Do online work outside of class

My favorite rule of thumb: Anything to do with technology that has to happen for your class should happen outside the classroom. Inside the classroom you want to use that precious time to have your students talk to each other and to you. Sometimes you even want to talk to them. If you have them do online journaling or reading responses before class, or take a computer-graded quiz (for low stakes, but required,) then they tend to hit the ground running and the classroom discussions are awesome.

I love this quote from a recent news article about a faculty member making her class hybrid (some class time online, some class time face to face): "And by putting slides and videos online instead of trying to show them in class, she no longer had to worry about classroom tech glitches that took time away from teaching." (http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2010/jul/18/um-system-aims-close-gaps/)

We work like crazy to make sure technology in the classrooms always does work. But invariably that one time it doesn't is the time I have all my students sitting there staring at me. Computers are evil and out to get us humans, and classroom systems still are a bit too complicated to perfect no matter how much time and money you spend. I love getting the technology interaction outside the classroom. I still use in-class AV, of course, especially when I'm talking or when students are presenting (which is a lot in my classroom), but it isn't as crucial as the activities students do outside of class, not to their understanding or even participation.

Personally I have always added the online component asynchronously to my classes. I never have trouble filling class time; there's always more the students want to say and I want to say. And I have homework expectations. I don't think it's that onerous for a student to read some material to prep for class, then write a (brief, informal, online) reading response and perhaps take a 15-minute self-graded quiz. It keeps us all on track, including me, since I can tailor what we talk about in class to what students liked or didn't get about the readings.

But the hybrid model deserves attention too. When your students really do a significant amount of work online, a hybrid model makes sense. How much "significant" is, and whether or not your department will allow hybrid courses, is a topic for discussion with your department and school colleagues. And more and more information is trickling out that it may be the most "effective" learning experience - whatever that is - of the three options. Turns out perhaps all face-to-face or all online aren't better after all! I love compromise.