This is space for the faculty at UNM-Taos to share their ideas, concerns and best practices in connection with online learning.What follows is a compiled list of topics to begin the conversation.
- A few bonuses to hybrid courses: there is more flexibility, endless online resources and a convenience for student and Instructor.
- Developing a hybrid course takes more time than traditional courses because of the time and effort required to redesign the course, learning new teaching techniques, and acquiring new technology skills. Once these skills are learned the following semesters become easier. Blackboard has the Course Copy tool which enables the instructor to copy course content from one semester to the next, and management tools that expedite date management.
- It’s up to the Instructor as to what percent of the class will be delivered online and what will be face-to-face.
- Learn can be used effectively to help manage large face to face classes. Effective use has to do with course design, proper use of tools, and teaching strategy.
Having read the UCF report which states that
students tend to do less well in fully online courses than in face to face courses and that students in Web Enhanced courses tend to do better than in face to face courses
AND
Faculty say that the preparation and administrative workload for web courses is higher than face to face courses,
I wonder why are we pushing to more fully online courses rather than stopping at just web enhanced.
Currently we are encouraging a Hybrid format which has been shown to be more successful than simply face to face courses or fully online courses.