Technology can either hurt or help students in their educational process. Hybrid classrooms are meant to be convenient for students and professors with busy schedules. Students are able to learn and professors are able to teach from the comfort of their own home. But, in reality, it takes away from the learning experience and just ends up being a waste of time.

Taking a class that meets mostly online takes away from the experience of going to campus and being face to face with instructors as well as classmates. It also takes away from actively engaging in class discussions.

In a regular classroom, students raise their hand when they want to contribute to the discussion. In an online setting, students often find themselves rapidly typing what they want to say and sending their messages at the same time as their classmates.

Sitting in front of a computer screen does not motivate students to actively participate in class. In fact, they feel more inclined to just work on other assignments, text, or use social media while their lecture plays in the back ground.

Let’s be real, if a hybrid class meets at the eight in the morning and you were able to log on from the convenience on your home, would you really focus? or go back to sleep while the lecture took place?

Hybrid classrooms are also a waste of time because technology is not always flawless. The classes on Blackboard Collaborate, in which students are in a chat room with the professor and classmates, often experience technical difficulties.

Instead of spending the class period answering questions or discussing the material being taught, professors have to spend time troubleshooting and working through technical difficulties.

Everyone has a different style of learning and there are some students that have no problem with hybrid classrooms. They benefit from these because they have an independent style of learning or have busy schedules that do not allow them to come to campus.

That is perfectly fine, but the issue arises when students who do not share this style of learning are forced into these classes. There are times that a required class is only available as a hybrid classroom. Students who learn better in a physical classroom have to put up with the inconvenience of technical difficulties and lack of face to face interaction.

We pay thousands of dollars in tuition so that we can get a quality education and be able to communicate with professors and classmates in person and get their perspective on topics discussed. Students should not have to feel like they are teaching themselves. How can that be accomplished when the professor does not even know the student behind the computer screen? Or when students do not know their own classmates?

Hybrid classrooms should not be eliminated completely. Instead, there should be more options for classes that fit a student’s learning style. Let independent learners take part of hybrid learning. At the same time, give students the option of taking their required class in an actual classroom environment.