Now at the Faculty of Engineering: Hybrid Learning

Good news, students: starting this April, the Faculty of Engineering has gone completely hybrid and allows students to choose whether to arrive on campus or continue to study from home. “We returned to the lecture halls after Passover. Students who want to and have the Green Pass (vaccinated or recovering) can come to class, and those who can’t or don’t want to can continue learning from home. We are the first faculty to allow this for all classes,” states Prof. Moti Fridman.

The hybrid learning pilot at the Faculty of Engineering took off at the beginning of the previous semester, under the watchful eye of Prof. Moti Fridman and Dr. Shachar Alon, who are in charge of developing, applying, and implementing the hybrid learning system at the faculty. “The greatest advantage of our system is that it is interactive and preserves the way lecturers had gotten used to teaching – they don’t need to make any changes to how they teach,” says Prof. Fridman. “During the pilot, we discovered that some of the things we thought would work, didn’t, and changed the system to fit as many lecturers in as many scenarios. Eventually, we arrived at three different systems: one for lecturers, based on presentations and electronic boards; one for TAs, based on writing on a board for small groups, and one for labs, using a mobile camera that goes from station to station and shows students at home what the students in the lab are doing.”

Considering the circumstances, says Fridman, hybrid learning is the best solution the Faculty can offer its students.  “They can choose whether or not to come to campus. With first-year students, anyone who can choose to come in, and we’re thankful for that. Fourth-year students, on the other hand, hardly come to campus and prefer studying from home, some because they had gotten used to it, others because they are already working in their field, or have so few courses that they have no reason to come in. Other students can’t always show up: some had moved because of COVID and now live far from the university, some have health issues that prevent them from physically participating in a class at this time. Those who can, come and get the full benefits of a frontal lesson. But those at home get a lot out of hybrid learning, too, because they get a better lecture – you can’t compare a lecturer speaking to black Zoom squares to a lecturer teaching actual students, interacting and responding accordingly.”