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Show us Your Hybrids Vice Chancellor Ron Bleed found out when we put out an email request for examples of hybrids. He got 70 faculty responses in a short time. As far as implications for the bond, Ron suggested that it may change our thinking about space requirements (and hybrids in the long run may not save space), and the need for more social spaces, hence the reason for inviting Philp Parsons for the first Ocotillo Tech Visioning forum. Dean of Instruction Ken Roberts (South Mountain) shared information on the space usage at the Guadaloupe Learning Center, where they found out that current space utilization accounting methods (counting filled seats) do not accurately reflect how space is being used by students. In this meeting, we will hear from a panel of Maricopa faculty who teach in some sort of hybrid format: (links lead to their answers to questions below provided before the meeting
As they respond to some of these questions (and yours!):
In preparation for this, we have created a new Ocotillo web resource site on Hybrid Courses: Note that we have also set up a web form where you can add more items to the gallery. David Weaver Physics faculty at Chandler-Gilbert, Williams Campus (hybrid summary) admitted that he was not hybrid yet but was planning to do so in the fall with all of his Physics sections. At the first Ocotillo Visioning Forum, David got an insight on how he could do this, and literally asked (and got) his dean to halt the printing of the fall class schedule until they could figure out how to structure the hybrid. The current structure is meeting 2 times a week for 3 hours of a combine lab/lecture block. Much of the activity is project-based work; some sessions have teacher led portions and other times there is work done by student project teams. His intended hybrid will include:
David noted that for future planning, the college can plan smaller and less specialized laboratory spaces (might not need to be solely devoted to physics). He also noted with frustration that current rules prevent him from using summer project money to develop curriculum. "Will this pass NCA?" he was asked. David would rather ask forgiveness than permission, but is confident that if he follows the district competencies in his format, than it should satisfy anyone's review. "BTUs (Butt Time Units) are not a measure of education!". When asked about what he provides online, David described his Blackboard course content (been using for 5 years) includes course documents, links for starting points for research, and information that describes the projects. Rick Effland Anthropology faculty, Mesa (hybrid summary) has taught it all- traditional, online for two years, one semester as a hybrid. His format now he calls a "flexed balance approach". Rick displayed some data compiled by colleague Greg Prat comparing test scores for economics students in live (traditional), hybrid, and online formats- the data suggest scores for online students are lower than the other formats. Rick said it is not simple and "is not just about seat time". His format is to schedule class time on Monday and Wednesdays, where Friday Rick is available in the scheduled classroom (saving no time for him), but attendance was optional for students who are supposed to use the time for research or project work. In the first few weeks most students said they did not need to show up (and few did, but th ones who did out performed the others), so by the end of the semester, all the students were showing up on Fridays. Therefore, the course that started out as a hybrid ended up not, but it was the students' choice. In his hybrid format Rick noted a 95% retention rate compared to 90% in his regular sections.Rick noted that Mesa has found only about a 40% retention rate in online courses (District-wide for all courses, retention rates average 67% for ALL courses), though a participant from Rio noted their retention rates are about 70%. "Our goal is to guide students to be thoughtful problem solvers and independent life-long learners." Rick expressed caution in that young students are not prepared to be extremely independent. He noted that the most critical variable is faculty-student contact, whether it is face to face, by phone, or by email. Bernie Combs Psychology faculty, Scottsdale (hybrid summary) says he is not really teaching hybrid but has been teaching his courses for 4 years as "internet-enhanced." He uses Blackboard to provide a syllabus, links, etc, but his major emphasis is the use of online multimedia labs that teach students concepts via interactivity. Many of these are ones created elsewhere, others he has created over the years. Examples include:
Bernie is interested in moving to a hybrid format. He can see meeting one time per week, and noted a division in his content between what is Conceptual (requiring discussion in class) and what is Factual (facts can be learned out of class if it is structured). He has concerns about what he refers to as Non Self-Regulators (NSRs), students who lack the self-discipline to learn with less structure. His experience in surveying his students is that the highly appreciate the independence of having access to their course materials, but it needs a lot of structure for those NSRs and much diligence to monitor or check in on student's progress (phone calls, email, etc). He noted a reference to an article on "Evolution of a Web-Enhanced Course Incorporating Strategies for Self-Regulation" (avaialble as a 419k PDF file from Educause Quarterly, 2002 Number 1) by Katherine S. Cennamo, John D. Ross, and Cosby S. Rogers, university faculty that suggested the process takes about 2 years. One of Bernie's colleagues is having quite a bit of success with an approach of "Test Early and Test Often" something Bernie struggles to do with a class of 70 students (maybe online can help?) He would like to know how to better engage the students in the learning-- maybe it calls for smaller classes and more contact? Charlene Almendarez Medical Transcription faculty, GateWay (hybrid summary) teaches a field where the work students are training for has shifted from being hospital based to home-based, so it was natural to develop a hybrid structure to teach the content. "if that is they way people work, than that's the way they should learn." Her students only meet twice a semester, an orientation and a final exam. The rest of the learning is supported with Blackboard, which has taken Charlene about 5 years to convert all of her lecture/lab classes to a mostly online, but hybrid format. She started moving the course online with NovaNet, then moved to a paper-based and email format, and finally to Blackboard. She has not found an appropriate text book for this field, so she has more or less written one herself that is in Blackboard. Students read information online, and then use audio cassettes simulating doctor's dictations where students practice their transcription skills. They usually buy their own transcription machine (needed for the job) or use the ones at GateWay. Charlene suggests to her students to use the Blackboard discussion area for asking questions, and largely the students themselves provide peer support (Charlene only "lurks"). Assignments are provided every week. Charlene notes that she has high retention rates and credits much of that to a lot of contact. She calls them on the phone if they have not been participating online or just to check in. "Students can go as fast as they want through the course but not as slow as they want!". She says the format works, because the students get jobs in the field. Stephen Hustedde Computer Science faculty, South Mountain (hybrid summary) teaches CIS 105 in a completely online course and says that it was natural to bring some components of that approach into his in person sections. He uses Blackboard as a platform. A critical part fo the course is a 100 question pre-test so he can assess their entering computer knowledge, as it ranges from people with PhDs to some "who cannot even turn on the computer." Stephen describes his course as a "pseudo-hybrid" because they meet every class, but Blackboard allows his students to access all course content 24/7- he provides all assignments, files necessary to complete them, and sample computer code for his students to learn from. He uses Blackboard's quiz features in class and his students get immediate feedback on their performance. When asked, more than 90% of his students report favorably about the use of Blackboard. He did receive some release time to develop the online section. He wants his students to use and access internet resources as part of their learning, and it helps to maintain the interest of his advances students. He does place all of his lecture content as well online (noting that it takes much work to do that) but it saves students from excessive note taking if they know the basic facts are available. He allows students to bypass some lectures if they can prove they know the content and they are always responsible for passing all tests and assignments. Alisa Cooper English faculty, South Mountain (hybrid summary) teaches English Composition (ENG 102) in a hybrid format. Like a traditional class, in her hybrid students are allowed only 5 absences. But she does not check attendance by seat time but by completion of assignments. Her course is supported by Blackboard. Her structure is set up so that every Monday has the same purpose, as does each Wednesday, and each Friday- this way students know what to expect every session. Monday is always for content, presented in class. Alisa provides the lecture points online as PowerPoint (though she does not use them in class). If a student is not in class for a Monday, they are required to review the PowerPoint content and complete a "study guide", an exercise that checks their basic understanding of the lecture content. On Wednesdays, the activity is Writing Lab, and Alisa says this is when she is promoted from a teacher to a lab assistant ;-) The time is spent in-class to create an example of a writing exercise, and students are welcome to watch Alisa create the example in class or use that time in the class to work on the assignment independently. If a student misses a Wednesday writing lab, they must complete an alternative activity, usually answering two questions that are posted on the online discussion board (the questions are related to the exercise done in class. Fridays are quiz day, and Alisa makes use of the campus testing center as the location where students go for their quiz. She spends her time in the scheduled classroom, making herself available for questions or student support. She requested to her department chair that all three of her sections be schedule in the same computer classroom, one hour sessions MWF at 8, 10, and 11- note that she has open drop in time in that 9:00 - 10:00 AM time. Her students are free to choose which time of day in that block they wish to show up for. Some of her students come every day, and others treat it as an online course. She feels that her students get a lot of structure and a lot of attention. Her students submit their writing assignments as Word documents via the Blackboard Drop Box (digital file exchange), which she reads, comments, and returns to students through the same means. Alisa says that another key to success is that she uses the resources available on-campus, such as the testing center, tutoring center, and the library. She informed the college librarians of all the assignments (she calls the research projects "Odysseys"), so they know the sorts of topics students will be coming in with questions about. In the general discussion it was asked where are good models of Hybrid Courses. Suggestions included: Ron Bleed stated that the hybrid movement at Maricopa is being driven by individual faculty and that 24/7 support is a huge, critical issues. Roger Yohe suggested that we need more instructional design support and resources for "less inclined" faculty to assist them in delivering in a hybrid format. Ken Roberts noted that our panel represents the early adopters and faculty leaders/mentors that need to be cultivated and encouraged. SmarThinking demo Smarthinking is in use at over 220 schools, plus the US Army and Navy. Service s include:
All services can be hosted by Smarthinking. Schools provide user names and access to students. Smarthinking is not big on "bells and whistles", and aims to keep their technology easy to use and not problematic on a slower connection. All of the interaction takes place on a shared whiteboard with a chat interface (and it includes features for all math symbols) The areas Andrea demonstrated included:
The system archives all student sessions so they can go back and review a tutoring session. Schools get administrative privileges to track the usage, and if needed, review tutoring session details. Tutors are hired from around the world and go through a rigorous training ("This is not a sweatshop in Washington, DC"). Many are community college faculty, adjunct faculty, graduate students, or stay-at-home Moms who are former teachers. There is interest already in Smarthinking at Maricopa. Scottsdale has just started a pilot project using the Online Writing Lab with their English Composition courses. Rio Salado is reviewing the services, and there is interest from Mesa Community College. The question to consider is, should we go about licensing this service here and there as isolated efforts, or is there enough interest in this service to do something collectively and leverage our numbers? The pricing is done on a timed basis for services used (see below) The best way to proceed might be to have a number of us try out the system and consider if its features offer value to us. Andrea provided a document with details on setting up a demo account (see below).  If these PDF documents do not load into your web browser, you may need to download the free Acrobat Reader software.
Next Meeting
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