The mix between online and in-person learning – known as hybrid learning – is here to stay. Yet many education institutions are still trying to work out how to make this a seamless and engaging experience for students. Here are five ways to ensure hybrid learning has the maximum impact possible.
Although technological advancements have been making hybrid learning a possibility for years, it is the Covid-19 pandemic that has cemented hybrid learning as a permanent fixture in the educational realm. Putting health necessities aside, hybrid learning also opens up education to more people. After all, geographical constraints shouldn’t impact access to education. Furthermore, hybrid learning often goes hand in hand with flexible learning, which means students can balance their other responsibilities with getting an education.
Although the benefits of hybrid learning are clear, educational institutions are still in a process of implementing the right processes to make hybrid learning work well for everyone concerned. From technical glitches to inconsistent access to resources, and everything in between, sometimes the reality of hybrid learning doesn’t match up to the intended plan.
Here are the areas to focus on to make hybrid learning work for students, so that engagement and learning potential is even better than traditional learning methods.
1. Consistent Learning
A key thing to focus on when implementing an effective hybrid learning environment is to be consistent with everything from teaching methods to access to resources. Students need to know where they stand when it comes to their learning, so being as clear about this as possible is absolutely crucial. This means sharing teaching schedules well ahead of time, and sharing them in the same way every week, month or semester. If you use an online platform, use this for as many administrative elements as possible, so students know where to go to find out everything they need. If students can access their schedule, extra reading resources and pre-recorded lectures all in one place, the administrative side of learning won’t be a problem.
2. Build A Community
One issue with hybrid learning is that students don’t feel a connection with their peers or the teaching staff. This is why it’s important to place more importance on building a community than ever before. When you do meet together in-person, include ice-breakers and opportunities for networking, to maximize the connections people can make. This can be replicated using online tools too, for example by creating chatrooms for specific topics within a learning program. Also consider creating a rotating task that enables every student to get to know others, such as taking it in turns to mark short quizzes or host a discussion topic forum.
3. Allow Some Freedom
One of the wonderful things about hybrid learning is that it enables each student to travel their own unique path to learning. Rather than having to stick to regimented teaching processes and assignments, hybrid learning brings an opportunity to let students have a say in the direction their studies take. Since online learning works best in short bursts of activity, teachers can build tasks and challenges into their curriculum, allowing students to explore different topics on their own. This mixture of formally directed and self-directed learning has been proven to be very effective, and students respond well to taking responsibility for parts of their learning. Assignments can also more easily take multimedia forms through hybrid learning, and video presentations can be just as insightful as written essays.
4. Allow Smaller Groups
Hybrid learning technologies enable smaller chatrooms to be set up, so that students can go towards different areas for support depending on the stage of learning they are at. Chatrooms can be set up to discuss specific topics or assignments, or they can be created to break up longer lectures to enable group work. The technology is available to mirror the kind of learning activities teachers may have previously employed in the classroom, it just isn’t currently used very often to its full effect. Mixing up the learning routines and engagement dynamics can really help students learn to their full potential.
5. Regular Assessments And Contact
Another reason student fail to engage with the remote side of hybrid learning is because they feel they have little contact with their teachers. This is why regular assessments are crucial within a hybrid learning environment. In general, assessments need to be more regular for remote learning than they would be for classroom learning. This is to keep students motivated, as they realize their work is being constantly monitored. It is also very important for students to have one-to-one conversations with their supervisors on a regular basis. This human contact shows students the work they are doing is real and is being reviewed by their teachers. It also gives students an opportunity to feel connected to their educational institution, the feeling of which can subside if there is little face to face contact.