Yes, Tearee, good points. So the instructor must make sure that the time with students in f2f environments are active rather than passive. In your experience, how has your instructional design changed to accomodate this?
In the classroom I do less talking and have the students engaged in more activities and discussion.
Great, Tearee, but how do you find you are more active as a teacher? What about guiding and coaching the process? What works best for you?
Since of responsibilty once they get the idea that they are really going to have to do their work on their own
I think blended/hybrid classes are a great idea. I think more schools should offer these types of classes. I heard my Master of Arts degree by taking 100% online and blended classes. I liked the blended classes because I had the flexibility of online classes while at the same time I was able to form friendships with other students when I was on campus. I only was on campus 2 or 3 times during the semester which gave opportunities to meet my instructors and ask questions. I was taking online and blended classes because my work schedule interfered with me taking on ground classes. Blended/hybrid classes give students who are less experienced with technology an opportunity get more practice using technology before they consider taking online classes.
Excuse the typo. I meant I "earned" my Master of Arts degree by taking 100% online and blended.
Thank you, Salena, for sharing your experience with blended learning. Although you said you decided to take blended because of scheduling issues, did you find the experience more effective than if it had been totally F2F; would you intentionally choose blended in the future over on ground classes?
Blended learning offers students the ability to learn at their own pace many time. I believe everyone does not learn the same which is why at some point, a particular aspect of a blended learning will "click" and learning will take place.
So, Steven, you're saying that the various options available via blended instruction will benefit more students in their learning process. I agree. What have you found to be the most effective options to offer your students in a blended delivery?
I can see hybrid learning giving students another chance to to ask for clarification of material gone over in class. This avenue might also serve the differentiation of learning styles. In class and even with small groups,some students may become distracted. Hybrid learning is also a way to introduce new material that will be discussed face to face. Hybrid learning also might better meet the needs of adult students who are working full time as it decreases time spent in face-to-face courses.
I'm somewhat familiar with this type of instruction. This course has given me information that will be helpful in making the leap to process-based learning.
thx gg
So glad that you've found the course helpful, Gil :) As you say, there are both methodological benefits of hybrid learning and practical benefits. It would be interesting for you to think through the courses you currently teach and decide which you could "pilot" as a hybrid course in order to experience this mode with students.
I would say it is the best of both worlds--the instructor has the opportunity to engage the student in person while allowing them to reach a level of independence when away from the personal contact. Speaking as a one time online student, I would say that I enjoyed the flexiblity of being online, however, I missed the face-to-face experience I had when I took "traditional" classes on campus. Flexibility is crucial to the college student who works, and sometimes that blended learning is just what they need in order to reach success.
So, Jacqueline, the flexibility in time and space and the flexibility in a combined environment makes the learning experience richer for the students. I agree with you and would say that both depend on effective instructional design that maximizes both contexts.
Flexibility of time and space. So many of our students have jobs, families, and other responsibilities, and we are finding more and more of them who are looking to put in the time when it's convenient for them. We are in the process of making the change from a traditional structure to a blended model where our students will spend two days in class and two days out. Our goal is to better accommodate our existing market, and possibly tap into a market we to tap into.
Both hybrid and blended learning offer students better opportunities to interact with each other and learn from one anothers' experiences.
Both provide the ability to reach learners having different intelligence abilities and learning styles.
Good points, Larry. How specifically does blended delivery provide better opportunities for students to learn from each other? Have you had some direct experience of this?
For example discussing notes or key points to gather clearer understanding and check for any misconception.
Through online chats, the students can learn from each other, as well as from the course and the instructor. Some students may be shy to speak up in class, but have no problem chatting.
If the content is self-learned online, the entire class time can be spent putting the learning into practice. I teach a Digital Media class where they are learning new software programs for creating and presenting projects. If I had more time in class to focus on working with each student indiviudally, they would learn it faster.
The opportunity for delivering content in multiple formats that may appeal to different types of learners is also heightened.
Great points, Andrea. I know what you mean about focusing on each student individually. How can the use of the technology help develop individual learning paths for your students? I'm thinking about the social networking tools specifically.
I am friends with many of my former students and many of my colleagues on Facebook. There are so many cool sites that are related to my field and my interests that are shared with me and that I can then share with others. For example, I had attended Pratt Institute. They have collaborated with West Elm, and there is an opening event in the NY showroom. I am unable to attend, being in FL, but my former students that live in NY might be interested in going, so it was just one click to pass on the info.
