I am Joe Popma and would like to hear from you on how you feel about hybrid and videoconferencing.

Joe Popma

Joe,

I really enjoyed reading your article and found the Prezi interesting. I have also used Google Docs, but found my students prefer to use Dropbox. I am planning on incorporating Skype into my classes after the break.

Laura Sharp

One concern the reader may have is that the paper is highly anecdotal. As such, it may be read as something of an advertisement for hybrid learning, rather than a sober assessment of its advantages and disadvantages as compared to either traditional classroom instruction or pure online learning. The staunch advocate of traditional classroom instruction (say, the individual who finds very little value in pure online learning) will certainly agree that the hybrid approach is an improvement over pure online learning, but will insist that it's still far from optimal. You offer two justifications for hybrid learning: 1) hybrid learning is better suited to the learning styles of contemporary college students and 2) it's better suited to student needs for flexibility.

With regard to (1) you say:

• "This generation is used to collaborating and thinking differently. They are vastly different in their learning styles than the generation before them. Traditional methods of instruction do not correspond to the way students gather and process information today…. They cannot simply walk into a university classroom and sit there, passively listening to the professor talk while they take notes. It's not in their nature" (4).
• "Let them be creative in their design to help their universities promote hybrid classes and other methods of learning for modern students who are different from the generations before them" (12).

One may find such assertions highly doubtful. The internet and social networking have changed the way we learn and interact but perhaps the point here is made too strong. Why should we think that 21^st century students enjoy a fundamentally different style of learning? And, even if it were the case that they find it more difficult to listen to a classroom lecture than students of generations passed, why think this justifies changing the traditional teaching model? It is, perhaps, harder for a 21^st century 8^th grader to run a mile than a 20^th century 8^th grader, but that wouldn't indicate that they have a fundamentally different running style. They're simply out of shape by comparison.

With regard to (2), one may respond that the sort of flexibility that online and hybrid education offers does not necessarily enhance learning. It certainly enhances participation in higher education, but the discipline required to involve oneself, in person, in an academic community and be present to their professors and classmates is a time-tested practice. Cultivating this sort of discipline may have serious advantages for learning that are lost in highly flexible learning environments. Flexibility may, in fact, be a boon to learning, but one can raise plausible objections here.

Another worry that the reader may have is that certain statements can be read as leading commentary. For example:

• "It has been an eye opening experience to discover how extensive this new hybrid education is being practiced" (2).
• "It was found, through data collecting, that students who too hybrid courses scored much better in almost all areas than those taking face-to-face courses, a simply amazing result" (4).
• "The university came up with the perfect answer" (10).
• "For students that have never experience d this kind of learning, combining face-to-face learning with online experience… was unbelievable" (10).

The question of advertisement, as opposed to assessment, is again something to consider addressing here.

Joe Popma,

I enjoyed your paper and the thesis presented. The advantages of a hybrid based learner were apparent.

There were some issues I had with your proposal. It seemed that your point that "is against their nature" (p. 4) to learn in a lecture setting might have issues. It reminded me of the desire to seemingly entertain youth today rather than educate individuals' which occurs in some elementary and high schools today.  Possibly an emphasis on multimedia in general or multiple methods of instruction such as adding recorded lectures, additional videos would help the classroom. I also wondered is it the nature of people in general or just the younger generation entering the university setting for the first time that are in this classification, as there is a significant paradigm difference between the middle aged working students. Additionally is it truly nature of the individual, the society, or ones upbringing that causes this mindset? Is this nurture more than nature issue?  

I like the videoconferencing concept but only found it feasible within small settings as with your examples.  However it seemed out of place for the first year youth and more at home solely within Graduate work which typically are smaller groups. This would also better fall in line with the paradigm that "all members of the class are the dispensers of knowledge through interactivity among the group" (p. 5). This would be less the case in an undergraduate setting where many concepts are new. A suggestion regarding videoconferencing to aid in its success would be to where possible group individual groups or entire classes within Time zones.

David M. Steimle

Joe, I was quite intrigued with your paper. I suspect it will take many years of research into the valued outcome of hybrid education as compared with traditional online and face to face education. Although I have taught four or five different courses in both face to face and online format for GCU, I found some courses work significantly better in each setting for various reasons. I suspect that one-fits-all-format may never be found; however, well developed learning designs will one day be available for use among adults with varying learning style needs or constraints and one such design will be hybrid learning.  Thank you for this serious attempt to work toward the achievemnt of this hybrid approach design, Joe.

Patricia Mullen

Hi Joe,

I really liked your paper on video conferencing.  I can remember taking a class at the undergraduate level at Arizona State University that gave us the option of taking the class on campus or we could participate at home by watching the class through cox cable.  We could call in if we had any questions.  It truly was a great experience and allowed me a lot more flexibility in my schedule.  I was a big fan back then and I am a big fan of these types of options for the students.  I would check into the option of finding out how satellite companies or local cable companies could team up with this type of learning.

If you look at a lot of big churches today, they are actually following that trend in a lot of ways.  These churches actually use videoconferencing to preach their sermons to what they describe as satellite campuses.  They have a live band at each campus but they video in the pastor and the people at that particular location see and learn by watching a video of the pastor on a big screen.  It has been very interesting to see the success of this type of teaching style.  People are very comfortable with it and I do not see it being any different in the classroom setting.  Great job and keep up the great efforts.  Take care and God Bless.   Matt.

Laura, Sanjoy, David, Betty, Carrie, Pat and Matt. Thanks for your comments, I have made some changes in the paper as a result of them.

Carrie, I tried that link and was able to open it. It took me two times, however.

Hi Joe

Your paper was quite intriguing especially when you talked about the shift in the sources of or centers of knowledge.  I think what I got out of your paper is that a decentralized approach to instruction empowers students to explore instead of waiting on the instructor as the single source of knowledge.  Further, and I think that this is important, that when a student has explored beyond what the instructor has provided, he/she becomes a center of knowledge and typically is excited to share that knowledge with other students.  The instructor can use this knowledge to make illustrations and enrich the learning environment.  The learning environment really becomes a dynamic one

I enjoyed the paper and think there are some great points here.  However, many of these assertaions should be backed up with citations.  Especially when we related concepts such as social networking and collaboration to education.  It's easy to project that we live in a social networked/online collaborative world, however my experience with non-traditional students who pursue online education is somewhat different.  While some students do infact have strong Information Literacy Skills, many struggle with the computer, formatting, and internet use in general.  Many seem to have made their way to non-traditional education for the convenience. 

I'd look for some peer reviewed sources to document some of these more generalized assertions (one way or another). 

Congratulations on the paper.  It's a good start :).

Joe, I enjoyed reading your paper on hybrid instruction. I think it would work best in smaller classes, with students in comparable time zones. In my experiences with the CLC assignments, a few groups who did try to use Google docs or Skype completed the assignment later than those who communicated in the Team forum. They expended more energy trying to coordinate a meeting time than actually writing.

Joe,

The paper, as stated in the above comments, did seem to be a direct advertisement in the hybrid model.  After reading your paper, it would seem that the online modality is a valid option for many.  Time, distance, and other considerations are contributing factors for those who decide to pursue the online modality.  Likewise, there are those who decide to attend the brick and mortar classroom for other reasons. 

I would challenge those who teach traditionally (brick and mortar), to add variety to their pedagogical techniques.  The younger generation is exposed to a variety of technologies, which these should be incorporated within the classroom.  It would seem this too would enhance the traditional classroom versus a straight lecture style presentation of the materials.

Instructing online, from my experience, many students struggle to adapt to the technology presented within Angel.  It is possible that others have not had the same experience.  Adding other technological features within the classroom is a bit concerning at this point.  (I must admit the majority of the students that I have had, have been older and less than computer savvy).  However, as the demographic becomes more technologically advanced this will become less of an issue. 

However, for those who do incorporate the various elements presented in the paper for the online modality would certainly enhance the online learning environment .  It will be exciting to see what is possible using technology in this field. 

Joe,

I enjoyed reading your work.  I found it to be very interesting as I am always looking to add other technology into the classes I teach to enhance the experience.  I love the idea of using Skype- and have had a great experience using it in the online classroom (use for my office hours). I also know several students have used it to communicate during the CLC group project.   I recently began the doctoral program at GCU and am considering a similar topic to your paper for my dissertation- so I really found your paper fascinating.  On a side note- you were my instructor in the early 90's for Social studies methods at GCU- and I loved your class... in fact, I now teach Social Studies methods at several universities!

Joe,

Thank you for an interesting presentation regarding the benefits of hybrid online learning. Your presentation does a good job of presenting some of the positive aspects of this learning modality, but does little to present the possible problems. You did mention the inability to monitor and document possible allegations of unfair treatment, and indicated that the current ANGEL or LOUDCLOUD platforms would allow for this documentation, but failed to describe how this documentation could be validated. I appreciated the feedback you presented from your experiences employing this modality. The following are areas in which I think you could enhance your paper and better cover more than one side of the argument.

1. You mention that today's students will not sit in the traditional classroom and take notes as a professor lectures; while you mention that students learn best in differing modalities. These statements strike me as contradictory. An acknowledgment that "most", "many", or "some" students learn best when not in the traditional classroom would be preferred.

2. Also regarding #1, the primary goal of education is to equip students with the tools they need to succeed. Thus, simply because they would prefer a different modality than the traditional classroom does not settle the issue of where and how they learn best. A sampling of three students is hardly a valid research pool.

3. More explanation of the methods through which accusations of unfair treatment can be verified is necessary. Further explanation is also needed on how the university can document the material being presented. Most professors are conscientious regarding their teaching, taking care that they relate pertinent, factual information; however, there are exceptions to every rule and the university needs an avenue through which they can verify what is presented. This avenue equally protects the professor from being mis-understood or falsely represented.

Overall I fully enjoyed your presentation. I am also onboard with your assertion that hybrid learning is on the rise and has many benefits. I offer the suggestions only as fodder to better present your argument.

Ron Steadman

Thank you for creating the logical progression of information related to online learning.  Having a public school background, I find that many learners who are not successful with online education have issues with technology and basic reading skills.  Once the use of technology is addressed, online learning systems should consider using an audio version of all data within the online classroom.

While this article acknowledges the Skype mode of communication, which allows learners to avoid some reading, I believe there should be a pairing of print and verbal information to assist those who are behind the curve in relation to comprehending written information.

Finally, this article acknowledges diverse learning styles.  This is good!  It may support all online curriculum and instruction developers to explore multiple modalities within the online learning environment, while stressing those that are auditory.

Overall, this is an informative piece that is ripe for the times.

Rae Thompson

Joe,

I like the idea of video lead conferencing. Even when there is one way audio and thread feeds used- there are many options to use with hybrid courses as we all know in the virtual world. This is a great, 'get us thinking paper.' From person experience teaching on these platforms as well as attending these universities, well made the difference where I pursued courses. From a student perspective, there was a better retention rate and much better personal relationship. As with life, if someone wishes to attend something they will make that allowance. For that courses that I personally attended for a degree, it was a group decision when the course was held. The professor offered us a choice of several options, as a group we decided what would work. The university did not pick the times the actual conference weekly or bi-weekly these video meetings were held, it was between the 6-15 of us- globally. Some learners were in Korea, Israel, Australia, California, Alaska and Arizona etc -so quite a juggle, but we did it. Those that missed, the courses were archived. Very few missed, in the 12 weeks. I believe you could miss 1 or 2 maximum. With this Joe, I can see a lot of your ideas directly relating to research and what is taking place at many other progressive institutions. Good thoughts and ideas. These are very successful and progressive educational thoughts. Good out of the box!

Joe,

I find the whole area covered in your paper very fascinating. I do agree with one of the previous commentators above, that the time zone situation might make it hard for simultaneous interaction in the form of skype or any other media form. I do wonder if in the future it might be possible once or twice a week to specify a particular time with different time zones considered where students would be required to be online at the same time? I also think the integration of Skype and some other forms of multimedia would be useful in future hybrid classes.

I share your interest in this topic and respect the practical applications. When you mention that most universities now have online courses, your early citation is dated from 2002, and the actual shape and content of the online course is much different today. Points are well taken. Consider citing on some dialogue, such as, how does one know that instructors with hybrid classes are given lighter teaching loads? I enjoyed the dialogue regarding the pilot videoconferencing class. Could the reporting be strengthened through a larger sample? I am aware of another institution, Western International University, using a hybrid method through Adobe Connect (uses real time with online conferencing) that might be a useful comparison. Possibly information is not published or it remains proprietary, yet, this might be a useful comparison from a research perspective. With this being said, I like the currency of the social media used in your sample. This is a timely discussion to capture student participation and application.