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Student perceptions of a hybrid course.

Article Excerpt
Abstract

This study explores students' (n=156) perceptions towards a hybrid introductory textile science course offered at the university level. Results suggest students are satisfied with the hybrid learning model, preferring the hybrid learning model to both the online-only and offline-only course presentation format.

Introduction

The goal of hybrid courses is to join the best features of offline teaching with the best features of online learning to promote active independent learning and to reduce class seat time (Young, 2002). Hybrid courses are not traditional distance education courses, as they are not entirely online. They are also not simply traditional classes with a website, as online time replaces some classroom time. Further, these classes often require extensive course redesign as information posted online should augment the offline assignments and discussions. Hybrid courses offer advantages over face-to-face teaching by making the best use of physical resources and maximizing student learning by providing a variety of teaching and learning formats. They also offer advantages over totally online courses, due to the reduced but not eliminated professor-student and student-student contact (Garnham & Kaleta, 2002; Reiboldt, 2001; Robertson & Stanforth, 1999; Volery & Lord, 2000).

Institutions of higher education have become increasingly engaged in utilizing the Internet and computers as pedagogical tools. This is because of the relative affordability of computers and the ever-increasing simplicity and processing speeds of computer and Internet applications (Jurison, 2000). As such, online learning has grown significantly over the past decade due to its real and perceived benefits (McGinn, 2000). According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2000-2001, 90 percent of public 2-year and 89 percent of public 4-year post-secondary institutions offered some type of distance education courses with an estimated 1,472,000 enrollments in college-level, credit-granting distance education courses (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). Among institutions offering distance education courses, 90 percent offered asynchronous Internet instruction and 43 percent offered synchronous, or real-time, Internet instruction (U.S. Department of Education, 2003).

With the increased availability of the Internet, many colleges and universities focused on developing fully online courses that required no face-to-face meetings, hoping to attract students who could otherwise not get to campus. In recent years, however, many colleges and universities have encouraged students who live on or near their campuses to take hybrid courses. John R. Bourne, professor of electrical...

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