Category Archives: Hybrid Learning

Horizon Report 2014 is out. Is the UofL keeping up with the trends?

If you are not familiar with the Horizon Report, it is a report on new trends, challenges and technologies in education. The New Media Consortium and EDUCAUSE work together to output this report every year. They follow trending strategies, technologies, and even challenges in the education sector. Not only is the report a wealth of information, but these two groups provide a forecast about which trends or technologies will be upon us and how far away they are from appearing in our educational institutions.

You can download the report in it’s entirety here.
http://www.nmc.org/publications/2014-horizon-report-higher-ed

Below is a brief over view of the trends that were identified in the report. These trends are often looked at as future trends, but often times they are considered future trends because we are seeing the changes occur in our educational environments already. It is important to keep that in mind as we read these trends and evaluate our own institution. Identified with each key trend below are examples of what the great teaching community here at the University of Lethbridge is already doing to address some of these trends.

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Face-to-Face and Online Learning. Which skills can be taught where?

In an article from the site quicklessons.com, guest author Tony Bates shares some thoughts on hybrid learning. Bates begins by explaining that although MOOCs get much of the hype in e-learning, it is hybrid learning that tends to get the most development in Canada. The article explores some different models of hybrid learning that explore different mixes of online and face-to-face learning. By exploring these models in their different mixes we can see that the combination of face-to-face and online differs according to the needs of the course. Tony emphasizes the need to work from outcomes to determine which skills can be completed online and which can be completed in a face-to-face environment. He also notes that in many cases, instructors often underestimate which skills can be completed online and do not require on campus face-to-face meetings.

Read through the full article here: http://www.quicklessons.com/blog/2013/07/discussing-design-models-for-hybridblended-learning-and-the-impact-on-the-campus/

After reading the article think about your course. Are there areas of your course that could be better served online? Are there aspects of your course that you can determine would not be successful if not in a face-to-face environment?