Taking Blended Resources out of the Classroom

While the Blended Learning group is focused on the liberal arts classroom (including flipped and blended classrooms), many of the technologies we profile have uses outside of academia as well. Joshua Kim at Inside Higher Ed addressed some of these uses in "The Growth of the Hybrid Meeting." The article describes how tools designed to facilitated online meetings can be used not just for creating virtual classrooms, but also for hosting and improving the quality of distance meetings. The article doesn't focus on reviewing the technological options, but some of the tools we've reviewed elsewhere like Jing or Twiddla could be used to perfect the hybrid meeting.

While some of Kim's tips are relevant to academic settings, his suggestions are focused primarily on business settings and creating a productive atmosphere for meetings among colleagues. Some of his suggestions which could be equally applicable to the classroom and the business world include:

• create, distribute, and adhere to an agenda
• ensure that all participants - local and distance - get an opportunity to speak
• integrate multiple tools when helpful