Blended learning can refer to any time a student learns in part at a brick-and-mortar facility and in part online. It's a disruptive innovation in education, and one that many schools are employing to increase student learning and engagement while dealing with the realities of public funding.
Other approaches go even further by looking at blended learning by combining various on-line tools/solutions mainly and keeping the face-to-face at a very concise portion or even virtual. In that case blended learning can also be seen as mixing group learning (group teaching by/with the teachers and collaborative learning with/by the students) plus customised monitoring/tutoring 1-to-1 with each student/learner. Even more, as we have been developing in the WikiSkills project, active and collaborative learning can go one step further where the students/learners have an active learning/teaching role, and where the teachers and the other stakeholders (educational governance, companies ...) also get involved and contribute in a new relationship model.

The present infographic on the Blended Learning has been published by knewton.com. it is mainly focused on the US market, but it translates a a deep coming change in the education sector and in the communication sector as well within the society. See as well their other infographic on the "Flipped Classroom".

Did you know that sound waves have magnetic properties?

Using the Oakley supercomputer and a very small, frozen tuning fork, Joseph Heremans is rewriting our science textbooks. His computational research team has discovered that phonons — sound and heat particles — yield to magnetic fields.

Europe is closing its innovation gap with the United States and Japan but differences in performance between EU Member States are still high and diminishing only slowly.
European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, said:

"Making innovation happen all over Europe remains a priority if we want to achieve our industrial policy objective: at least 20% of EU GDP coming from manufacturing by 2020. More business investment, a stronger demand for European innovative solutions and fewer obstacles to the commercial up-take of innovations are the key to growth. We need more innovative companies and a growth-friendly framework to bring innovations successfully to the markets".

2013 EU industrial structure report highlights challenges and opportunities of EU re-industrialisation
The "EU industrial structure report 2013: Competing in Global Value Chains" indicates there are signs of a tentative recovery although many sectors have still not regained their pre-crisis level of development.
Manufacturing sectors have been hit more severely by the crisis than services: manufacturing, as a proportion of economic output, has declined significantly; however, there are significant differences between sectors. For example the pharmaceuticals sector has experienced sustained growth since the start of the financial crisis, while high-technology manufacturing industries have, in general, not been impacted to the same extent as other industries.
In parallel, the interlinkages between manufacturing and services are growing, as products are becoming more sophisticated and incorporate higher services content.

Matthias Ansorg, one of the winners of the 2013 Social Innovation Competition, helped create Economy App, which is designed to improve access to the job market.

With around 27 million citizens currently out of work, social innovation – innovative ideas that meet social needs – is essential for meeting the job challenge.

For the second consecutive year (2013), the Social Innovation Competition aims to remedy European unemployment by encouraging creative solutions.

More than five years after the onset of the global financial crisis, it is clear that there is no easy fix for the current economic malaise. But instead of merely wishing for things to change, the European Commission is enlisting Europe's innovative problem solvers in an effort jumpstart recovery.

The number of unemployed Europeans has reached roughly 27 million, while millions more are stuck in low-paying jobs and feel that they have few alternatives because of their gender, age or a disability. 

By not taking action, Europe's employment issues will cast a shadow over the economy and the society for years to come. Indeed, long-term unemployment is not merely an economic issue, but a societal one as well.