The hybrid learning model is catching on as more educational institutions recognize how popular eLearning development has become with students around the world. Part of the appeal here it the convenience and flexibility of these courses for students and professors The benefits of these tools are such that major universities and other institutions are starting to make wider use of them, even forming coalitions to help spread collaboration and boost the volume of these online offerings.
Combining a traditional teaching model with the option for online learning provides students and participants with a much broader base of knowledge to draw on, including additional teachers, classmates and cultural views. This can help save money and offer more educational opportunities to those who may not get them otherwise.
Colleges take action
As part of a collaborative network of schools promoting better quality education for all, some universities have banded together to offer a series of online offerings geared toward expanding the horizons of all students involved. These courses are all shared between the participating entities, and any pupil can take a class regardless of which school is hosting it.
Virtual College wrote that Semester Online, an eLearning development program being pioneered by a group of some of the best colleges in the United States, will offer just such a program to students at participating schools. The source stated that Brandeis University, the University of North Carolina, Wake Forest University, Emory University and Washington University in Illinois are among the institutions currently collaborating, but others are free to join in the future.
“This consortium will expand opportunities for students everywhere and will help us all gain experience and understanding of the broad potential of distance learning,” said Brandeis provost Steve Goldstein. He acknowledged that the challenges of getting so many schools to work together can be rigorous, but the payoff in terms of academic breakthroughs will be worth it.
Changing the face of learning
By providing more remote resources, the hope is not only to assist students in gaining a better understanding of other points of view, but also to find better ways of extending these programs to those who might otherwise miss out on the opportunity to receive higher education. By refining and reviewing these processes, developers can figure out what options work best and can reach the broadest array of learners. This may promote eLearning services to a position where they influence the way everyone in the world participates in academics.
Forbes wrote that the impact of these developments has already been felt in some parts of the world where resources are most limited. The source outlined how learning deployments in India, called Lab-In-A-Box, have been placed in retrofitted shipping containers consisting of a few computers and a high-speed internet connection to provide eLearning video and software opportunities.
Innovations in eLearning delivery have already been made, Forbes said, because participants in the discussion are always building on feedback. The 2010 Boston1 summit of distance teachers and technology revealed that simply moving things online, for example, was not effective. Now, as the Lab-In-A-Box model shows, integrated video and audio are becoming the norm by assisting in retention and bridging the facetime gap. CSE Software Inc. specializes in building custom training software that can bend to meet the needs of any organization, just like other eLearning deployments have shown. A custom suite that is made to work specifically with a target audience, ensures better adoption and a bigger return on investment.
Contact Stacey Burris at sburris@csesoftware.com or 1.309.670.7595 and ask for an eLearning development demo today!
