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Online only versus supplemented In-class courses

Hello All,

How effective can elearning be, for students of career colleges that use expensive or highly specialized equipment? Are the benefits of time-shifting, robust media, etc. outweighed by the necessity to be on location to use labs?

I'm of the mind that online course loads for these programs could be great supplementary material for the in-class sessions, but will probably not be used to replace or substitute actually class time.

Comments anyone?

I think that a hybrid course can offer the best of both worlds. Give students the opportunity to cover theory and content in whatever timing suits their schedule best, but require in-class attendance for practice and demonstration of acquired hands-on skill sets.

I would have to agree with Bonnie. More schools are starting to offer hybrid courses. Hybrid courses still offer convenience, interaction, increased learning and retention. They can be basic, housing only course information, presentations, and reference material or they can be interactive with tests, quizzes and discussion boards. Yet, they allow for face-to-face interaction that may be necessary to complete course objectives.

Nori:
Your comments are well taken. To those I would like to add that hybrid courses are the way to go for courses, the learning outcomes of which relate to psychomotor skills.
Satrohan
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The high cost of specialized equipment is of major concern to the career college and the prospective student. A hybrid program is ideal but not practical for extremely long distance students.

Agreed Larry. As a matter of fact cost to implement high-end learning technologies is also a concern for universities even when they are not targeting international studenst. And when they target international students as students in remote areas at the national level, there is always the concern for long downloading times for students with low internet transmission rates.
Satrohan

Hybrid courses are definitely the way to go, especially when dealing with high-risk students, i.e. failure to complete high school,alternative high school, and GED completers. These students need face-to-face interaction not only for daily progress checks but also for guidance and support. Many of these same students must maintain full-time employment, therefore online courses allow flexibility in their schedules.

Belinda:
Your argument for face-to-face interaction is indisputable. Scheduling the fac-to-face sessions for students in full time jobs may pose a challenge. I have known of situations in which the entire course is online, students come to a regular classroom setting in which there are computers on which they complete their coursework; and an Instructor to answer any questions they may have. This has worked out well; however, in that setting, all students came in at the same time of day, and the session ended at the same time of day. Multiple sessions may have to be run to cater for students in full-time jobs or on shift work.
Satrohan

I also worry about students who have been out of school for while and have not touched a computer in the last 8-10 years. In the classroom, I can monitor the way they hold their hands over the keyboard, give them encouragement when I meet their children, highlight all of the ways they are talented that may not show up through their lack of technical skills. Many people have to realize that if they have been out of the education process for a while, they are not best suited for this program. But, I have a student who works an amazing job that requires her to be away from a classroom setting. She is thriving with a school that works around her schedule.

I also worry about the quick retention that we are able to get from our students in the classroom. I love pop quizzes and questions that require them to remember something immediately. I would be interested in a way to get this same effect in the online classroom.

Sonia:
I am not familiar with the demographics of your student population. For students who are on th elower end of computer lkiteracy, i would conduct face-to-face tutorials supported by Quick Reference Materials, and access to a Help Desk to instill into the th elevel of computer literacy they require to take an online course.

I cannot find a simple way parallel the administration of pop quizzes. In an on-the-ground setting, all students receive the Quiz at the same time, and answer the questions in the time specified. I do not know of a way of replicating this scenario in an online environment. We can release Quizzes at a particular time, for a specifice period, and the Quizzes can be timed. However, because the Quiz is released for a period of time to accommodate variation in students' schedules, we have no control of students informing other so the Questions in the Quiz.
Satrohan

I am agreed with you, even though there are so many online programs today. I still think there are many others which are better to take in a class room, or to have a practice in the lab. There are other programs that you still need to interact with other people to explore your potential in a particular professional field. So online courses would be only a supplemental solution

Fernando:
Your viewpoint on the Subject is well taken. There are some Subjects that lend themselves well to teaching all topics online; other Subjects would require a blend of online learning and a traditional classroom environment.

Offering hybrid courses poses a real challenge for institutions who would like to reach out to the student population outside the geographical region of the institution------national and even at an international level.
Satrohan

The trend in meeting the Health Care Continuing Education requirements for our healthcare workers is to update information and testing on line.

The required hands on skill testing are done face-to face with an evaluator. The skill testing is scheduled on different days and times to accommodate the student/employee.

We have found that in order to retain a qualified healthcare workforce the training requirements need to accommodate their lifestyle.

Max Knowledge is an example of meeting the needs of the trainers (students) in meeting their educational requirements at a time that is convenient for them.

Lois:
The hybrid model you are adopting is the best fit for thistype of training especially when one considers that the consequences of error could be grave in this profession.
Satrohan

I have to agree that hybrid classes are the way to go in some situations. Why can't students learn online and then attend an onground portion fo the course to complete labs, take tests, give presentations, etc.?

It seems to be either on line or on ground for a class. Why can't it be a combination of the best of both worlds?

Also, the technology used in the future will be determined by the types of learners. Many people are technology savvy and will not want to sit in a classroom. Institutions who provide online learning will need to think out of the box on this one and identify a new way to teach students.

Charlotte:
This is a somewhat touchy situation for institutions. whether they choose to adopt a hybrid approach versus all on-the-ground, and another version online seems to be driven by cost as well as by profit. When two versions of the course are offered, there has to be adequate enrollments to support the cost of delivering both versions. The hybrid approach is suitable if the institution targets students who are within their locale. It is not suitable when an institution, with the hope of increasing revenue, targets students at the national and international level.
Satrohan

How true. Over the next several years, it will be interesting to see what evolves with technology and education... what virtual learning will eventually look like is anyone's guess.

We will have to wait and see, Charlotte. As I shar emy opinion on this topic, I recall reading a textbook in 1982 on Intelligent Tutoring Systems. The authors predicted that such systems would prevail in educational institutions by the mid 90s. Well, to this point in time, I have not seen that materialized.

My greatest interest is not how the delivery modes will evolve; but moreso, in our society being able to maintain a capable and competent workforce to support it.
Satrohan

Satrohan,
That's an interesting thought about "not how the delivery modes will evolve, but will we have the capable and competent workforce to support it." It would depend on the direction/ vision of online learning and the technology to support it.

I'm looking forward to the next several years when online learning becomes a regular part of our lives. The question then becomes how it will be deveoped and managed.

Take a look at Second Life. It is considered an online "game" but there is a Second Life College. Many universities are coming online to create virutual classroom environments. The medium is constantly being perfected, you can show videos or play music within the environment, have voice chat, IM chat, and enter into a learning environmet that can be created by the instructor or institution...which can be traditional in nature, or not. Students and instructor create an "Avatar" which interacts with others within the 3-D environment. I believe this will be the next form of the internet. It is a community created by it's users.

If you are an educator and have not explored this medium, you should. I have been creating virtual environments since Decemeber, and am having a blast. I have met educators from all over the world in Second Life who believe this type of learning and interactive environment is the future of online education.

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