The 8-week "H3: Hybrid Seminar" provided to all faculty participating in the Boise State University H3: High Tech, High Quality, Hybrid project is an "inquiry-based, collaborative, and project-based learning environment in which each module revolves around key redesign challenges and questions, group discussions and activities, and the creation of redesigned course materials (e.g., a syllabus, schedule, learning activities, and modules)."

The seminar includes 4 face-to-face sessions and a series of weekly, online assignments and discussions. There are nine modules in the seminar, as follows:

Provides an opportunity to design a module in small groups and to grapple with related design issues. Small- and large-group discussions help to identify a working set of guidelines for evaluating course modules for hybrid delivery. The guidelines are used in an online discussion forum focusing on peer review. The peer review allows everyone to comment on each others’ modules and provide each other with design suggestions.

Identifies ways to help students schedule their work, manage their time, and understand the implications of the hybrid course module. Faculty review two online quizzes for students considering taking an online course and then review some of the resources Boise State has made available to students interested in online learning or currently engaged in online learning. Faculty discuss these resources and the ways in which they plan to prepare and support students in their hybrid courses.

Module 3: Constructing the Course Blueprint

A review of course materials, to clarify goals and objectives, and to begin thinking about which objectives will best be achieved online or in the classroom. It’s an opportunity to re-visit and examine how the components of a course (i.e., goals, content, assessment) fit together to form a congruent whole. It also educates the Academic Technologies staff about the faculty members’ courses.

Builds a foundation of knowledge about active learning that serves faculty in the ongoing process of designing and developing hybrid learning environments and learning activities. Faculty are asked to do a small amount of research on a given active-learning strategy. The research involves identifying a definition of the active-learning strategy and coming up with a brief summary of its uses and benefits to student learning, as well as information about any unique issues related to implementing or maintaining the strategy.

Explores what content and activities are best suited for online delivery and which are best suited for classroom delivery. Faculty complete a comparative advantage worksheet to explore their initial ideas and decisions. They also read a summary of different considerations involved in making delivery venue choices, participate in a discussion forum for exchanging ideas about how to choose delivery venues, and begin creating their course schedules.

Identifies ways to create effective discussion-board assignments, to develop strategies for facilitating online discussions, and to create a draft of an effective, rational, and comprehensive rubric for evaluating online discussions. Part of the focus is on strategies for tying the assignment to course content and learning objectives and on strategies that will most likely result in thorough, thoughtful, and informative online discussions.

Identifies key elements and challenges that make for successful collaborative learning strategies. Module activities include designing or describing a collaborative/cooperative student group assignment that meets a specific learning objective in a hybrid course. Faculty share brief summaries of the assignments, including student instructions, within a group discussion forum. They comment on at least one other group member’s assignment, identifying how the assignment illustrates, touches upon, or reveals a key element or challenge in collaborative/cooperative learning. If appropriate, faculty offer suggestions for how to anticipate or troubleshoot any potential problems that might arise.

Faculty are strongly encouraged to spend time re-designing their syllabi for the hybrid format, rather than using an existing syllabus. They are reminded that a number of the tasks from previous modules are key components of their syllabi, including statements for preparing students, their course goals, their list of major objectives, assessment strategies, content outline, and their initial decisions about delivery venues. As a final exercise, faculty are asked to reflect on their experiences of having participated in the hybrid seminar, and to write a brief summary of those experiences.

In an opening discussion about what it was like to participate in a hybrid seminar, faculty are asked how their experiences will influence the design of their own hybrid courses? They are also asked to look ahead to the upcoming Summer Development Institute and to think about their production needs (online ordering) and to have their content and course materials ready.

As noted on the seminar syllabus, faculty who successfully complete the seminar will come away with the following hybrid course redesign materials :

• A draft of a learning module or unit.
• A plan for preparing and supporting students to participate in the hybrid course.
• A redesign course "blueprint," including an outline of major content areas, goals and objectives, and a plan for assessing learning outcomes.
• Strategies for integrating online learning activities with face-to-face components of the course.
• A set of guidelines for successful student participation and an assessment rubric for managing and evaluating online discussions.
• A draft of a syllabus and week-by-week schedule of topics and activities.

For links to some of the resources that are provided inside the H3 Spring Seminar, see http://itc.boisestate.edu/resource.htm