| Abstrakt: |
This article analyses ambivalences in reflections of first year Bachelor of Clinical Medical Practice students on the use of subject-specific YouTube videos in an Academic English for Health Sciences course at a South African university. It attempts to understand how conflicting views on a hybrid approach to teaching professional communication components of this course and self-directed learning influence students’ levels of engagement and motivation during lectures as well as their overall academic performance. It also seeks to examine the implications of such ambivalences for the promotion of hybrid classrooms in the South African higher education context. The article acknowledges that there are scholastic benefits to blending traditional lectures with Web 2.0 technologies such as YouTube videos. However, it argues that for hybrid education to stimulate classroom spaces and enhance students’ academic performance, learning materials, practical activities, and assessments should be carefully planned by lecturers and students. It further contends that, although a hybrid classroom requires some degree of self-directed learning, this process should be driven collaboratively, with lecturers providing students with the requisite support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
