Green Economy and Technological Change

for Sustainability

5th international Scientific Conference on Business and Information Technologies

Hybrid Learning - the new normal

Ermira Idrizi
South East European University, Faculty of Contemporary Science and Technology, North Macedonia
e.idrizi@seeu..edu.mk
Sonja Filiposka
Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, R. of
North Macedonia
sonja.filiposka@finki.ukim.mk

Vladimir Trajkovik
Faculty of Computer Science and Engineering, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Skopje, R. of
North Macedonia
trvlado@finki.ukim.mk

Abstract. The quest for knowledge is a defining characteristic of our age. Hybrid learning is an
extension of this endeavour, combining in-person and remote training. Due to the COVID-19
outbreak, all classroom activities were moved online. Hybrid learning is here to stay due to its
advantages in modern education delivery while satisfying learning objectives. However, it has some
flaws that hinder its acceptance. To gather real-time data on how students respond to digital
transformation, the present paper examines student diversity in relation to the digital threshold. We
aim to map students' online learning experiences in terms of adaptability, learning outcomes and
compare the different modes of students' taking classes, and their academic achievements. Even
though hybrid learning shows some limitations and drawbacks, nevertheless it is more accepting by
students' than only handing materials. However, there are ways to overcome the disadvantages of
hybrid learning and promote its future acceptance. Because hybrid learning takes advantage of current
technological advances to fulfil learners' requirements in a range of contexts, it holds enormous
potential for the future of education.

Keywords: Online learning, Hybrid learning, Mode of delivery

1 Introduction

Humans have been trying to learn and improve their skills since the beginning of civilization. Learning
is one of the ways humans have used to reach their goal. It mostly consists of learning and being
taught by qualified people. Traditionally, the majority of learning is done in person, where teachers
teach students in a real classroom. There have been a lot of people who have used this method of
teaching for a long time, too. However, in the last few years, instruction delivery has changed from a
purely face-to-face classroom method to a mix of in-person instruction and distance learning. Distance
learning is a way to teach where the teacher and learner are not in the same place at the same time
(Raad, 2021). Distance learning was put in place because it was important to make sure that students
were participating and that they could get education from anywhere by removing geographical
barriers, which led to more flexibility. The rise of digital technologies has aided the growth of distant
learning. There are various resources available to students and teachers. Hybrid learning refers to a
mix of online and classroom instruction. Instructors deliver courses using a mix of face-to-face and
online education. As of late 2019, the highly contagious Covid -19 virus had spread fast throughout
the world, notably in Europe (WHO, 2020). The operations of educational institutions, where human
interaction is intense, have been suspended to disrupt the Covid-19 virus transmission chains (De
Luca, 2018). Covid-19 is expected to have a big impact on modernizing educational activities (Bragg,
Walsh & Heyeres, 2021).
 Green Economy and Technological Change
for Sustainability

5th international Scientific Conference on Business and Information Technologies

Due to the global pandemic, central exams were postponed, face-to-face schooling was discontinued,
and online education was conducted. In the post-pandemic era, with the rapid growth of technology
and access to information, hybrid education programs that mix traditional schooling with distant
education have become increasingly popular. Educators and academics are increasingly interested in
hybrid learning, which combines technology with instructional applications. Because of the recent
experiences with the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and the rapid advancement of technology,
including artificial intelligence (AI), hybrid learning is here to stay and has a bright future for
institutions, learners, educators, and other relevant stakeholders. The goal of this paper is to observe
how hybrid learning impacts students achievements, and even though there are some disadvantages it
is still more comprehensive for students rather than only receiving the materials, via an learning
platform.

2 Needs and challenges of hybrid learning

Hybrid learning has many meanings and descriptions. As a result, information about hybrid learning
varies. Thus, a clear description is required. Hybrid learning blends in-person and online learning.
Asynchronous or synchronous remote and in-person training is the issue. Simultaneous in-person and
remote instruction means an instructor teaches students both in-person and remotely. So, some
students are physically present in the classroom, while others participate online via conferencing
services. Educators teach students in a physical classroom and complement that education with online
learning activities. For example, an instructor may explain a concept initially, then send students a
recorded lecture via the internet for clarification. An educator may also assign online activities such as
quizzes or assignments. As a result, the educator can provide feedback and corrections online.
Asynchronous in-person and remote instruction is becoming quite widespread in higher education. In
many universities, virtual environments supplement face-to-face instruction. Institutions use
Blackboard, Edmodo, and Moodle as virtual learning management systems (García-Morales, 2021).
These tools enable instructor-student and learner-to-learner communication. Aside from virtual
environments, single-purpose solutions such as GoogleDocs help asynchronous online training
(García-Morales, 2021). Given these examples, it is vital to recognize that hybrid learning combines
in-person and remote education. Thus, many institutions' asynchronous combination of in-person and
remote instruction does not imply hybrid learning. To this goal, hybrid learning combines in-person
and online training.

2.1 Covid-19 shifting the learning environment

Covid-19 has influenced society greatly. It has influenced practically every aspect of people's life,
including schooling. Many educational institutions had to stop in-person instruction. Governments
ordered all schools and colleges to suspend activities and facilities by March 2020. (Erfurth & Ridge,
2020). There was a lot of uncertainty at the time, therefore it was essential to safeguard children and
teachers from Covid-19. By mid-April 2020, roughly 191 national governments have closed their
schools (Erfurth & Ridge, 2020). The closing of schools prompted the search for alternatives to
prevent students from losing 2020. As a result, numerous educational institutions and academic
professionals use distant learning to provide courses. Higher education institutions have had an easier
time adapting to distance learning than K-12 schools because many already had the essential
infrastructure in place.
Nonetheless, basic, primary, and secondary schools have implemented distance education efforts. For
example, state schools now use smart learning platforms, while private schools use existing eLearning
tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams (Heng, 2021). So Covid-19 has shifted a lot of in-person
education to online learning. Despite the limitations, greater usage of distant learning has resulted in
beneficial outcomes (Ulum, 2022). Distance learning has greatly reduced the probability of Covid-19
transmission. Learners have benefited since they can now continue their studies. But distance learning
 Green Economy and Technological Change
for Sustainability

5th international Scientific Conference on Business and Information Technologies

has its drawbacks. Teachers have struggled to adapt to the virtual classroom. They have also struggled
to customize distant learning to learners' needs. This is especially true in science and technology
courses (Qiao 2020). Nonetheless, many instructors do not grasp that distance learning requires a
different pedagogy than traditional methods. As a result, they should apply the most effective online
teaching methods. However, many educational institutions and academic experts are attempting to
improve remote learning efficiency and outcomes. So, distance learning will improve soon. In
conclusion, while distant learning has mostly produced favourable outcomes, there is still opportunity
for growth and improvement. Education institutions and academic professionals must implement
hybrid learning. Covid-19 exemplified the need for distant education (Subekti, 2021). Distance
learning will thus help lessen the effects of such catastrophes on education. However, in order to
conduct science and technical courses in the future, in-person education must be preserved. Thus,
combining in-person and virtual instruction has a bright future in education. That’s why hybrid
learning should be employed to increase learning outcomes while reducing the impact of adverse
events like Covid-19.

2.2 The Drawbacks and Critiques Against Hybrid Learning

There are a lot of things that people don't like about hybrid learning, and they mostly have to do with
the fact that you can learn from home. Concerning the downsides of hybrid learning, there may not be
as much interaction between teachers and students as there used to be (Raes, 2020). The fact that
distance learning doesn't require both students and teachers to be in the same place makes them feel
isolated and out of touch. Online communication also isn't very good at picking up on verbal and
physical cues, which teachers often use when they teach in person. Another problem with distance
learning is that it can have problems with technology. These problems come in many different forms,
such as downtimes and network errors. Technical problems can quickly stop the learning process and
lower the quality of the instruction that is given. Another big problem with hybrid learning is that it's
easy to fall into the trap of "managed education," which is when teachers follow business logic instead
of good pedagogy (Syafril, 2021). Institutions may put too much emphasis on making the hybrid
model profitable instead of making it efficient and effective at meeting student goals and improving
the learning process, which is what they should do (Polhun, 2021). So, hybrid learning can have a lot
of problems. Various criticisms have been levied towards remote and hybrid education. One is that
hybrid learning prevents students from pursuing more practical academic education. In some fields,
like science, students learn through spoken instruction and hands-on experiences. Due to time and
logistical restrictions, hybrid learning cannot fully meet this goal (Raes et al., 2020). Another criticism
is that hybrid education fails to teach children social skills. Physical connections between students are
essential for social development and are restricted in hybrid learning (Xiao, 2020). Cognitive and
social skills are required to meet life's problems and seize life's possibilities. Thus, the stated criticisms
call into doubt the effectiveness of hybrid learning.

3 Methodology

We discussed the shift that has been made in the learning environment, where hybrid learning is taking
a centre part, in this case study we are examining the academic achievements of students attending
classes, with physically presence or in hybrid mode.
This research used a field experiment to empirically examine how hybrid learning influences the
academic success of the student. This experiment was conducted at the Faculty of Contemporary
Sciences and Technologies, SEE University. The interactive Google Classroom interface has been
used to manage student-content during the case study, as well as teacher-content interaction. For one
 Green Economy and Technological Change
for Sustainability

5th international Scientific Conference on Business and Information Technologies

semester all participants completed one course, where half of the students were online or not attending
classes. The research population for this study was registered in one course Computational Modelling
and it is a more comprehensive course that requires some basic experience of computer science. The
course was setup at the Google Classroom platform, where students had all the materials uploaded,
and also could participate in the course via the live stream link on the platform

3.1 Participants and course delivery

- The initial number of students undertaking this project was 18, where based on the different
statuses of their studies and work related positions, 8 students' were present regularly in class, 5
students' were online most of the classes and six students where not participating in any mode.
- The course is considered as difficult, where hand-on exercises have been used to demonstrate
the different models and theorems

Table 1: Number of participants

Total Class present Online Offline materials
number of
students
18 8 5 6

4 Result Analysis and Discussion

We have measured students class attendance and success rate during class, by assigning students in
class and online attendance, analysing the link between attendance and grade
In this study we have analysed if students' type of participation have a significance in academic
success, we have examined the test results of one courses taken by students' and the success for the
particular course for students at the faculty of Contemporary Sciences and Technologies. We have
used correlation to determine how the approach of delivery affects students' academic success. The
correlation coefficient measures how closely two variables move together. The Pearson product-
moment correlation coefficient is used to measure the linear relationship between two variables.
Although this correlation coefficient is often used to measure dependence in non-linear relationships.
In our case the two variables were attendance and grade, students attended classes in three modes:
Regularly with physical presence, Online but not on regular basis, Only getting materials from Google
Classroom.
Based on our correlation analysis, the correlation coefficient was 0,81 which indicates that attendance
and grade correlate strongly with one and other.

Fig. 1 Correlation of Grade and attendance

 Green Economy and Technological Change
for Sustainability

5th international Scientific Conference on Business and Information Technologies

What we can observe from figure , where on the x axis we see the attendance percentage and on the y
axis we see the interval of grades, students who were present physically achieved higher grades
marked in the figure with blue, students' who attended the course online got passing grades marked in
the figure with red, but lower in contrast to students with physical presence. And students' which did
not participate in any mode, but only retrieved their offline materials from the learning platform did
not pass the course, marked in the figure with light purple.

5 Conclusion

Hybrid learning combines in-person and online instruction. Its origin and evolution are due to
technical advances. These innovations enable both physical and virtual learning. It has many
advantages. They include increasing student participation, learning flexibility, educational access, and
pedagogy. However, hybrid learning has many disadvantages, including reduced student-teacher
connection, technical challenges, inefficient processing of bodily and verbal cues, and a potential bias
toward corporate profitability rather than solid pedagogy. In our case hybrid learning was challenging
due to the fact that the course level was very difficult, and we had regular exercises in class, where
students which participated online missed the direct link with the professor and the class, but
nevertheless they still scored better than students which did not attend classes in any the above
mentioned modes, but only retrieved the materials from the learning platform. It has been linked to
diminished practical learning capacities and poor social skill development due to reduced interactions.
Nonetheless, addressing these flaws and weaknesses can maximize good outcomes. Moreover, the
advantages of hybrid learning exceed the disadvantages. A future for hybrid learning is therefore
assured. Although schools and teachers will still be important in future education, hybrid learning will
not. Instead, they will become facilitators and motivators rather than just content providers. School
time will still be important because it will allow kids to obtain practical skills and social skills that will
contribute to a comprehensive hybrid learning experience.

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for Sustainability

5th international Scientific Conference on Business and Information Technologies

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