Hybrid learning is here to stay

It is flexible and allows students to learn at their own pace and style, writes Michael Patrao

Digital technology has pervaded all spheres of life including the education system. The elite public schools with resources to spend were the early adopters of digital technology in education.

What was considered a novelty became inevitable with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing educators to rapidly adopt hybrid and online learning. It consolidated the fact that hybrid learning can happen at any time and from any device and is lockdown-proof. In a way it got them prepared for hybrid learning.

In the traditional four walls of the classroom, a teacher does not know how much each student has understood. Hybrid education provides a flexible and inclusive learning environment, allowing students to learn at their own pace and style.

Hybrid learning combines traditional in-person instruction with online learning—the best of both worlds, offering students the flexibility of online learning while still providing the structure and interaction of traditional classroom learning.

The use of digital technologies can make learning more interactive and engaging. Digital resources such as videos, animations, and simulations can help students to understand complex concepts more easily. Interactive online classes can provide students with an opportunity to engage with teachers and classmates and foster a more collaborative and participatory learning environment, improving the quality of education.

Digital technologies also help streamline administrative tasks such as grading, attendance, and record keeping, keeping the teachers free to focus on teaching and providing students with individual attention.

ChatGPT or any other Artificial Intelligence (AI) is part of hybrid learning. But this or any other AI will not be able to replace research or writing absolutely. Teachers will need to change how they give assignments and how they do their work. The evaluation must all be based on real-world applications.

A flipped classroom is a part of hybrid learning. It refers to inverting the traditional educational model. In a flipped classroom, students view lessons at home and master the material at school in collaboration with their peers or instructor. It is like watching a trailer before seeing a movie.

NEP and hybrid learning

In India, the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) has provided the impetus to reimagine education, with the focus shifting towards a technology-driven, learner-centric approach. One of the most significant outcomes of the policy is the recognition and promotion of hybrid learning, which combines online and offline modes of education. Hybrid education has the potential to bring about a major transformation in the way India approaches education, making it more accessible and inclusive.

NEP 2020 recognises the potential of hybrid education and has proposed Several measures to promote it. The NEP policy document states, “AI-based software could be developed and used by students to help track their growth through their school years based on learning data and interactive questionnaires for parents, students and teachers, to provide students with valuable information on their strengths, areas of interest, and needed areas of focus, and to thereby help them make optimal career choices.”

The policy emphasises the need for the development of digital infrastructure and the adoption of digital technologies in education. It highlights the need for the creation of high-quality, digital educational resources that are accessible to all students. The Policy proposes the creation of a National Educational Technology Forum responsible for the development of these resources.

The future

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn” Alvin Toffler predicted more than 50 years ago in his 1970 book, Future Shock.

The danger is that, as the skills lifecycle shortens those who are not learning will be left behind and the disadvantage gap will widen. A teacher will have to constantly train to make learning more human, interesting, universal and creative. Any society which adopts the latest education system will be the most progressive. There is no looking back. Hybrid learning is the only way forward.