The project's ultimate objective is, on the one hand, to attract new students, and, on the other, to reduce school dropout by offering a quality b-learning alternative. More specifically, the SBLENDID project has set the following objectives: 1. The CREATION of COURSES according to a unified model which meets quality standards. 2. An agreement as regards the TUTORING and MANAGEMENT of these courses, which any teacher can follow should he/she be assigned one of the courses of this modality. 3. The incorporation of a SUSTAINABLE TEACHER TRAINING MODEL for EOI (Official Schools of Languages). Recent research has proved the potential of blended learning and results point towards an increase in completion rate, students' satisfaction and an improvement in retention as long as the course design is appropriate, intrinsic motivation and knowledge construction are fostered, and face-to-face sessions are well-planned and integrated. Based on those findings, we understand the success of this project depends largely on TEACHER TRAINING (improvement of teaching competences) and on the recognition of the VALUE of the blended-learning modality.
The schools integrating this consortium have a shared CONTEXT. The 11 educational centres are all located in Galicia (made up of 4 provinces), more specifically in the capitals of each province as well as in relevant adjacent cities. This alliance is made up of 10 out of the 11 schools. They all have a diverse student body but with similar characteristics. The most common situation is for students to go though in-year transfers across different schools due to changes in their worklife. Regarding the schools' profile, they all share an interest in INNOVATION, as can be infered from their in-house training plans focusing on this area. This does testify to their interest in continuous professional development, as does their involvement in European programmes around converging topics: school dropout and pedagogical innovation. One of the ways to build pathways to innovation at EOIs during 2020-21 was the implementation of the BLENDED LEARNING modality, which was actually at the root of the SBLENDID project. Its main objective is the standardization in the creation and tutoring of the b-learning courses as well as the participation in high-quality professional development.