Are Hybrids Better?
Many students who try hybrid college courses say they prefer the flexibility. "I lose interest in a classroom setting, but meeting 50/50 is nice -- it helps keep me in check and also gives me freedom," wrote Sarah Hangen of Sinclair Community College.Hybrid courses are proving to be more effective and popular with students and administratorsa alike. Check out this article about how colleges are saving money and meeting students' needs by blending the online and traditional classrooms into hybrid offerings that typically meet half of the time in a face-to-face setting.
Check out the article by following these three steps:
1. Link to the BSU Library article index: http://library.boisestate.edu/indexes/
2. Click on the first search aid, Academic search premier.
3. Search for the article title: "Hybrid Teaching Seeks to End the Divide Between Traditional and Online Instruction."
Chris Dede, a Harvard professor in the Graduate School of Education, claims that research and experience is showing hybrids to be a superior learning environment over traditional and online courses because hybrids appeal to a variety of student learning styles to ensure that every student is engaged in at least some of the activities. He claims many students "find their voice" in the online environment but also value the personal contact of the face-to-face meetings.
Many colleges are requiring at least one online course in order to teach students how to succeed in virtual classrooms, which is a growing trend that will surely be part of our educational future. One student said taking an online course is like taking a foreign language. The hybrid adds some face-to-face meetings which provide an opportunity for a struggling student to get help and encouragement.
posted by Caryn at 5:39 PM
3 Comments:
Personally, I like online classes better than onground or hybrid. However, I can see that hybrid is the way of the future and may be best for most students. I never dreamed that an online instructor could use tools such as blogging, discussion boards, and group projects to create a sense of community and fun. And that makes me wonder if students who prefer hybrids have ever taken an online course that was so interactive.
6:53 PM
In a recent article that I read, hybrid learning, if it is designed to let students reflect, can assist the student with higher level thinking skills. The reason is that many students are quiet in an onground class. Posting information online allows them to process and reflect with their peers.
I have been wondering about logistics in a high school. How would this work? Would students do the online work at home? During a study hall? Do you meet online first or in the classroom? Please advise :-)
7:59 PM
An important advantage of a hybrid course is that if properly structured it offers the best of both worlds. There are certain activities I use in my traditional history courses that will be hard to duplicate in a fully online course. However, a hybrid course forces the instructor to really make good use of the little face time available to focus on those facets of the class that can't be easily duplicated online.
For example, I typically conduct a mock impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. I plan to preserve the activity in my online course by dividing the class in half and asking them to conduct an online debate. I think it will work, but I suspect it will lack the passionate debate and emotion that I often get when we try Andrew Johnson in class. With a hybrid course, I'd save this activity for when we're together but I'd use the online component of the course to point students the right direction for their research, much of which can be conducted online.
Of course, hybrid courses offer an important benefit to the university as well. They free up classroom space. As universities become increasingly pressed for space, hybrid courses enable universities to maximize classroom space. Perhaps what future universities save in building costs they may be able to put to better use purchasing computers, hiring more professors (and paying them better), and funding other programs that improve the overall quality of their educational programs.
8:14 PM
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