In the past two years, Covid-19 has upended thousands of global norms. Unfortunately, the education system is one of those victims, still evolving to deal with the pandemic’s repercussions.
Educational institutes have deployed multiple strategies to ensure that learning isn’t compromised. One such approach is online or remote study programs. Currently, 5.8 million students are enrolled in online programs, and this ratio has been increasing since the pandemic.
Therefore, the big question is about the future of higher education after the world rids of the Covid-19 pandemic. Is remote learning here to stay for good, or will students go back to traditional educational settings?
The hybrid future: Virtual or online learning systems became a necessity in the wake of COVID-19.
According to a recent survey, 73% of students prefer to complete their courses entirely online after the pandemic. However, this doesn’t mean that teachers also choose this new education system. 50% of educational faculty want to shift to previous educational methods.
Despite different views and challenges of virtual education, it is here to stay for good. Additionally, educational institutes offer hybrid learning programs to resolve the learning system conflict for both sides.
The hybrid learning program is a combination of online and face-to-face learning. In this program, some students join online while others are physically present. This way, students choose to take classes in their preferred method. In addition, the hybrid model offers higher education students a flexible schedule around their other responsibilities, such as jobs.
How Is Hybrid Model Better Than Full Online Model?
The hybrid education model is better than full-time online learning as it allows students to choose a learning style that’s effective for them. For example, some students like to learn in physical settings and talk face-to-face with the professor. In contrast, others have trouble following the lecture. So, the hybrid model is a solution for both student population types because hybrid lectures are pre-recorded, and students can listen to them anytime.
Another reason implementing the hybrid model is a better choice is technological issues. Students that don’t have better internet connections or devices can easily take the class in the physical classroom. However, if students have connectivity issues in virtual learning systems, they miss the class, costing them a critical lecture.
Moreover, the hybrid model allows teachers to assess the students’ performance on different mediums, helping them identify their true potential. It also makes it easy for students to reach their professors, which is difficult in virtual learning programs.
3 Challenges of the hybrid learning model
Every new system has its challenges initially, and so does the hybrid learning model. Common challenges of following the hybrid learning model are:
1. Student engagement
When teachers are lecturing students on two different platforms simultaneously, keeping all students engaged at the same level is challenging. Teachers might give less attention to virtually present students than those physically present in the classroom.
Moreover, teachers would also have to smartly organize a class activity that similarly engages students attending class from different mediums. So, one of the biggest concerns of hybrid learning systems is that remote learners might be neglected in the teaching process.
2. Technical issues
One of the reasons the virtual learning model failed was technical issues. However, these issues can also present a problem in hybrid learning for students taking remote classes.
But it is a more significant issue during hybrid courses as virtually and physically present will be affected by it. For example, if there is a problem connecting live stream, the class won’t start, which is a loss for both model’s students.
That is why it is essential to use a reliable sharing network such as Microsoft Teams to ensure class’s live streaming is secure without connectivity issues.
3. Team collaboration
Working in a team is better for cognitive skills, creativity, and motivation to obtain better results. However, this is another challenge of the hybrid learning model as virtual students may not get the chance to bond with other classmates. Teachers can’t pair students like they do in the physical classroom setting. So, they need to think up creative ways to bridge the gap between virtually and physically present students to bring them together in a team.
Wrapping Up
Covid-19 had brought a significant change in the education system. However, it is essential to evolve and choose a learning system that is highly beneficial to students. Therefore, the hybrid learning model offers students a choice to learn in their preferred setting.
Even though this learning method has a few challenges, we are the teams of experts ready to help you solve the most complex problems and technological challenges so that teachers can engage every student without connectivity problems.
