Strategies for Developing Quality Blended Courses

1. The Perfect Blend:Strategies for Developing Quality Hybrid Courses Presented by: Tim Ely Director of e-Learning Montgomery County Community College Stephen J. Pipitone Director of Online Technology Harcum College

2. The Perfect Blend: Objectives • At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: • Identify 5 strategies for developing quality blended courses. • Apply the Ping Pong Model in demonstrating how to connect integrated, meaningful interactions in a blended course. • Access helpful tools for promoting active learning and interaction in a blended course.

3. What Is aBlended/Hybrid Course? A blended or hybrid course is one in which a significant portion of face-to-face class time is moved to the online environment. • The amount of learning that takes place online can vary with institutions, but 25%-50% seems to be the most consistent. • Some state agencies require a 50:50 ratio for a course to be considered face-to-face. • If financial aid is an issue, this is the ratio that should be used. Allen and Seaman, 2011; O’Brien, Hartshorne, Beattie, and Jordan, 2011, PHEAA, 2012

4. A More Practical Definition A blended course is one that incorporates both face-to-face and online learning in a purposefully designed interactive, integrated environment. • That is, the two elements (online and face-2-face) support each other and integrate to support learning outcomes.

5. Why Blend? Blended courses: • provide flexibility and convenience • improve student performance • increase student retention • increase student interaction • accommodate diverse learning styles • allow F-2-F interactions with the instructor and classmates. • are more effective than either F-2-F or fully online course by themselves. Means, et al. 2010

6. Blended Time Schedules The scheduling of the face-to-face and online components of a blended course can vary in a number of ways. • Entire class sessions can be replaced with online sessions. • The amount of time spent in a face-to-face session can be reducedby adding an online component. • Face-to-face classes can be held for a certain period of time and are then followed by online sessions.

7. Blended Structure The structure of a blended course can vary according to the instructor or course. • The online activities can be based on lecture material presented in the face-to-face component. • Face-to-face class activities and discussions can be based on material presented online. • Projects that students have worked on collaboratively in the online environment are presented and reviewed in the face-to-face classroom. Strategies 

8. Strategy 1: Change Your Perspective Developing a quality blended course requires a great deal of time, planning, and training. Blended teaching is not just a matter of transferring a portion of your traditional course to the online environment. It requires an adjustment in the way you approach course design. • Instructors must shift their instructional strategies to student-centered learning. • Instructors need to integrate activities so that the face-to-face and online components complement and support each other. • Instructors should design challenging face-to-face and online activities that support the course goals and objectives while enhancing student-student and student-instructor interaction. • Instructors need to meet the requirements of the DOE and accrediting bodies. Judi, 2011; Ward & Draude, 2009; Garnham & Kaleta, 2002

9. Strategy 2: Focus on Interaction A student-centered philosophy requires a blended course design that encourages active learning and participation. • The course content remains basically unchanged, but its presentation requires new strategies and additional preparation time. • If interaction is missing, the course is considered to be web-enhanced not blended.

10. Interaction is Required The U.S. Department of Education differentiates between a correspondence course and an online course on the basis of interaction. • Correspondence course: “Interaction between the instructor and student is limited, is not regular and substantive, and is primarily initiated by the student”. • Distance education: “… regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor…” Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, 2012

11. Strategy 3: Make the Connection • Quality blended courses use interactions that connect the face-to-face and online components. • Interactions should not begin and end in only one component of the course. • This goal is accomplished when an interaction in one component generates some type of interaction in the other component. • The Ping Pong Model of Delivery for Blended CoursesTMcan be used to demonstrate how to meaningfully connect interactions in a blended course.

12. The Ping Pong Model of DeliveryTM The manner in which interactive elements in a blended course occur can be likened to a ping pong game. • This model was developed by Ely and Pipitone • An activity in one component of the course (the serve) is used to create interactions in the other component. • The serve can come from either end of the table (F-2-F or online). • The interactions continue back and forth until a point is made (an objective is achieved).

13. Strategy 4: Use a Rubric for Online Design Use a rubric to help develop the online part of the course according to standard design policies and best practices. • Searching the Web will provide you with a variety of rubrics. • The Quality Matters rubric is an excellent evaluation tool. • Rubrics should be modified for individual institutions. • MCCC and Harcum College have both developed their own customized rubrics. Chickering& Ehrmann, 1996 Rubric Standards, 2011

14. Strategy 5: Use the Backward Design Method This method starts at the end and works toward the beginning by: • developing learning goals that are to be achieved by the end of the course • developing assessments that will demonstrate that the goals have been achieved • Assessments can take place online and/or in the classroom. • developing activities that will help students to successfully achieve their goals. Wiggins & McTighe, 2005

15. Strategy 6:Let’s Play Ping Pong!

16. Ping Pong Model Demo • The following slides will provide a demonstration of the Ping Pong Model of Delivery • Imagine that you were in a F-2-F class and the lecture (the serve) consisted of this presentation. • You now leave the classroom and participate in the online segment of the course (return the serve) at home or in your dorm. • The online segment consists of an independent assignment and a case study that is a collaborative assignment • The online assignments are to be completed before the next F-2-F class.

17. Individual Assignment • The individual assignment consists of questions based on the lecture (presentation) that are to be answered by each student independently. • The answers can be submitted to the instructor electronically or handed in at the next class. • Sample questions can be viewed in the next slide.

18. Individual Assignment Questions 1. It is possible to develop a quality hybrid course by: A. simply transferring a portion of your face-to-face course to the online environment. B. replacing online student interaction with face-to- face interaction. C. using the “sage on the stage” approach. D. using complementary F-2-F and online activities. Reason for selecting answer: 2. Which of the following is not an advantage of a hybrid course? A. Increased student retention B. Improved student performance C. Less course work for students and teachers. D. Flexibility and convenience. Reason for selecting answer: 3. The single most important factor that needs to be present in a hybrid course is: A. the learning management system. B. the amount of time spent the face-to-face classroom. C. student interaction. D. proctored testing. Reason for selecting answer:

19. Case Study ScenarioA Collaborative Effort • The Case Study assignment will be completed by student working collaboratively in teams. • The case study is about a professor who develops a blended course but who evidently did not view this presentation. • The students will work collaboratively using the lecture information as a guide to point out the mistakes made by the professor. • The case study can be viewed in the next slide.

20. Case Study Scenario • Dr. Oaks thought it was time to get on the technology bandwagon and decided to develop a hybrid biology course. She felt that by reducing her class lecture meetings and allowing her students to work online, both she and her students would be able to use the missed class time to work on other projects. Because the new semester was scheduled to start in three weeks, she got right to work. • After having her IT Department create an online course shell, Dr. Oaks immediately transferred her PowerPoint lectures into the shell. She then listed chapter questions that the students should consider as they read through the assigned text. Dr. Oaks also listed the individual chapters that would be covered in her four scheduled course tests. • On the first day of class, Dr. Oaks distributed her usual class syllabus, and informed her students that they would be attending class one day a week and working online for the second scheduled class. She then wrote the web-address for the course website on the board and told the students that if they had any problems, they should contact the IT department. Dr. Oaks was now convinced that technology was the way to go, and she looked forward to having more free time while her students used technology to learn.

21. Return to Class • Students now return to class to discuss their online interactions. • The interactions might involve both assignments or just the case study. • The instructor can spend as much or as little time as he/she deems appropriate in order to accomplish the objective or goal (score the point).

22. A New Serve • Once a goal or objective is met (a point is made), the instructor begins presents a new goal (a new serve) • For example, a discussion about the types of interactions that occur in a blended course can be the topic of the next lecture. • The new lecture would lead to new online interactions that would then be discussed in the next class. • The new lecture is presented in the following slides.

23. Types of Interactions • There are three basic types of interactions that should be developed in both components of a blended course include: ⎯ Student – Instructor Interactions ⎯ Student – Content Interactions ⎯ Student – Student Interactions

24. Student–Instructor Interactions • S-I interactions can be developed by providing: ⎯ the reasons for having a blended course ⎯ the requirements for both components of the course ⎯ an in-class introduction to the online component ⎯ a schedule and syllabus with information for both components including meeting times and dates ⎯ quick responses to student emails and discussions ⎯ a detailed description of all assignments. ⎯ creating and posting grading rubrics.

25. Student-Content Interactions • S-C interactions can be achieved by using: ⎯ student presentations and projects. ⎯ virtual field trips. ⎯ audio & video clips ⎯ case studies & problem solving scenarios ⎯ automatic testing with instant feedback ⎯ text readings with responses ⎯ suitable assessments • The online and F-2-F content must complement each other.

26. Student-Student Interaction • S-S interaction can be accomplished by using: ⎯ social interactions in the classroom ⎯ biographical introductions ⎯ asynchronous discussions ⎯ collaborative group assignments ⎯ projects and presentations ⎯ peer evaluations ⎯ the buddy system ⎯ lab activities.

27. The Ball is in Your Court • Return to your computers and use the information provided in this presentation to get The Perfect Blend!

28. References Allen, E., & Seaman, J. (2011, November). Going the distance: Online education in the United States, 2011. The Sloan Consortium. Retrieved from http://http://sloanconsortium.org/publications/survey/going_distance_2011 Chickering, Arthur & Ehrmann, Stephen C. (1996). Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. AAHE Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.tltgroup.org/programs/seven.html Garnham, C., & Kaleta, R. (2002, March 20). Introduction to hybrid courses. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Retrieved from http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/garnham.htm Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R., Bakia, M., & Jones, K. (2010, September). Evaluation of evidence-based practices in online learning: A meta-analysis and review of online learning studies. US Department of Education, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Studies Service. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/tech/evidence-based-practices/finalreport.pdf O'Brien, C., Hartshorne, R., Beattie, J., & Jordan, L. (2011). A comparison of large lecture, fully online, and hybrid sections of introduction to special education. EBSCOhost. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com

29. References PHeaa Distance Education Supplement 2012-13 Program Year. (n.d.). PHEAA - Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency. Retrieved from http://www.pheaa.org/email/forms/2012-13-Distance-Education-Supplement.pdf Rubric standards 2011-2013 edition with assigned point values. (2011). Quality Matters Program. Retrieved from http://www.qmprogram.org/files/QM_Standards_2011-2013.pdf Rust, J. (2011). Rapid development of hybrid courses for distance education: A midwestern university's pilot project. State University of Western Georgia. Retrieved November 1, 2012, from http://www.westga.edu/~distance/ojdla/fall143/rust143.html Ward, K., & Draude, B. (2009, March). Instructional design for hybrid courses: Deliberate design for the best of both wprlds. Middle Tennessee State University. Retrieved from http://www.mtsu.edu/itconf/proceedings/09/Proceedings_IT_ConferenceRT.pdf Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Va: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

30. Contact InformationAvailable for Presentations Timothy S. Ely Montgomery County Community College 340 DeKalb Pike Blue Bell, PA 19422 215-619-7345 tely@mc3.edu Stephen J. Pipitone HarcumCollege 750 Montgomery Avenue BrynMawr, PA 19010 610-526-6053 spipitone@harcum.edu

31. Helpful Tools for the Developer • audacity: An audio editor and recorder utility that can be used to create podcasts. http://audacity.sourceforge.net/about/ • polleverywhere: A free (40 or less participants) text message voting application that can be used in the classroom to increase student participation. http://www.polleverywhere.com • edublogs: An educational blogging service that can be used for social networking, collaborative assignments, or reflective journals. http://edublogs.org • hot potatoes: Six applications that enable you to create web-based, interactive exercises. http://hotpot.uvic.ca • dropcanvas: A free file storage and sharing service that only requires you to drag and drop. http://dropcanvas.com

32. Helpful Tools for the Developer • voicethread : A web-based application that allows you to upload a presentation with voice explanations. When viewing your presentation students can post verbal or text comments that can be accessed by you or other students. http://voicethread.com • jing: A screen capture tool that can be used to produce 5-minute instructional videos directly from your computer without additional equipment. http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing/screencast • screencast: A place to store your Jing captures. http://www.techsmith.com/screencastcom.html • fakebook: Allows teachers and students to create imaginary profile pages for study purposes or to chart the plot of a book, the development of a character, a series of historical events, the debates and relationships between people, and so on. http://www.classtools.net/fb/home/page