How Blended (Hybrid) Classes Work

A blended (hybrid) course is taught partly in the classroom and partly online. Blended courses allow the student to benefit from both methods of teaching: online and face-to-face.

Students will be required to attend a certain number of on-campus class meetings. These will be listed in the Schedule of Classes. Please refer to the Schedule of Classes for any special requirements. In addition, some of the required meetings will be held online. The online portion of the class allows students to attend "virtual" classrooms via the Internet. Your instructor will provide details of the required online class work.

Cuyamaca and Grossmont instructors may use a course development application, Blackboard. Blackboard is a software program that allow the instructor to post assignments, syllabi, and course outlines on the Internet. In addition, these applications offer communication tools, such as discussion boards, chat rooms and email.

Online course materials vary from class to class, but may include textbooks, video demonstrations, PowerPoint presentations, interactive lessons, and Web resources. Online learning activities may include writing papers, posting comments or essays to online discussion forums, completing individual or group projects, and taking quizzes. While students can generally choose when and where to complete online assignments, there are usually deadlines for homework and exams.

In a blended course, students interact with their instructor and classmates both in person – during the on-campus meetings – and online, via web discussion forums, e-mail, chat sessions, and phone calls. Students interested in eventually taking an online course may find it useful to explore online learning by taking a blended course first.