KINE 250 – Hybrid Course Welcome Page

This section of KINE 250 – Healthy Living will be offered as a hybrid/blended class for the first time ever in the Fall of 2008. This new method of learning for KINE 250 remains a work in progress and the students and instructor will be working together to make this an effective learning experience as the course evolves.

This hybrid course means that half of the course content is delivered during the scheduled mandatory face-2-face (ftf) class meeting time and half of the course content is delivered on-line using computer based learning modules. Please read through this course welcome page because it provides:

  • Important class information about hybrid courses
  • Minimum computer system requirements
  • Information to help you determine if a Hybrid course is for you
  • Tips for success in a hybrid course
  • The benefits to learning in a hybrid course
  • Technical Requirements for this hybrid course
  • Developing Effective On-Line Learning Skills
  • Netiquette

What is a hybrid course?

Cal Poly's hybrid courses split class-time between lectures and web-based activities on the Blackboard Learning Management System. The web activities can teach general topics and definitions and allow instructors to spend more time to focus on discussions and higher learning in the classroom.

As a student in a hybrid course you will be working closely with the instructor and the students in your class, just as you would in a face-2-face class. But you will also learn to work online, both independently and with others. Depending upon the course, you may interact in Blackboard's online iscussion forums, collaboration tools, group tools, assignments, and assessments. You will not be on your own but you will need to learn good organizational and time-management skills to be successful as a hybrid student.

Is a hybrid course for me?

To succeed in a hybrid course you must (Georgia Perimeter College, 2006):

  • Be comfortable using computers and learning new software packages
  • Have time and access to the web several times a week
  • Keep up with the class reading
  • Stay current with the class calendar to meet assignment deadlines
  • Read assignments and directions carefully
  • Be self-motivated

Computers / Software

You do not have to be an expert. If you are comfortable using a web browser, filling out web forms, typing, browsing and uploading files, and reading tutorials you will do fine. Make sure that you use the Cal Poly Blackboard Support site and don't hesitate to ask for help.

Tips for Success in a Hybrid Course

Login Often

Many of the hybrid courses will require you to participate in discussion forums were you will post your comments one day and respond to your classmates' posts another day. There may be quizzes and surveys as well as lecture notes to print for the f2f class. All this information and assignments require you to have a constant presence online to be successful. No, that doesn't mean you have to login every day all day, it means that you should login every day for about 30min to an hour depending on the requirements.

Reading

I know that all your instructors tell you to read the text and some of you may or may not do that. In a hybrid course your instructor may quiz you online on the reading. Many instructors want you to have a basic understanding of the text so during the lecture the instructor will require you to participate in a discussion about the text. This can allow you to incorporate your experiences and real world scenarios to support higher learning. The goal is not just for you to remember the information for the exam, but to really understand and use it to grow in your life long learning venture.

Calendar / Deadlines

This is one of the most important parts of a hybrid course. You must be self-motivated and organized to make sure that you know all the deadlines and assignments for the course. If you are not 100% sure about these, ask your instructor. Don't wait. Your instructor should have a detailed calendar to keep you on track during the online portion of the hybrid course. You can print the calendar, put due dates in your Cal Poly Oracle Calendar, PDA, etc.

Directions

Within the online portion of the hybrid course, your instructor will provide detailed directions for steps to accomplish the tasks. These instructions allow you to successfully participate or submit files within Blackboard so that the instructor can grade your efforts. If you are unclear on these directions you should ask your instructor right away for support. Many instructors will choose to have these questions in a FAQ Discussion Forum to allow other students to see the answers as well.

Self-Motivated

This one speaks for it self. You are currently gaining an education so that you can get a job and accomplish your career goals. In the real world your boss will not tell you what to do every minute of the day. Take advantage of this opportunity to gain the skills needed to excel. Studies have shown that students not only obtain better grades in a successful hybrid course, but also learn and use skills to collaborate, utilize and share own learning experiences, and participate actively.

What are some benefits of a hybrid course?

An effective Hybrid course can provide...

  • interactive student-centered learning
  • increased flexibility in the f2f classroom
  • better transfer of current information in a discipline
  • greater successful achievement of learning objectives
  • higher grades (based on statistics)
  • support for collaborative team efforts
  • support and promotion of higher cognitive skills
  • student's with long-term knowledge retention
  • a reduced number of drops, fails and withdrawals

What are the technical requirements for hybrid courses?

Blackboard: Click her for more information on Blackboard

  • Internet Access
  • Email: responsible for reading your Cal Poly email account or forward all Cal Poly email to your preferred account.
  • Microsoft Office

References

Albrecht, B. (2006). Enriching Student Experience Through Blended Learning. EducauseCenter for Applied Research. Vol. 2006, Issue 12.

Garnham, C., & Kaleta, R. (2002). Introduction to Hybrid Courses. Teaching withTechnology Today. Vol. 8, No. 6. Retrieved June, 9 2006, from http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/garnham.htm

Georgia Perimeter College (2006). Frequently Asked Questions.Retrieved June 26, 2006

Martyn, M. (2003). The Hybrid Online Model: Good Practice. Educause Quarterly.Nov. 2003.

Michigan State University (2005). Hybrid: Overview and Definition.Retrieved June 26, 2006, from: http://teachvu.vu.msu.edu/public/hybrid/intro/index.php

How Students Develop Online Learning Skills

"Although students can easily locate an online course or degree program that's both convenient and accessible, they may face significant challenges in developing a new set of skills for this type of instruction (Roper, 2007)."

Roper's study surveyed 59 successful (3.5+ GPA) online students. Although an online course is not exactly like a hybrid course the skills needed are very much the same. The students identified seven key tips for being a successful online student, such as:

  • Develop a time-management strategy
  • Make the most of online discussions
  • Use it or lose it
  • Make questions useful to your learning
  • Stay motivated
  • Communicate the instruction techniques that work
  • Make connections with fellow students

Develop a time-management strategy

  • The students felt that having a set scheduled for reading, assignments, and discussion posts kept them on track.
  • Working on the course throughout the week little by little allowed them to get the job done without procrastinating to the last minute.
  • Logging into the course at least once a day helped the students stay on track with the content and help them not to fall behind.

If you would like assistance with time management, study skills, test preparation, memory, reading rate and tutor information, please review the Academic Skills Center's (http://sas.calpoly.edu/asc/index.html) scheduled seminars.

Make the most of online discussions

  • Online discussions allowed the students to take time to articulate their responses for meaningful communication.
  • Timely response to the instruction questions allowed the students to benefit from other student feedback and collaborate with their classmates by sharing information and experiences.
  • Providing constructive (meaningful) information helps the other students as well as themselves learn complex concepts.

Use it or lose it

  • Students found that applying the concept to their current knowledge and sharing their experiences in the discussion, helped them to retain the information.
  • The discussions allowed the students to explain concepts and participate in active dialogue with the other students.

Make questions useful to your learning

  • Student questions allow students and the instructor to move deeper into the subject.
  • Don't be afraid to ask a question. Students have found that there are others who also had the same question but didn't want to ask it. Most of the time a large majority of the students will benefit from the questions asked.

Stay motivated

  • Setting personal goals allowed the students to complete their degrees.
  • The encouragement and feedback they gained from their online connections proved very helpful.

Communicate the instruction techniques that work

  • Students felt that they learned most when the instructor logged in often and asked the students questions.
  • Discussions were more effective when the instructor started with a question and then provided feedback and questions to the student responses.
  • Instructors that were able to gear the questions and feedback to each student's level provided a more customized feeling for the students.

Make connections with fellow students

  • Making online friends in the course helped. Having a community within the course provided the students with educational and emotional support.
  • Students felt that their experience was enriched by their relationships and interactions with their classmates.
  • Students said they learned as much from other students and their experiences as they did from the instructor.
  • Not many of the students had felt this type of rewarding experiences in a classroom setting.

References

  • Georgia Perimeter College (2006). Frequently Asked Questions.Retrieved June 26, 2006, from: http://www.gpc.edu/FAQ/
  • Michigan State University (2005). Hybrid: Overview and Definition.Retrieved June 26, 2006, from: http://teachvu.vu.msu.edu/public/hybrid/intro/index.php?page_num=2
  • Roper, A. (2007). How Students Develop Online Learning Skills. Educause Quarterly, No. 1.

Netiquette

"Netiquette is network etiquette, the do's and don'ts of online communication. Netiquette covers both common courtesy online and the informal ‘rules of the road’ of cyberspace. This provides links to both summary and detail information about Netiquette for your browsing pleasure."

  • "The golden rule your parents and your kindergarten teacher taught you was pretty simple: Do unto others as you'd have others do unto you. Imagine how you'd feel if you were in the other person's shoes. Stand up for yourself, but try not to hurt people's feelings."
  • "When you send email or post to a discussion group, you're taking up other people's time (or hoping to). It's your responsibility to ensure that the time they spend reading your posting isn't wasted......it's easy to forget that other people have concerns other than yours. So don't expect instant responses to all your questions, and don't assume that all readers will agree with -- or care about -- your passionate arguments."
  • "You will, however, be judged by the quality of your writing. For most people who choose to communicate online, this is an advantage; if they didn't enjoy using the written word, they wouldn't be there. So spelling and grammar do count."
  • "...be pleasant and polite. Don't use offensive language, and don't be confrontational for the sake of confrontation."
  • "The strength of cyberspace is in its numbers. The reason asking questions online works is that a lot of knowledgeable people are reading the questions. And if even a few of them offer intelligent answers, the sum total of world knowledge increases."
  • "...Netiquette does forbid the perpetuation of flame wars -- series of angry letters, most of them from two or three people directed toward each other, that can dominate the tone and destroy the camaraderie of a discussion group. It's unfair to the other members of the group. And while flame wars can initially be amusing, they get boring very quickly to people who aren't involved in them. They're an unfair monopolization of bandwidth."
  • "Everyone was a network newbie once. And not everyone has had the benefit of reading this book. So when someone makes a mistake -- whether it's a spelling error or a spelling flame, a stupid question or an unnecessarily long answer -- be kind about it...Having good manners yourself doesn't give you license to correct everyone else."

retrieved from Netiquette (Albion.com)