teacher can view each student’s notes live and see if there is anything they can advise or provide individual feedback on.”

The benefits for students

For students, key benefits of blended learning are the ability to personalise each student’s educational journey, to tap into their strengths and interests and to meet students where they are at in their learning journey.

“Students become comfortable with a broader range of learning modalities and the more students can access their learning in as many ways as possible, the better prepared they are after school. They develop a skillset that is invaluable for the next stage of their education journey.

“Knowing how to plan and monitor their learning, how to reflect after completing a task or activity and to determine how effective they have been, to understand how certain strategies have worked in their learning – we aren’t born with these skills but they are important for life success.”

…And for teachers

Blended learning helps create flexibility in the working week, allowing teachers to balance their professional and family lives.

There are also opportunities for teachers to upskill so they can high quality class content for students. Haileybury Pangea has invested in ongoing professional development for teachers so they are familiar with the technology platforms and tools that are used daily.

“Blended learning also helps keep teachers in the workforce – a huge benefit during the current teacher crisis,” says Michelle.

“A member of my team is a young mother and Haileybury Pangea has allowed her to balance the different parts of her life because she doesn’t have to physically come to a campus.”

Making it work

If schools want to introduce blended learning, what do they need to keep in mind?

Leveraging technology to ensure that learning is personalised is key to deliver blended learning at its best.

“You can’t simply take a traditional school setting, translate it straight to blended learning and expect it to be successful,” says Michelle.

“You first need to develop good blended learning materials and activities and support teachers to build their understanding of what blended learning looks like. Teachers need time and space to develop the courses that they will deliver to students and schools need time to plan quality activities and resources and to be intentional about that.”

“Blended learning should meet every student’s current needs and help them progress every day,” adds Joanna.

“It should challenge dogmas around how schools should be, re-think structures that have been in place for so long and have faith in the ability of young people to become independent and self-regulated learners.”