“Its here. It’s staying. Let’s make the most of it.” Steven Mintz, Online Learning 2.0

That is one way to look at online and hybrid education. Mintz sees online courses as something we might as well embrace and improve upon because it is not going anywhere anytime soon. More schools see online learning as way to reach a larger audience. This audience is interested in online or hybrid because they may not being able to attend classes in person, so it gives options.

The concern is that the quality of education will be less than that of face to face courses. Mintz sees it differently. He explains that online learning can often be more innovative and intentional as compared to the traditional classroom setting. He also describes online learning as an “act of love” which may mean students approach this style of learning with more passion and excitement.

So in a way, online and hybrid learning is an opportunity to push classes to the next level. It is a chance to reinvent main stream face-to-face courses to better align learning goals with personal experiences and make the learning environment feel more relevant. While all these things should also happen in the classroom, sometimes it takes a new format to get there.