Dear Commons Community,
Beth McMurtrie had an article last week commenting upon the increasing acceptance of online learning in higher education. It continued an earlier story she wrote for The Chronicle of Higher Education. Here is an excerpt.
“Are you ready for another evolution in teaching? No, not AI. This one has to do with the shift toward online teaching. If you haven’t already seen the data, a number of surveys have come out in recent months showing that faculty members are more open to teaching in online and hybrid formats. Students have been headed in that direction for a while, with many seeking a mix of online and in-person courses.
So what needs to happen to support an effective blend of in-person, online, and hybrid teaching?
On the one hand, the pandemic pushed nearly all professors to teach online, even those who never expected to. And doing so opened their eyes to the possibilities that online tools can provide, including increased flexibility and access for their students — and themselves. And, the fact is, many courses that meet in person include online elements such as discussion boards and short video lectures.
On the other hand, many professors didn’t like emergency online teaching. And if they are to redesign some of their courses, they will need time and support to do it in a way that feels pedagogically solid and engaging for their students.
In reporting this story, I talked to a number of faculty members who have been adapting their teaching. An Auburn University professor flipped his architecture course. A SUNY-Stony Brook professor offers an introductory physiology course in multiple modes: in person, hybrid, and fully online asynchronous. In these and other cases, the professors are often on the cutting edge, hoping to convince colleagues that they should offer more courses in a hybrid format.
One campus I looked at, though, has leaned into online learning: MiraCosta College, a two-year institution in California. Jim Julius, faculty director of online education, told me the college added 18 Hyflex classrooms this summer, where professors teach courses in-person and online simultaneously. (Technically, Hyflex should include an asynchronous option but MiraCosta chose not to offer that.) In Hyflex, students decide how they want to attend, and that can change class to class.
Two faculty members I spoke to, Sean Davis and Tricia Hoste, have taught in Hyflex. Davis teaches sociology and Hoste teaches English as a Second Language. Both said they have found it to be rewarding. Students who otherwise might not have been able to attend — such as a parent with no child care — now have an opportunity to enroll. “Some of our programs gained a new community of students who would never have been able to come to class before,” Hoste told me.
And the dual format allows students to attend in a mode that feels comfortable to them. Someone who prefers the community of a physical classroom can attend in person, for example, but has the option of going remote when their schedule gets complicated.
Is it trickier to teach in this format? Yes, but it doesn’t require a total overhaul, says Davis. “The only thing I really changed was I had to have a constant awareness of: Am I making sure the folks attending via Zoom are included? Students really did step up and help me find ways to do that.”
It is also important, both said, that the classrooms are outfitted with high-quality tech, so students online can clearly hear those in person and vice versa. And the classes are not large, so everyone can get attention. Most of the HyFlex rooms can fit about 20 to 40 students.”
Online and blended learning are becoming the new normal in higher education.
Tony
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