Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Hybrid and Blended Courses

After doing a Google search for hybrid classes, the results seemed to match my experience in LIS 201 this semester. Since the ratio of face-to-face and online activity can vary from class to class and university to university that is what would most likely create the differences. In LIS 201 we seem to have more face-to-face interaction through discussion sections and lectures, but in some cases online blogging, reading, and other activities could take up the larger portion of the course. One of the top searches that I found was UW-Milwaukee's hybrid/blended course FAQ's and description sheet. The way that it is described makes it seem like it would be similar to my experience this semester where as on the Online Community College webpage I found discussing hybrid classes that they offer, the courses seem heavily based on online activities versus face-to-face interaction and discussion.

As for my experience in LIS 201 this semester I would have to say that the online work coincided nicely with what was being covered and discussed in lecture and discussion sections. The searches and online weekend projects built off of the topics presented in class and helped me to better understand and receive more hands on work with the topics. As for my effectiveness as a student I feel that I was most effective in the virtual world rather than they physical world. Overall I feel like I have gained valuable experience with wikis and blogs from this course, but UW instructors should be mindful of how much online interaction they are incorporating into their courses because the face-to-face learning process is still very important. In LIS 201 the online activities were helpful, but I can see where courses that are not technology based or related wouldn't benefit as much from online activities.

1 comment:

  1. Yes, I agree with what you said about the importance of maintaining offline interactions, because I also think it is a necessary part of the learning process. This is what I said in my own post, that it seems these online aspects work best when they are complimentary to the course, rather than the main focus of them.

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.