What We Mean by Hybrid
When we talk about hybrid learning, we’re talking about a combination of approaches designed to spark all the modalities. We’re talking about using online material, online interaction and classroom experiences.
Get The Knack But there’s a knack to getting a really effective hybrid approach which will keep students engaged and stretching themselves. That knack leverages the power of community. It’s all too easy to set up an online NLP school, flood your students with hours of content to work through, and hope they swim.
Fostering an online student community requires some effort, but the benefits come back to you in the form of increased referrals and student retention. The benefits to the student are myriad. When learning, there is a basic human need for contact and camaraderie, as every great trainer knows.
Hybrid learning has the potential to get students to collaborate and motivate each other long before they ever get near a classroom. Instructor-led video conferences contribute, and there is a familiar power in shared discussion threads. We’ve found that when the discussion is private to the group, students will comfortably use an online forum to iron out their understanding of the topic on the table. A trainer gets involved mostly to create the atmosphere of an open frame where it’s OK to ask questions and it’s OK to contribute.
This has been possible for years done piecemeal in a scarily public way using things like Facebook, but now that you can use a learning management system to build a student community that is comfortable easy and private.