Hybrid, blended, online or remote?!

 I have seen many people use these terms interchangeably and thus cause confusion in conversations in the educational context. I think it is important to define these terms before we talk about them, so we know we are on the same page when referring to these concepts. Below is how I see them and how they are used at my workplace, and I would be glad to hear your remarks, in case they are used to refer to different things in your institution. 

Hybrid is referred to a session where we have both online and in-person attendants. The idea is to give both parties the opportunity to actively attend and equally participate in discussions, and potentially see each other and interact with each other. To do this, certail facilities are required, like a microphone and camera on-site to let the online participants hear and see the ones who are present, and a large screen for the live audience to see the online ones. 

Blended is referred to a course where the teaching material/content is partly digital. The resources used can vary from videos to books or other forms of content that students need to go through either before or after the session with their teachers. Part of the discussions and interactions may happen outside the classroom in different forms, e.g. on discussion forums. Blended courses usually need a Learning Management System as a platform for the digital materials and interaction among students as well as communication between the teachers and students. 

Online is when the whole education is designed to be delivered over the internet, either synchronously or asynchronously. The whole course including detailed instructions is set up on a digital learning platform. These courses are either self-paced or instructor paced, they either let you do it in a certain amount of time on your own or limit you for the time that the teacher would be available for feedback. 

Remote is for courses that are not originally designed to be online but are delivered online due to circumstances. Therefore, the live synchronous sessions are held through an online platform like Zoom or Teams, etc. The rest of the course also managed similarly. For instance, the group work students are supposed to do might happen online as well, and it might be that students do not meet each other in person. The course might be an on-campus course but is delivered totally remotely for a certain time.