Date of Publication :21st October 2021

Abstract: This paper is the result of using a blended learning community and elements of the dialogue method of paper presentation for understanding news writing formats in the classroom. The electronic part of the blended learning community constituted the forming of a special group on the social networking site ‘Facebook’ to deliver the course material to the participants. The participants were to study the material that they received and undertake further exploration of the subject for better understanding before they came to the classroom. When they arrived in the classroom, elements of the dialogue method of paper presentation were used by them to discuss the material that they had already looked through on their own. This was done in two stages so that there was greater clarity in their understanding about the news writing formats. In the first stage they interacted with their peer on the subject in small groups of 5-6, explaining to each other the various concepts being discussed. After this the class discussed the topic as a whole, with a fellow participant noting on the whiteboard the content that was being shared. Feedback was collected from the participants at three different points of the study – before they were told about the topic, after the material was shared on the Facebook group and lastly after it had been dialogued on in the classroom learning community. It was found that they reached a deeper level of clarity in understanding about the formats of news writing after it was dialogued on in the blended learning community

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