Not very surprisingly enough, my search results for hybrid courses ended up looking extremely similar to my fig-mates. Originally I searched for "hybrid courses UW Madison" and I was astounded but the first couple results being linked to UW-Milwaukee. Regardless, the UWM page gave a straight-forward definition of a hybrid course. "In 'hybrid' courses," the page reads,"a significant amount of the course material has moved online, making it possible to reduce the amount of time spent in the classroom." They then mention three keys points that make up a hybrid course at UW-Milwaukee. The three points they make it their courses can be seen in UW-Madison's LIS 201.
Number one; "Web-based learning activities are introduced to complement face-to-face work." In 201, all of the blog posts we write make sense in the context of the class and the material that is being discussed at the moment. For example, at the time when the reading about IT careers was assigned, we were asked to research and write about Manpower, Inc. This linking of online work and in-class concepts creates a system that enhances itself.
Number two; "'seat time' is reduced, though not eliminated altogether." Compared to other classes, the in-class time for LIS 201 is not that much. My other classes, such as Political Science 106, have less work, but still meet more times a week than 201. Using the blogging system, more work can be done outside of class.
Number three; "the Web-based and face-to-face components of the course are designed to interact pedagogically to take advantage of the best features of each." This points reminds me the Ignite presentations. The presentations were created individually and with a computer, but good feedback was given in an offline group setting.
Now, I would agree that these points make hybrid courses seem like a great idea. However, I would argue that if colleges were to advance these blended classes, that they should move with caution. After writing blog posts all semester, I have found that the language and style used is often informal and sometimes non-academic. Online activities, as I also found, seem to foster distraction. I would sometimes find myself taking longer on these online assignments than I should due to the nature of procrastination on the Internet. If these blog posts were completed offline, I feel like they would have been written more formally and oddly enough, quicker.
I have been participating in hybrid courses since high school in courses such as Introduction to Journalism. For journalism and "The Information Society", I feel like hybrid courses are easily creditable and adaptable. For other classes, such as mathematics and science, I feel like more class time is more helpful than a blended course structure. In my eyes, it does not make sense to have online components for a class like Chemistry. It makes sense for us to be writing about information technologies while using an information technology because that's what the class is about. Math and science, however, I find to work better being taught and discussed in a traditional face-to-face format.
1 comment:
Hey Sam,
I agree with many of the things that you say in here! I did notice, however, that you did not answer one of the questions from the LIS 201 blog; "Did you feel that you were a more effective student in the physical world or the virtual world?" I feel as if I was a more effective student in the virtual world, but only because I have had a lot of previous experience. It is much easier to participate online for some people than it is to discuss things face-to-face. I'm not shy, but I just find it easier to think about a response in depth and then type it out compared to quickly reacting and saying it.
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