Week 6 Reflections and Observations

I particularly liked the opportunity this week to investigate hybrid courses and techniques of teaching hybrid courses. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, I almost feel like a convert to the hybrid model! I have been teaching a fully-online course at Boise State since June of 2005. While it has been a great learning experience for me, I find that I really miss the face-to-face aspects of classroom teaching and somewhat resent the limited options that a course management system provides. I collect data every 5-week session of the course from the students and they continually express their frustration at aspects of totally online learning; particularly the connection with the instructor and some of the difficulties of communication. Part of my students' issues are related to the fact that the course is an introductory one to online learning and the use of Blackboard. More experienced students don't have the negative view that the new students do. In any event, I believe that, where practical, the hybrid model provides the best of both worlds for now.

A website that I discovered (WorldWideLearn.com) contained many articles on advances in education, one of which I selected to discuss this week because of its conciseness regarding the basics of hybrid education. It can be found at: http://www.worldwidelearn.com/education-articles/hybrid-education.html.

The article stated that "hybrid instruction, or hybrid courses, refer to classes where there is a carefully planned blend of both traditional classroom instruction and online learning activities." The author also asserted that the classes combine the best of both kinds of instruction. Some of the advantages to resident classes are that "students are able to make a meaningful connection with their instructors, as well as other students, and yet they are no longer required to travel to campus on a regular basis in order to attend courses because the majority of the coursework can be completed on the Internet." While she did not specify the percentage of coursework to be done in residence versus online, obviously, that will probably depend on the type of course being presented. A course in English, for instance, requiring a lot of writing is much more amenable to having the bulk (80-90%) of the course online. A course in Geology, requiring rock and mineral identification, would require the students to be able to experience the tactile sensation of rock texture, density and sheen, all things that do not translate well to the online world (yet!).

The author also makes the point that "instructors must adjust their class content--particularly their lecture materials. However, in doing so, they are often making their materials more effective than traditional classroom instruction. The reason? Rather than having students sit in a lecture hall taking notes, instructors can teach through more “active-learning” assignments such as case studies, self-tests, tutorials, and online group projects, all of which takes place over the Internet." Notes are available online any time of the day or night for review and download. I would have loved to have instructors' notes available this way! As it was, the lecture hall experience was one of "sprint notetaking" with very little comprehension taking place or opportunity for questions. This feature, in my mind, is one of the really strong aspects of hybrid or fully-online courses: having the lecture notes and assignments always available for reference. Besides these advantages, the reduced necessity to spend the time and frustration to travel to campus, find a parking place and make it to class on time is huge! On the other hand, if you want your courses to be available to a wide geographic distribution, having students drive 150 miles to campus once or twice a week is a real hardship. So, in some circumstances, hybrid classes simply might not be an option. Some other advantages, which have already been identified as predictors of success in online classes, are the time management skills, development of self-direction in learning, increased computer skills, and writing ability (I'm not so sure about this one!)

A final point that the author makes is with regard to how much improvement in subject-matter knowledge takes place in hybrid courses rather than strictly online courses or traditional classrooms. I was interested in her summary statement that, "While it's still fairly new, many instructors are reporting good success with hybrid courses, and here's why: Students are required to do more work on their own--and this kind of “active learning” results in better test performance and what is known as subject mastery (or subject knowledge). In addition, students in hybrid programs are more likely to participate in group discussions and collaborate online with other students because there is not only ample opportunity to prepare a response, but also because they are not physically speaking in front of a group. In fact, hybrid class participants tend to be more outgoing and responsive because they are “speaking” online versus in a classroom setting. However, even though students seem more confident about being involved with discussions online, it is important to keep in mind that it is because of the actual on-campus classroom component that students are more likely to find success in a hybrid course than in a strictly online class." There's just something about the hybrid course model that really appeals to me. As someone who is interested in adult education, I'm thinking that this model will fit the bill for adult learners very well, and I intend to pursue that avenue of inquiry.

Finally, the author provided a link to another good resource for your future reference regarding hybrid education, located at: http://courses.durhamtech.edu/tlc/www/html/Special_Feature/hybridclasses.htm