Another comment: On number 4, adequate time is relative to the length of the course, ie. a six-week hybrid vs. an eight or sixteen-week hybrid. I take my whole class to a computer lab the first night for "training". The ones who are already literate about blackboard help the newbies.

I am still very concerned about what timeframe should be allowed to learn the technology. I want to be fair since I'm still learning about it myself, but I don't want to compromise lesson content. In a sixteen week course, what might I do to expedite getting all students to a reasonably common level of proficiency and performance?

I agree that taking the whole class to a computer lab the first night for training as well as pairing newbies with seasoned tech users are excellent strategies. I also suggest that you find online support resources and point your students to them by demonstrating them in the face-to-face time. YouTube and MERLOT are excellent sources for locating technology support. Finally, I would introduce one new type of technology tool at a time.

I would add a word of caution with regard to direcitng students to third-party technology platforms to learn about elements that we require in our classes. At the least it seems a tad impersonal, at most it can give the misleading impression that we "don't have the time" so we're shuffling them off to learn it on their own. I think it's a sensitive/gray area.

Regarding e-mails, I think e-mails should be used at a minimum, just to send the occasional remainder. Here I am open to comments or other points of view, but too many remainders may have the opposite effect and create some apathy from students toward these e-mails. I prefer to give the students the responsibility of checking regularly the blackboard site for new announcements. The f2f meeting also could be use for remainders. The danger is that if they expect a remainder every time there is material posted on the site, when that e-mail is not sent or if for any reason they did not get it, they may think that no new material have been posted and fail to log-in to the site. This is not a major issue and it can be solve by explaining clearly the class policy the first day (week) of classes. Nevertheless, I try to lower expectations and put more responsibility on their hands.

I like to use e-mail only when there has been a change or when someone appears to have a problem--I've been using the performance dashboard feature to see how long it has been since students last checked in and the early warning system to remind them that Black Board time is taking the place of f2f time and they may be counted as missing a class if they don't at least check in to see what is happening!

Keep in mind that our students also have different learning styles. When we're teaching the technology that wraps around the course(s) we're teaching, we need to be mindful that one style of instruction doesn't work for everyone. Include visual (screen shots, etc.) instructions in addition to written/verbal instructions for using the technology. In other words, don't just say "go to X website" and "click on Y" and so forth. It could be overwhelming to some students.

I plan to envision every course I teach as though it could become a hybrid course. That is, although I may be not teaching BUS 100 as a hybrid this semester, I will develop and refine the course with the idea that it may/will be a hybrid in the future. I still feel strongly that all courses do not lend themselves to being offered as hybrid courses. I hope we keep that in mind are we go forward with this technology. Also, all students won't adapt well to fully on-line and/or hybrid courses. It would be interesting to watch the numbers of students who enroll in each type of course when it is offered in both formats. We need to work more with the entire student population to educate them on exactly what hybrid courses entail.

One of the most important things I have learned relative to blended learning is to make sure that the name of the assignment/activity listed on the syllabus is the exact same name you use on Bb.

This may seem trivial, but if you call it "Learning Activity #3" on the syllabus, but call it "Assignment #3" on Bb, you are setting yourself up for a slew of e-mails and/or an excuse for not completing the blended learning activity.

Regarding hybrid course development, find out if your particular course has a "course cartridge" available from the textbook publisher.

If so, don't hesitate to import the cartridge and use it!

Some course cartridges come with quizzes and exams pre-made, discussion questions for discussion boards, etc.

As someone else has already said, use the resources available to you. Don't get bogged down reinventing something already available.

Let the publisher provide the mundane elements, so you can focus on adding the creative activities to your course.

I think certainly one of the challenges in designing a hybrid course is to develop and maintain a smooth transition between the on-site activities and the on-line assignments. Poor organization can lead to a fragmented learning experience for the student. I also think that the on-line portion of the course must use the technology in innovative ways. We need to design assignments that specifically fit the on-line classroom environment.
Students need to understand clearly the purpose for each blended activity.

In response to Regina and Stewart: I agree that it is most useful to use the cartridge provided by the publisher, provided that the school does not incur an extra expense and that our technology supports it. It is highly likely that we will use such cartridges for introductory business courses in Annandale campus.