Hybrid Education – A Highly Flexible Form Of Schooling
Hybrid education refers to a form of teaching that combines regular online training with less frequent or occasional on-campus classes. In a typical hybrid a course in miracles books course, pupils would complete most of their lectures and coursework online. They would then meet once a week or fortnight at the campus for face-to-face instruction and practical sessions.
Hybrid education resembles distance education and online schooling in a number of ways. One of the major drawbacks of purely online courses is the lack of hands-on training and personal mentoring. Certain specialized courses that require practical and hands-on training can therefore never be made available as an online-only course.
Another short-coming of online courses is that they are more suited for self-motivated people. Only students who can stick to schedules and persevere on their own can really take full advantage of online courses. Others who need someone to oversee their progress or to support them would often lag behind or totally drop out of online courses. Such people can really benefit from hybrid education, as they would periodically meet with faculty members and other students face to face. This will help them tremendously to stay motivated and to keep pace with the rest of the class.
There are a number of working people, stay-at-home moms and retired folk who wish to acquire new skills in order to take up a job during this troubled economy. It is estimated that almost 50% of adults in the US are seeking new education to improve their employability. Most of them would not be able to join a regular course in college due to time and financial constraints. They would also not feel very comfortable doing a purely online course without any human interaction. Here again, hybrid education could be the best choice as it would give them the freedom to learn during their spare time, and also to meet faculty and students on a periodic basis for social interaction.
Since hybrid or blended education is offered by tying up with a regular college or university, the cost of education can be slightly higher than a purely online-only course. However, it would be much cheaper than a classroom-only type of education due to the reduced cost of this model of education. Courses can average at $2000 in community colleges, $6000 per year in public universities and go as high as $23,000 in private institutions and universities.
The time and money saved by doing the course online from home, instead of commuting back and forth or having to stay in a rented accommodation near the college, can indirectly reduce the cost of education still further.