Will hybrid classes be a part of the future of higher education?
The following question was answered by 562 college instructors in higher education: “What percentage of student learning in your college, university, or organization is blended (i.e., courses having online as well as face-to-face components) today and how might this change in 3 years and in a decade?”
College instructors apparently saw the potential for more hybrid learning in 2003. This chart was taken from a chapter called "Future Directions of Blended Learning in Higher Education and Workplace Learning Settings," written by Curtis J. Bonk and Kyong-Jee Kim of Indiana University, USA and Tingting Zeng of Warwick University, UK. This chapter appears in the "The Handbook of Blended Learning: Global Perspectives, Local Designs" (Bonk & Moore, 2005).
Bonk, Kim, and Zeng (2005) stated that 40% of the respondents thought that 21-40% of their courses would be blended by 2006 and 37% expected this to be even higher. Sixty percent of the respondents indicated that by 2013 more than 40% of their courses would be blended. They listed the following trends for the future of blended learning:
- Mobile Blended Learning
- Greater Visualization, Individualization, and Hands-on Learning
- Self-Determined Blended Learning
- Increased Connectedness, Community, and Collaboration
- Increased Authenticity and On-Demand Learning
- Linking Work and Learning
- Changed Calendaring
- Blended Learning Course Designations
- Changed Instructor Roles
- The Emergence of Blended Learning Specialists (specialist teaching certificates, degree programs, and resources or portals related to blended learning courses and programs).
Another link to an article by Bonk and Graham which appears in the 2006 Educause Quarterly provides more information on the future of blended learning as well as online learning: The Future of Online Teaching and Learning in Higher Education: The Survey Says…
Another chapter by Charles Graham of Brigham Young University is available online as well -
Blended Learning Systems: Definition, Current Trends, and Future Directions.
Blended Learning Systems: Definition, Current Trends, and Future Directions.
1 comment:
Hybrid courses force instructors to think differently. There is no room for ambiguity--one's directives and communiques must be clear, persistent, and precise. This has been a challenge to me personally, and has made me a better instructor (both online and on ground). There is no room for lazy, slipshod classroom management here.
Having said this, the future for hybrid learning is NOW. Community Colleges regularly utilize the hybrid mode, and the younger students in particular are well-equipped to succeed in this electronic environment. When a Baby-boomer instructor can make that leap is another issue entirely.
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