pvelasco

IMy desire to take this course stems from what my colleagues and students have said about hybrid courses. The reports are in general very positive with very few negative aspects describing this new teaching and learning process. The positive aspects include that students tend to read more and that they tend to spend more time in their assignments. These are very important considerations given the fact that there is a course within my program (EECE 761) that is a theoretical course. Its contents are extremely important for bilingual teachers since the socio political as well as the pedagogical factors affecting bilingual education are discussed. The second reason and this is undoubtedly the generic reason why online learning has become so widespread, is that it gives students and instructors the flexibility of doing them outside of the classroom adjusting to the personal circumstances. This is particular important for bilingual teachers since more than 90% of them are working and commuting is a factor that has a negative influence on their performance and commitment to the coursework. Perhaps the factor that worries me the most about online learning is the lack of face to face interaction between and amongst students. It is not only the instructor the one who teaches, but the students" experience constitutes a rich form of learning. Tatyana Ulubabova was the adjunct professor who launched this initiative within the Bilingual Education program. She has given several courses using this mode and she is very happy with the results. I intend to use a hybrid for next semester, (EECE 761), the theoretical course that I was mentioning before. I think that the readings and discussion sites will be invaluable for the students. The presentations and face to face group work can be done during the "live-days". The . question for me is how do I construct the questions and assignments so that the students have to do the readings and post their insights without copying the responses that other students have given. How do I make the questions deep enough so that the students are truly engaged in this process? I hope that throughout this week long course I can learn not only the mechanics of creating the online sites (this is my first experience with a wiki) but also if questions and postings have to be created differently in order to engage the students' thinking process
 * The reason why I want to take this course:**
 * Positive aspects described by colleagues and students:**
 * Negative aspects described by colleagues:**
 * Hybrid courses in the Bilingual Program:**