Hybrid Learning

Hybrid Learning is the teaching of both remote and in-person students at the same time using digital tools.

In today's educational landscape, hybrid learning has emerged as a powerful approach that blends traditional face-to-face instruction with digital technologies. For museum educators, embracing hybrid learning opens up new avenues to engage learners, enhance educational experiences, and adapt to evolving digital skills.

Hybrid learning combines in-person teaching with online elements to create a flexible and dynamic learning experience. It leverages digital tools and resources to supplement traditional classroom activities, enabling educators to use different instructional methods, such as lectures, discussions, group work, and multimedia content. Hybrid learning offers learners the benefits of both face-to-face interactions and the flexibility of online learning.

This may sound almost identical to blended learning, but there is a subtle difference: with blended learning this mixture of digital and classic tools and techniques is used with learners who each spend part of their time learning remotely and part of their time undertaking distance learning. Hybrid learning, however, uses these same ideas to allow remote and in-person learners to take part in the same activities at the same time.

Embracing hybrid learning offers numerous opportunities for museum educators to enhance their digital skills and provide enriching educational experiences. Some examples of these include:

• The creation of engaging and interactive online content that complements in-person instruction, such as multimedia presentations, videos, online quizzes, and curated collections of digital resources such as images, videos, and articles.
• Use of LMS platforms that facilitate the organisation, delivery, and assessment of hybrid learning materials. These platforms allow educators to manage course content, track student progress, and facilitate discussions and collaboration outside the confines of the classroom.
• Encourage the use of digital tools that enable collaborative work, both among educators and with students. Platforms like Google Workspace, Microsoft Teams, and virtual whiteboards can facilitate real-time collaboration, file sharing, and group projects.
• Leveraging digital tools to create online assessments and provide timely feedback to students. This may intersect with other examples discussed above as well as more formal assignment submission platforms that streamline the assessment process and enhance communication.

Next Steps:

1. Seek out professional development programs and workshops offered by museums, educational institutions, and online learning platforms. Online programs often focus on integrating digital technologies into blended learning environments and some include in-person sessions: a training programme may not be explicitly about hybrid learning, but technologies and techniques used in its delivery can provide valuable insight.
   Don't be afraid to approach the organisers and deliverers at these and other events to discuss their choices with regards to hybrid and blended learning and the technology which enables it.
2. Attend webinars and conferences dedicated to hybrid learning and educational technology. These events provide opportunities to learn from experts, gain insights into successful implementation strategies, and network with peers in the field. Again, even attending such events that are not focused on hybrid learning may allow you to experience being on the receiving end of hybrid and blended learning techniques.
   
3. Engage with online communities and networks of museum educators and take part in (or start) discussions on hybrid learning tools and techniques.
4. Explore open educational resource (OER) repositories that offer freely accessible and openly licensed educational materials. OER platforms like OER Commons and OpenStax provide a wealth of resources on hybrid learning, educational technology, and digital skills.

Further Reading:

• In the Glossary:  | Blended Learning | Open Source | Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) | 
• Elsewhere online:  | Hybrid vs. Blended Learning | What is Hybrid Teaching? |