Why Hybrid Learning in Schools is the Future of Education?
The concept of hybrid learning or blended learning is in existence for over a decade. It has, however, come into the spotlight in the last couple of months. This has happened on account of the unprecedented pandemic crisis. Until two years ago, had someone told you that all the learning would happen online and teachers and students won’t be coming to the school at all, you would not have believed them. The idea of online learning was still far-fetched.
COVID-19 came as a blessing in disguise for the education sector and did the impossible by forcing schools and educators to test the waters of the online medium to impart education. A lot of approaches were researched and evaluated. Finally, many schools gave zeroed-in upon Hybrid Learning.
WHAT IS HYBRID LEARNING?
Hybrid learning is an educational approach to learning and teaching that amalgamates the elements of face-to-face classroom instructions and online education models. This is designed as an effective alternative to the in-person approach and brings flexibility to the learning experience.
ADVANTAGES OF HYBRID LEARNING
#1 Personalised Learning
Students can learn at a pace that is comfortable for them. This increases their retention as the students participate in myriad asynchronous and synchronous learning activities aligned with their own learning styles, enabling them to understand the subject and concepts better. Since the groups are smaller, teacher-student interaction is much more effective and personalised.
#2 Increased Flexibility
Technology for schools gives control of time and pace of learning to the students. This leads to flexibility in learning which results in increased attendance and participation in the classrooms.
#3 Sophisticated reporting and assessments
Comprehensive evaluations of students, benchmarking with peers and granular reporting are possible through Hybrid learning and technology for schools.
#4 Instant Feedback
Live chats with teachers, participation in online lectures, and customised and tailored assessments help provide immediate feedback to students. This instant feedback is precious for learning.
#5 Enhanced personalisation and engagement
Artificial Intelligence helps in customising learning to suit various learning styles leading to better learning outcomes. Self-paced learning, short videos, gamification and various other exercises are some of how technology can help make learning more productive in a hybrid learning environment.
Believe it or not, hybrid learning is here to stay. It is up to us to design and accept new learning environments that combine the best of both offline in-person learning and online digital learning. Let me take you through some points to ponder upon to make hybrid learning model successful in your school:
● Technology usage for schools — this is necessary to track students’ performance, areas of improvement and making the learning process interactive and fun.
● Bridge the Digital Divide — You need to take steps to bridge the digital divide as it may pose a significant barrier for equity in remote education.
● Lesson Plan and Course Design — The teachers need to structure the lesson plans and design the curriculum carefully focused on the needs and wants of the students so that the teaching is more purposeful.
● Role of Teachers & Parents — Parents and guardians are among the most critical stakeholders in a child’s learning process. They need to ensure that the child is attending classes and completing the homework given to him/her. Teachers need to keep mentoring the students to follow the right path.
For hybrid learning in schools to be truly effective and productive, you need a properly designed curriculum involving strategies much more efficient than those deployed in a traditional physical classroom. Technology for schools powerfully combines the benefits of personalisation with that of convenience to offer a suitable learning environment to address the changing needs of students. Invest in hybrid learning models now!
