Hybrid Learning: The Best of Both Worlds

What is it?
The goal of a hybrid class is to blend the best features of in-person instruction with technology-enriched online experiences to create an educational atmosphere that promotes active participatory learning. By supplementing traditional in-person methods with web-based activities and resources, the course is made more accessible and interactive and cultivates increased student interest and self-exploration. [1]

Why do it?
Studies conducted at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee found that students benefited from the hybrid format by: learning more, writing better papers, performing better on tests, discussing course materials more meaningfully, and completing higher quality class projects.

Data from the University of Central Florida also indicate that students participating in hybrid courses received better grades than those taking traditional onsite classes or online courses and that student success rates in hybrid courses on the Central Florida campus are “equivalent or slightly superior” to face to face courses. Also notable is that the hybrid courses have lower dropout rates than courses that are taught solely online [2]

How is it done?
1.First, think about the types of activities that take place in a classroom environment. How can or can’t those be duplicated or enhanced in an online environment? (see Delivery Options for Online/Hybrid Activities handout).
2.Analyze your current face-to-face class outline. Are there any components of lessons that could be delivered online?
3.What are those components and how would they be delivered in an online environment?
4.Dissect a particular lesson by determining what activities can be taught in an online format and what activities are best suited in the face-to-face environment. (see Hybrid Lesson Design Tool handout).

Ideas to get you started:
•Maricopa Learning Exchange (MLX) Hybrid Resources: http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/search_results.php

•Hybrid Design Resource Course:
http://bb63.maricopa.edu/webapps/login/
Username: Trainer Password: training
Click on GWC.Hybrid Design Resource Course in the list of courses (at the very end)

Sources
[1]http://teachvu.vu.msu.edu/public/pedagogy/hybrid/index.php?page_num=2
[2]http://jolt.merlot.org/vol3no1/larson-daugherty.pdf

Active Learning Online...

Active vs. passive, what’s the difference???
Simply put, active learning is “doing.” The very nature of an online environment is active. Students very rarely are able to sit back and view or listen to anything. They must actively seek out knowledge and create their own truths.

“Most of the time, in a typical classroom setting, students are involved only passively in learning, i.e., in listening to the instructor, looking at the occasional overhead or slide, and reading (when required) the text book. Research shows that such passive involvement generally leads to a limited retention of knowledge by students…” *


What’s the big deal?
We know that student remember 90% of what they say and do and only 10% of what they read and 20% of what they hear…..(Dale, 1954)


How do I do it?
•Start small – you might already be doing it without knowing!
•Set the stage
•Approach each lesson from a student perspective
•Think about what the students will be “doing” each lesson


Activities
•Is there a lecture you typically prepare that can be more interactive (think: less reading, more research, summarizing, and synthesizing)? Have your students get into online groups and research various topics from a lecture. Use an online collaborative tool so that students can share ideas in an online area. Have them present their findings to the class in a virtual classroom or discussion board.
•Have a student or group of students moderate discussion boards. Ask them to facilitate the conversation and summarize and close the discussion board at the end.
•If students are writing papers, have them use the collaboration tools to peer review each others papers. Be sure to provide guidelines of what constitutes an effective peer review.
•Are your students involved in a practicum or field based experience? Reconnect them to their classmates by having them use a reflection or discussion tool online.
•Send students on a virtual scavenger hunt by providing resources in the form of web resources & documents.


*http://courses.science.fau.edu/~rjordan/active_learning.htm

Non-Threatening Environment

A co-worker brought up an interesting point during an in-service on multiple intelligences last week. She said it was important to build a non-threatening classroom environment. This environment would better facilitate learning. My first thought was that this made perfect sense. The more I think about it, the more I see its relationship to learning. Students feel comfortable physically and emotionally in a classroom and they will preform better than students who are afraid to ask questions or participate in class discussions. Taking this even further, if students feel comfortable and safe with an instructor, they may be more motivated to attend class and work harder on assignments....less likely to drop out or just not show up. I've always fostered the student-teacher relationship in my classroom....now, I know why it's so important (especially at the community college).

Easy Ways to Incorporate Technology into Lessons

Find or create a simple WebQuest

• Find a webquest: http://webquest.org/index.php
• Example: A WebQuest for Registered Nursing Students and Maternal-Child Nursing http://www.msu.edu/user/brubak29/PregnancyWebQuest.htm
• Develop/create your own: A webquest about creating a webquest http://www.bernardsboe.com/wams/academics/isaacs/webquests/index.html

Provide Web resources to explore

• Does your text book publisher provide any online resources? If so, how can you integrate them in the course to promote learning and retention?
• Do your own research using Google to find online resources.
• What do you want your students to do with these web resources?

Have students create email accounts

• Have students sign up for a gmail email account: http://www.gmail.com
• Send students a weekly tip or a synthesis of a discussion item from class.
• Send website links for them to explore and later discuss in class.
• Send them reminders about quizzes, tests and reading assignments.
• Ask them for feedback as a formative classroom assessment technique.

Use Jeopardy for in class exam reviews

• Templates are available online, here are just a couple good ones:
• http://teach.fcps.net/trt10/Documents/jeopardytemplate30Q&A.ppt
• http://www.jmu.edu/madison/teacher/jeopardy/jeopardy.htm
• Have students create questions in groups then select a handful of questions to use in the Jeopardy template.
• Fill in the template and use it for an exam review.

Effectively Managing Discussion Boards

So, you came up with a great idea to have an online discussion with your class. Wonderful! Just make sure to have some of the basics in place before this molehill turns into Mount Everest....

Things to have in place when requiring a discussion board in your course:

• Points should be assigned to every required posting
• A rubric should be developed and communicated with your students
• Explicit posting procedures should be communicated to students:
• Naming conventions for posting
• How many classmates they should reply to
• Types of replies that are required
• Be explicit about what students should expect of you in the discussion board
• Summarize and close each discussion once the due date has arrived
• Have students and/or student groups moderate & summarize discussions

Blackboard tools to use:

• Set up threads or forums so that you can grade postings directly from the board.
• Have students rate other students’ responses using the Blackboard star system as well as reply to postings.
• Use the Collect tool to easily combine and read all posts related to a single thread
• Use the Search field to easily find threads with keywords

Question crafting ideas:

• Select an interesting topic, one that gets them thinking and wanting to read other responses.
• Think about questions/discussions that are difficult for student to spontaneously answer/discuss in class.

….And be sure to….

Log into the discussion board daily in order to keep abreast of new postings.

Resources:

Moderating & Facilitating Online Discussions

Developing Discussion Board Ideas for Your Class - worksheet

Discussion Board Rubric

Another Discussion Board Rubric

Getting Started with Discussion Boards in Blackboard

Doing More with Discussion Boards in Blackboard

Plan B....the hiccups of technology

One may laugh at me using the term "hiccup"...thinking that Blackboard must be drunk by now, but I assure you these issues are temporary. However, in the meantime, what is an instructor to do when they have 20, 30, 50, 100+ students biting at the bit to access course content online? Well, I'll tell you.....

Create a Blog
Create a blog that can host class material and facilitate class discussions, have your students create blogs too. Add your student’s blog links to your page so that everyone has access to each other’s blogs. This creates a classroom community.

1. Go to http://www.blogger.com/
2. Follow the steps on the Blogger.com page to create an account

• If you have a gmail account, use that login information to create the blog.
• If you don’t have a gmail account, use the email address you would like students to

Create a Wiki
Create collaborative web pages for you and your students to edit, post, and comment about topics using “wiki technology.”

1. Go to http://www.pbwiki.com/
2. Fill out the information in the "Get Started for Free" area.

Paper-Based and/or Excel Gradebook
If you use Blackboard to track your grades, think about:

• Setting up a back-up spreadsheet in Excel that will store and calculate your grades, OR
• Track grades in a paper gradebook, or a simple notebook. This is a fantastic backup if all your technology fails!

Find Good Online Resources
If Blackboard is down, you can still have your students access the internet. Have a few websites that contain information they will be learning about for each lesson. If Blackboard is down, have the students go to these websites and discuss their findings in your new class blog!

Keep Student Contact Information “Offline”
Make sure to have current contact information for your students that is not “housed” in Blackboard. Keep a paper copy of student emails and phone numbers and one that is on your computer hard drive and/or a thumb drive. This will allow you to either email or call your students to inform them of your “Plan B.”

Always Keep Course Information in Multiple Places
You never know what technology won’t be working when you need it. Keep your course materials on a thumb drive, a CD, and on your computer. Make it a habit when you update your assignments or other course materials to also update each location that “houses” these materials. If you create a Google account: https://www.google.com/accounts/Login, you can upload documents and other course materials in the Google Docs area. This will allow you to access materials from any computer in any location.

Explore Additional Online Learning Environments
Make sure there are other places for your students to meet and learn online. These places should be in addition to Blackboard, not necessarily used only when Blackboard is down. Below is a list of free open-source online environments that have potential usage in the college classroom (please note that these environments can be private for only your class to see and interact within).

• https://www.google.com/accounts/Login: Access to blogger (blog), document and spreadsheet sharing, discussion groups, etc…
• http://www.myspace.com/: Access to a blog, image posting, and collaboration…

Who am I?

Most techy people boast about working with technology since technology existed...I'm not one of those. I came upon technology in education as a second degree when I was in my early 2os. I hoped it would make me marketable in a world full of English teachers (my first degree). I received my Masters in Learning & Instructional Technology from ASU in 2002 and looked straight to the community college realm for work. I enjoy working with technology as I see it fit in education. Other than that, I love my cell phone in which I text message and browse the internet feverishly and I also am addicted to posting pictures of my baby girl to my Flickr account...any other time, I never log onto my computer during my "me time." Shocking isn't it???