Blending Learning

Some students have the impression that signing up for an online or hybrid learning class will be easier than being physically present. That line of thinking gets many students into trouble right away. Actually, the demands of online learning (I dare say with some hesitation) are greater.

While the academic content is and should be comparable to face-to-face instruction, the energy and time investment needed exceeds expectations for both faculty and student. I suppose that is the price for the flexibility offered. Students soon learn they need to be more diligent with planning, reading and assignment completion, timeliness, and then there's the issue of class interaction. The use of discussion forums, designed to provide a sense of community where students can partake in conversational and, even Socratic, exchanges, are central to online and hybrid learning models.

The effectiveness of this model relies on faculty and student discipline: posting on time, reading other student and faculty responses and questions, on time, and commenting with insightful perspectives...all this within reasonable assigned measure. Faculty presence and feedback is of equal consequence as students in this environment exhibit a need to feel connected and, like most, want to keep tabs on their progress from the moment they click "submit."

To be successful, students cannot choose to sit in the back of the classroom and take up space for a semester without the least bit of interaction. Too costly a choice for the online learner.

...for the moment...
aSalas