CHRONOLOGY OF HYBRID LEARNING ACTIVITIES AT NJIT SEPTEMBER 2003 The desire to examine hybrid learning at NJIT came from discussions in the Fall of 2003 of the Teaching, Learning and Technology group on campus. It was noted that a few teachers were doing variations on hybrid teaching on their own, but that there are no formal policies, special registration designations for these classes. or guidelines for hybrid course design or instruction.   MARCH 2004 The division of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) sponsored a "brown bag lunch" discussion to bring together an invited group of people involved in distance learning (faculty and administration) to talk informally about a pilot program. Prior to this discussion, the Instructional Resource Center (IRC) began to gather research on hybrid learning and looked at programs at other universities - much of which can be found in this website. They also interviewed the faculty who had experimented with hybrid classes. This research was made available to attendees. As a result of this meeting, five faculty members expressed an interest in trying a hybrid course in the fall. They went back to their department chairs to discuss the feasibility of developing a hybrid version of an existing course. Three faculty - 2 in the College of Computing Sciences (Michael Chumer and Julian Scher) and one in the College of Science & Liberal Arts (Eric Hetherington) were able to obtain approval for fall 2004 hybrid courses. These faculty members met with the instructional design team during the summer and scheduled production time as needed for the creation of multimedia elements of their courses. The remaining portion of the spring semester and the summer was used for course design, media creation and faculty development. SEPTEMBER 2004 The first 3 hybrid course were offered for the Fall 2004 semester as a Pilot Program in Hybrid Learning. As an example, Professor Hetherington's hybrid course section of HSS 211: The Pre-Modern World was offered in the same semester that he was teaching the course in a traditional classromm setting. He describes the course as "having two objectives. First, it introduces students to some of the greatest achievements in the humanities from the pre-modern world. Far from being historical relics, these works serve as a foundation for the intellectual life of humanity and are the opening passages to conversations that are still ongoing. Second, this course prepares you to join these conversations by helping you discuss, criticize and write about the works and themes that are crucial to an understanding of the human condition." His hope was that the the hybrid format would "allow us to combine what is best from distance learning courses and traditional face-to-face courses. Distance learning courses allow students to proceed at their own pace (for example, if you need to listen to the lecture multiple times you are free to do so) and also provides for written interaction between students and the professor. We will utilize both of these features in our hybrid class. Every other week there will be two new online lectures for you to listen to as well as two written assignments that will stimulate your thinking about the issues raised and force you to put that thinking into well-thought out essays. Traditional courses allow for dialogue between the professor and the class as well as discussion between students. There is no substitute for such face-to-face discussions and so we will meet every other week (alternating with the online weeks) for three hours to facilitate discussions on the important themes we have read about in the text and listened to in the online lectures. The students' written responses to the online assignments will serve as a starting point for these discussions. We will meet face-to-face during the first week of class and then start alternating between our online weeks and face-to-face weeks." DECEMBER 2004 Reading Day Symposium entitled "An Introduction to Hybrid Learning and Review of the Fall 2004 Pilot Program at NJIT" Hybrid Learning: An Introduction - from hybrids defined to its use in corporate training The Pilot Program at NJIT - an overview A Panel Discussion with the Instructional Technology staff and the participating faculty members. What worked, what didn't and why?  Would you do it again?  How did it differ from your previous face-to-face and online teaching experiences? Where do we go from here? Audience Q&A Attendees invited to continue the conversation at a complimentary lunch in the faculty dining room. JANUARY 2005 Two of the fall 2004 instructors taught again in the hybrid mode and well as two new hybrid instructors. Discussion began early in 2005 of the possibility of creating a "Weekend University" using all hybrid courses. This plan was approved in April 2005. SEPTEMBER 2005 NJIT's Weekend University is intended for adults working in an IT field but without a degree. It is a flexible academic program in the hybrid mode designed for working adults that offers an opportunity to earn a B.S. in Information Technology (B.S. IT). The degree program enables adults to study part-time through a combination of classroom and online learning. A 24- credit Undergraduate Certificate is the first credential earned in progress towards the full degree. Undergraduate Certificates will be first offered in "Essentials of Network Applications" and "Essentials of Information Systems Management." More information on Weekend University