Feb. 16, 2022 - With continued school closures, technical issues and relentless uncertainty, it's critical schools at all levels equip their classrooms for reliable hybrid learning solutions for the long term.
If schools aren't equipped to truly enable teachers to provide instruction in remote or hybrid scenarios by now, it's a long list of risks they face in the not-so-distant future, including:
Key to the success of long-term hybrid learning will hinge on the technical solutions that educational institutions — from pre-K on up — integrate into their environments.
Schools need reliable solutions with an intuitive design and function, or they risk technical issues, which have been widely cited as an inhibitor to students' education and a point of frustration for teachers.
While hybrid learning technology alone can't solve all challenges, a reliable solution will help reduce stress, improve user experience, and, most of all, enhance education.
Hybrid Learning Tech Can Help Teachers Overcome Several Key Challenges
These days, teachers need to be prepared for anything — at almost any time. For many, lesson plans change day to day, and with surges in cases rising and falling, it's hard to know when teachers will catch a well-deserved break.
That's where well-architected hybrid learning solutions come into play.
Hybrid learning is a blend of in-person and online instruction. "In the university setting, especially during this ongoing pandemic, hybrid learning offers students and instructors the best aspects of both core learning modalities—in-person and online—when planned with care and intention," writes the University of Washington on its website.
There are several benefits to hybrid and online learning, including:
And the list of benefits continues on. While there are challenges with online or hybrid learning, the advantages have made a big impact on several institutions.
A study published by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) found that 59% of institutions intend to continue their remote offerings long term.
"This survey indicates a large swath of colleges and universities plan to continue offering online learning for the foreseeable future, indicating distance education may be a much more popular and prevalent modality from now on," said NC-SARA President and CEO Dr. Lori Williams in an announcement.
What's Needed for a Successful Hybrid Learning Environment?
There are several ways to approach a successful hybrid learning environment, but there are some essentials:
Teachers Also Need Tech Support and Training
One survey found that about one-third of teachers don't feel very confident using digital media services in the classroom. The same survey also found some teachers had no prior experience with K-12 digital services.
For school leaders, this should be a signal to survey your own teacher population to understand their comfort and experience levels, then act accordingly. Increased tech support and training will help build confidence in the teachers who must use these solutions every day.
Teachers and Students Need Tech That Will Keep Them Connected
While technology affords teachers the ability to instruct beyond the physical classroom, sometimes it lets them down. Poorly designed solutions that don't truly enable teachers to do their best work result in low adoption and undesirable outcomes.
Further, if technical difficulties get in the way of lessons, how can teachers reach students?
Students ultimately bear the brunt of technical difficulties. Constant interruptions to their education cause delays and detract from their experience, whether they're online or front and center.
Hall Technologies Is a Leader in Pro AV for Education
As a leader in professional technology solutions, Hall Technologies designs audiovisual systems with students and teachers in mind. We believe classroom technology should be intuitive, simple to use but uncompromising. It must work because teachers count on these tools more and more as hybrid learning becomes the norm.
If your technology doesn't allow teachers to reach students, then it's not serving its purpose — which is to expand access, remove barriers, and promote communication. We can help.
Learn more about our Apollo Technology Room Kit classroom solution here.