When I googled "hybrid courses" there were a lot of results for classes similar to LIS 201. Many other universities offered such classes, and in addition, UW Madison has similar courses. I have taken a few courses before LIS 201 that followed this blended structure as well. A few journalism, english and communication arts classes that I have taken have had a lecture, discussion and online portion to the class.
I think my experience with the online portion connected a little to the conversations and in-person portions. I don't think it had a significant effect on my education of the subject matter. Although I got to engage in the course material in a different medium, I think the physical is very different from the virtual world. I think that face-to-face interactions are still more beneficial. When you're expressing something online it can be tough to come off genuine and really get your message across.
I don't think that UW courses should greatly increase online components. As I said earlier, the face-to-face interactions is still the most efficient in getting to know your classmates and getting your point across.
As for the substantive material in this course, I think it did provide a nice supplement to the lecture topics. A lot of the readings (although long) were quite interesting and eye opening. It's intriguing to learn about what really is going on when you're searching the web or throwing out an old phone. However, I don't feel as though the online activities that went along with these readings really related to each other all that much.
1 comment:
Hey Meghan! I agree, I don't think that Wisconsin needs to incorporate a lot more Internet use into the classroom because most classes already have a lot of online assignments and resources. However, it seems that the journalism and communications classes are the classes that are the most successful in incorporating it well. I believe that it would be really helpful if some of the science classes I've taken had more online resources or assignments because if I miss a lecture, it's very difficult to catch up. But overall, I prefer face-to-face class and discussions.
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