Couldn't Have Said it Better Myself!

In my day-to-day learning, I'm always shocked at my inability to pay attention when sitting in meetings or lecture-driven training. I have always struggled with this and been chastised by the general educator as being someone with a short attention span....or ADHD *gasp*. The more I have taught, trained, & facilitated, the more I begin to realize that it's not necessarily "my problem." Aren't we, as educators, responsible for creating a dynamic and rich learning environment?

In my journey developing a workshop about the hybrid learning environment, I have discovered that these types of courses have a high student success and satisfaction rate. I was reading an article on InsideHigherEd.com that provides a great explanation as to why:

Q: Is blended learning especially suited to a new generation of students with stereotypical traits such as shorter attention spans, different learning patterns, and more collaborative tendencies?

A: Student attention spans are short because most educational experiences are passive and lack meaning. Blended learning is intended to address these issues. On the other hand, there is evidence that technically savvy students are very critical about how technology is being used. It is clear that any use of technology must be justified and student expectations addressed. If this happens, then students will engage in more meaningful learning activities and assume greater responsibility for their learning.

So, it's not my fault! So quit picking on me! At any rate, this speaks volumes for hybrid education's successes.

Replicating F2F Courses in the Online Environment

As the campus promoter for online learning, I hear over and over again that many instructors feel that they can't "do what they do" in an online environment. "What they do" is referring to their content, teaching activities & strategies, and even the sense of who they are as a teacher. I find this interesting, because I, myself felt the very same way when I began my online teaching endeavors several years ago. I always prided myself on two major things, (1) my ability to connect with my students and (2) the fun and active learning environment that I created. How was I going to be able to re-create this in an online course? I found that I was a bit disappointed my first semester teaching online -- it really wasn't the same. I didn't get to see my students, I didn't get to spend time connecting with them, I didn't get to hear the "roar" of the classroom when they were busily engaging in group dynamics.

However, now it is my 7th semester teaching online and I couldn't be happier! I learned that I could not replicate the experience, but I could create an entirely different experience that was even more valuable to me. I found that I connected even deeper with my students online -- once you take away the barriers of face-to-face interactions, people are really honest! Students that might shy away in class just blossom in an online discussion board. I also learned a very valuable lesson from the community college student perspective: time is so valuable! Our students are working 40 hours a week, are full time students, parents, spouses and more....wow, so am I! Online courses allowed all of us to manage our time in a manner that worked for us...all of us! I came to my own conclusion that I couldn't be teaching unless I could teach online....and, neither could some of my students.

There are so many other reflections that came to mind as I thought about this, but these are the ones that really blew me away. I am so satisfied as an online instructor, and I believe my students are very thankful for that!