Faculty comfort also is an issue. When it comes to using technology in the classroom, instructors introduce video, podcasts, and online learning modules into traditional lecture courses at different rates. But those who have taught hybrids say the challenges have more to do with learning how to facilitate discussions and building online community than the technology itself.

Bender’s recommendation to faculty is that they create their first online discussion forum as a “virtual lounge,” in which students and the teacher can introduce themselves, sometimes through icebreaker activities, and continue running the “lounge” for at least the first three days. “This helps everyone not only get to know each other, but also to become familiar with the technology before the course content begins,” Bender says.

There are no set rules, however, and instructors can fashion a hybrid to accommodate their own teaching styles and course content. Shaheen Ayubi, a political science instructor in Camden, teaches a hybrid, “Rich Nations, Poor Nations,” in the Rutgers at Atlantic Cape Community College program. Ayubi meets with her class during the first two weeks of the semester while students get used to communicating online. The third week takes place via threaded discussions with students posting thoughts on assigned texts and topics. From then on, she convenes class on campus every other week. Students respond to each others’ analyses and to Ayubi’s questions, and the content of their discussions count toward the final grade.

“It is a wonderful learning experience,” Ayubi says. “The students are much more relaxed without the pressure of traveling to campus – and so is the teacher.” The blended course, she adds, is an ideal introduction for students who eventually want to take a course completely online.

Judith Barberio, an assistant professor at the College of Nursing, has been teaching graduate-level nursing courses in a hybrid fashion since 2002.  She posts lectures and other materials for her "Primary Care I" and "Primary Care III" classes weekly on Rutgers Online, the university's entry portal for e-learning. Each month on a Saturday, Barbiero and her students come together for  an all-day workshop on campus. "Here's where the students get to apply the skills they've learned online," Barbiero says, interpreting X-rays, EKGs, and labs; taking part in grand rounds; presentimg cases from clincial practice and discussing diagnoses and treatment plans.

This year Barbiero made one important change. Instead of serving as the online moderator in her Primary Care I, she asked her students to take turns serving as moderators. Each student-moderator took charge of a case study, posing group questions and commenting on student responses.  "With students reponding to students, the conversations were much more dynamic conversations.  Rather than getting two posts per student, at least half the class [of 32] was posting 10 times." She plans to introduce the concept to other classes next fall. 

In the coming weeks, the Office of Instructional and Research Technology will be surveying departments across the university to find out how faculty are using technology in their face-to-face hybrid and online teaching. “What we learn will help us target our services so we can support faculty where they need the most assistance,” Stein says.

The office would like to begin a discussion on the impact of technology on learning outcomes as well as its potential for easing stress on facilities. Putting courses at least partially online can reduce the need for classroom space. “Just think of an introductory class with 400 students,” Stein said. “What would happen if half the class worked online once a week so that there were only 200 students in the classroom at any one time?  It could open up new possibilities for closer faculty-student contact and collaborative activities.”