Visualizing and Bibliometrically Analyzing Information and Communication Technology-Based Blended Learning

Motivation

The new century has been witnessing a dramatic change in educational modes, where blended learning has gained momentum and popularity after the COVID-19 pandemic. This dramatic change poses unexpected challenges to educators across the world. The extensive use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has changed the educational model from teacher-centered to student-centered or mixed methods. Due to the advancement of ICTs, educational modes have shifted from traditional in-class methods to online or blended pedagogical approaches. The integration of ICTs into education has stimulated the emergence of the blended learning approach (Perez et al., 2013). Researchers and practitioners have been fully aware of this innovative educational mode and paid much attention to its investigation.

Blended learning has become a popular approach in higher education due to its flexibility and adaptability to different learning situations. The study conducted by Bezliudna et al. (2021) confirms Master students' positive perceptions of blended learning techniques in studying English during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors provide recommendations for the improvement of the “Foreign Language for Specific Purposes (English)” course based on the study's findings on the benefits and challenges of blended learning. Segbenya and Mensahminadzi (2022) found in their study that challenges with both face-to-face sessions and online learning must be addressed to ensure successful blended learning for postgraduate distance learners. Moreover, the study highlighted a significant relationship between students' challenges with face-to-face and online learning and the usefulness of face-to-face and online intention in decision-making to continue or discontinue with online learning as compared to the traditional face-to-face mode.

Comparisons

Several studies have been devoted to the use of ICTs in blended learning via visualization methods. After visualizing scientific literature of blended learning, Wang et al. (2021) argued that ICTs played an important role in improving blended learning and addressing challenges. Various ICTs were explored, as well as the design of ICT-assisted blended learning models, providing foundations for the integration of ICTs into blended learning via visualization (Baek & Chung, 2007). A content analysis and case study concluded that blended learning was easy for students to participate in despite some visualized problems with software and solutions (Roda-Segarra & Mengual-Andrés, 2022). However, few studies have visualized and bibliometrically analyzed ICT-assisted blended learning through both VOSviewer and CitNetExplorer (See Table 1 for a comparative analysis).