While this kind of online component is similar to that of LIS 201, its purpose is not the same. These courses contain more instruction online than they do offline. We use online components to practice our skills with blogs and wikis, all while working toward becoming more competent with technology in our age of an increasing reliance on technology. However, not every hybrid course in every university is designed with its online component for the sake of increasing students' abilities to navigate through and communicate with online course work. For example, Advanced Nursing Practice Interventions focuses on diagnoses, interventions, and patient care. Therefore, there are other universities that use the "hybrid/blended" approach with its classes, but sometimes it is simply for the sake of convenience; students don't have to go to a physical classroom to receive instruction.
I really liked the combination of online and in-person portions of this class. While at first I had my doubts about all of the online components as I didn't have any experience with blogs or other similar online spaces, I felt as though it was a very efficient and effective way to complete assignments and act as a primary work platform for the class. I found it very effective to actually use the different kinds of technology we were talking about in order to complete our assignments.
That being said, I think I was a more effective student in the virtual world. While I found in-person discussions to be helpful and beneficial, I usually participated more in online settings. The ability to provide links, pictures, and personal entries helped me learn more about the information society. Throughout the semester, I began to adapt to all of the online elements and concluded that they were much more exciting and personalized experiences as opposed to activities in a traditional classroom setting. Granted, I learned more from my fellow classmates offline than I did online. However, I did get to learn a lot about their writing styles and it was interesting to see their takes on the same assignments that I was doing.
This class has taught me much more than the history and functionality of the information society. Now, I am much more confident with various kinds of technology and online spaces. I had never written in a blog before this class, nor had I any experience with any kind of online forum outside of social media sites. The assigned readings, especially the articles from the last few weeks, have been interesting and have caused me to relate various topics to my own life. Articles that dealt with Google, the NSA, and our new media generation were very applicable to my own personal life. I think that this heavy of an online focus would work best in a class similar to LIS 201 that deals with online information collaboration/communication. Classes with other objective, scientific, or mathematical focuses may not have the same kind of beneficial impact on students. Overall I enjoyed the "hybrid" nature of this course and will look for classes with similar layouts in the future.
I really liked the combination of online and in-person portions of this class. While at first I had my doubts about all of the online components as I didn't have any experience with blogs or other similar online spaces, I felt as though it was a very efficient and effective way to complete assignments and act as a primary work platform for the class. I found it very effective to actually use the different kinds of technology we were talking about in order to complete our assignments.
That being said, I think I was a more effective student in the virtual world. While I found in-person discussions to be helpful and beneficial, I usually participated more in online settings. The ability to provide links, pictures, and personal entries helped me learn more about the information society. Throughout the semester, I began to adapt to all of the online elements and concluded that they were much more exciting and personalized experiences as opposed to activities in a traditional classroom setting. Granted, I learned more from my fellow classmates offline than I did online. However, I did get to learn a lot about their writing styles and it was interesting to see their takes on the same assignments that I was doing.
This class has taught me much more than the history and functionality of the information society. Now, I am much more confident with various kinds of technology and online spaces. I had never written in a blog before this class, nor had I any experience with any kind of online forum outside of social media sites. The assigned readings, especially the articles from the last few weeks, have been interesting and have caused me to relate various topics to my own life. Articles that dealt with Google, the NSA, and our new media generation were very applicable to my own personal life. I think that this heavy of an online focus would work best in a class similar to LIS 201 that deals with online information collaboration/communication. Classes with other objective, scientific, or mathematical focuses may not have the same kind of beneficial impact on students. Overall I enjoyed the "hybrid" nature of this course and will look for classes with similar layouts in the future.
1 comment:
Cat,
I found mostly the same things while I was searching for information about hybrid courses online. While different schools may have approached the topic in different ways, they all had the same basic description of a course involving both online and offline aspects. I also felt the same way about you in relation to the online and offline parts of this course. While I did learn more through offline discussions, I feel like I was a more effective and active student online as well.
Post a Comment