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[niceday]

Also, I'd be interested in strategies for hybrid (online and offline) courses) people have found useful.

[melba_frilkins]

Also, I'd be interested in strategies for hybrid (online and offline) courses) people have found useful.

I'm teaching a hybrid for the first time this semester. I thought it would be easy because I've taught the class a million times both fully online and in the classroom with web stuff as supplements. Well, it's been something of a disaster! So apparently I have no useful strategies, but I can tell you my mistakes and you can learn from them.

For context, this is an intro level lecture course, about 50 students. We're replacing 1/3 of class time with online time.

My mistakes big mistake is that I have same expectations (exams/quizzes) for students but less class time to help them get there. Plus, to substitute for the missed class time (1 day per week) they have the additional burden to do online discussions. I constantly feel like I'm trying to catch up after having to cancel a day of class--I mean I feel like I have to rush lecture and skip the fun stuff and just go through everything. If I were to do it again I would:
a. Make the "extra" online work lighter. And make it do more to directly prepare students for the exams.
b. Require that they log in during the first week of class. Well, I did require that, but did not follow through-- Students who don't "attend" both in the classroom and online should be dropped at the end of week 2. (Need to get rid of students who are just not able or motivated to do the online component. If they can't log in by the end of the 2nd week, that's a bad sign!)
c. Spend more time in class on a regular basis reminding them about their online assignments.

Also, during registration students seemed to be avoiding my hybrid class (thought it's at a popular day/time, it didn't fill until the last minute, unlike my other sections) so I wonder if the whole problem is that I got the late-registering students (who tend to be slackers) and/or students who didn't want a hybrid in the first place but got stuck with it. Many didn't even know it was a hybrid and the computer/online aspect isn't up their alley.

[magistra]

Don't count on changing b) to do any good.  Mine all cheerfully logged in right away, and have since merrily ignored the discussion boards as usual.  A lot of students are resistant to hybrid, it does take more work than either regular format, and I agree with your overall assessment.  I think one big help would be if there were more of a proper orientation done by the school, and we could somehow get students who want hybrid to sign up for it -- too many don't know what that means or don't care to try it.  There's a disconnect before we even start.  I think hybrid has the potential to do amazing things, but students have to reach for it that little bit more, and they're not always willing to do so. 

[hoodah_thunkett]

I'm teaching a hybrid for the first time this semester. I thought it would be easy because I've taught the class a million times both fully online and in the classroom with web stuff as supplements. Well, it's been something of a disaster!

I'm coming into this discussion late, but I hope I can be helpful.

I am an instructional designer with experience creating higher ed e-learning courses. Without actually seeing your course, I can't say for sure, but since you've taught the course successfully both online and in the classroom, I suspect that the frustration you're facing may have to do with the course content you've chosen to put into the online format.

The online format is very good for information transmission--that is, the lecture and reading portion of the course. It is not as good for the dynamic portions of the course, such as class discussions and activities. In a hybrid course, I would suggest using the online segment for things that students can do on their own, including:

• reading (written lecture material, text books, articles, etc.)
• research (such as finding and/or exploring online or place-based material)
• activity preparation (i.e., "here is the activity we're going to do in class, and here is what you need to come prepared with")
• writing (this can include discussion board assignments that require reflection)
• knowledge-check quizzes.

With the time-consuming and preparatory elements of the course taken care of online, you can use in-class time for the interactive portions of the course, such as discussions, activities and demonstrations. Having students prepare for in-class sessions using online materials has one more benefit involving student motivation: if you're not involved in the online portion of the course, you'll be lost in class, and it will be obvious to everyone.