Hybrid Courses and Associated Distributed Learning Paradigms

Current learning management system (LMS) are distributed learning environments that allow administration, documentation, tracking and delivery of educational programs worldwide. LMSs are targeted mainly towards online learning delivery but they also support hybrid forms. In this paper we present a brief review of current trends in LMS development and a case study targeted at student-student interaction improvement. We show how the hybrid version of a course can overcome some of the challenges associated with student retention, as well as present specific web-based tools and methods that can positively impact student learning and interaction. The experimental results prove that student retention can be improved by adopting specific early warning systems while student learning is positively affected through the employment of specific tools available in the LMS.