Hybrid Courses

In my search for hybrid courses I discovered that UW Madison is not alone in offering these classes. With just a simple Google search I discovered that many other institutes for higher education also offer this type of class. Some of these schools include: UW Milwaukee, NOVA (Northern Virginia Community College), University of Maryland University College, and Southern New Hampshire University. According to Southern New Hampshire University, “’Hybrid’ is the common term for courses that combine face-to-face classroom instruction with computer-based learning”. This description, along with the descriptions from the other schools appear fairly similar to the structure of LIS201 at UW Madison.

With my experience in LIS 201, I feel that the online portions did help with connecting material we covered in-person. The weekend assignments not only allowed me to engage more so into the material we discussed, but also improved my researching skills. While the online portion helped to reinforce material learned, I was able to learn more about my fellow students’ offline in the actual discussion section. Before this class I had no experience with blogs or wikis, but now I am much more comfortable using this resources. I find that for writing assignments, these resources can be very helpful in terms of sharing content and they should be utilized by UW instructors. If instructors utilize these tools, it allows for students to not only share information they have learned, but it also allows for students to gain the collective knowledge of the group.

The lectures and readings definitely opened my eyes to the information society we live in. Before this course I had never heard the term. To be honest, I pretty much lived in my own little bubble and had no concern for how society has been shaped by technologies. Now because of LIS 201, I am more aware of how I interact online and what information I share on the web. In addition, I am now going to be conscious about what I consume, especially after learning about Foxconn. Academic wise, I have learned to become a more efficient researcher online while I sought information for this class, such as for these weekend assignments and papers.

As for implementing the online course components for different subjects, I think this is doable with a few minor changes. For subjects such as history or biology I believe that the blog and wiki assignment would benefit students learning. Allowing the students to delve deeper into research in particular topics, instead of just reading provided material. Although I do not think this hybrid course would be effective for a math class, where it relies on memorization and practice, rather than additional research.