How To Save NOW on High Gas Costs

• Would you like to pay less for gas?
• Are you interested in online classes but enjoy face-to-face contact with an instructor in a traditional classroom?   
• Would you like the opportunity to earn better grades than students in traditional classrooms?

Hybrid Classes Are Excellent

Consider enrolling in a HYBRID class that combines face-to-face instruction with online learning.  In some cases, you can actually complete two classes within the same time period. For instance, you can take ENG 093- /ENG 081 from 11:10-12:30 Tuesday and Thursday by signing up for a learning community, LC 108-01, the Literacy Project.  If you don’t own a computer, you can use the computers in the Learning Lab or Media Center to complete assignments.

How are hybrid classes preferable to online or traditional classrooms? 

Not only are HFCC hybrid classes taught by some of our most innovative instructors, but hybrid students tend to earn higher grades.  In fact, HFCC instructors have remarked that students in hybrid classes are more likely to earn A’s and B’s. Furthermore, nationwide research has demonstrated that students perform equally well or even better in hybrid classes than in either traditional or online classes (Vengroff).  In order to succeed in such a framework, you do need the discipline to schedule at least several hours a week for online assignments.

How is a hybrid class set-up?

Hybrid courses typically allow students to attend class with their instructors once a week. In some cases, students attend two class sessions (MW) a week on campus, but the Friday session is done online. During this class session, the instructor usually introduces each new assignment, and students are able to “touch base” to clear up confusion about course materials or assignments or to clarify any ambiguous points.  During the first in-class session in a computer lab, students are introduced to the virtual classroom to learn how to navigate through the online component.  Since the in-class sessions are conducted in a computer classroom, students can type in-class essays and use Spell Check instead of having to scribble and use an erasable pen.   Students also have the opportunity to customize their work around weekly deadlines rather than scrambling to complete work during the week for multiple class meetings, allowing students to work over the weekend or at times when they have fewer demands from work and other classes.  In this sense, students get the best of both worlds: the convenience that comes with asynchronous on-line instruction coupled with the quality of instruction that traditional methods typically afford – all while having to attend a reduced number of physical class sessions. 

Background Research

In “Hybrid Education: The Future of Instructional Models,” Amy Fanter identifies the following benefits:

This kind of active learning results in better test performance and what is known as subject mastery (or subject knowledge). In addition, students in hybrid programs are more likely to participate in group discussions and collaborate online with other students because there is not only ample opportunity to prepare a response, but also because they are not physically speaking in front of a group. . . . However, even though students seem more confident about being involved with discussions online, it is important to keep in mind that it is because of the actual on-campus classroom component that students are more likely to find success in a hybrid course than in a strictly online class.

Vengroff, Richard. and Bourbeau, James. "In-class vs. On-line and Hybrid Class Participation and Outcomes: Teaching the Introduction to Comparative Politics Class" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the APSA Teaching and Learning Conference, Renaissance Hotel, Washington, DC, Feb 18, 2006 Online <PDF>. 2008-06-27 http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p101324_index.html

HYBRID CLASSES OFFERED BY THE ENGLISH AND WORLD LANGUAGES DIVISION - FALL 2008

HYBRID CLASSES OFFERED BY THE ENGLISH AND WORLD LANGUAGES DIVISION - FALL 2008