An instructional approach that combines face-to-face (F2F) and online learning. Each class session and learning activity is offered in-person, synchronously online, and asynchronously online. Students can decide how to participate.

This model’s flexibility demonstrates a commitment to student success, and that flexibility can also enable institutions to maintain educational and research activities during a disruption.

Faculty Considerations For Planning

The faculty will need to develop three types of learning experiences to foster active student engagement.

1. Asynchronous–for students who are unable to attend class sessions.
2. Synchronous–for students who are remotely attending the synchronous session.
3. In-person—for students who are attending in-person.

In This Hybrid Flexible Model, Will Students Have Equitable Access To The Following Items?

• Learning objectives. Will students demonstrate mastery of the objectives equitably in the asynchronous, online streaming, and on-ground experience?
• Assessments. Will you need to modify the assessments for each of the various modalities? Are assessments still assessing the same learning objective skill?
• Instructional activities. Do all students have an opportunity to participate in similar learning activities? Do activities contain student-content, and student-student and student-Instructor interactions?
• Course content. Do students have equal access to course content at the same time?

Hy-Flex Course Planning Example

The goal of this model is to make both the online and in-person experiences equal. Class participation is necessary regardless of how the student attends. The online class experience should not be a passive observation of an in-person class video stream; rather, it should be an opportunity for students to interactively with the class. Asynchronous course work should involve the student, not only with content but also with peers and the Instructor. During the streaming session, the Instructor is expected to spend equal time between the in-person and online Zoom students, perhaps alternating group facilitation with the Teaching Assistant.

The Hy-Flex Course Model was created by Brian J. Beatty at San Francisco U in 2006.

Sources

Beatty, B. (2006, October) Designing the HyFlex World- Hybrid, Flexible Classes for All Students. Paper presented at the Association for Educational Communication and Technology International Conference, Dallas, TX.

Beatty, B. (2007a). Transitioning to an Online World: Using HyFlex Courses to Bridge the Gap. In C. Montgomerie & J. Seale (Eds.), Proceedings of ED-MEDIA 2007–World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia & Telecommunications (pp. 2701-2706). Vancouver, Canada: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved April 5, 2019 from https://edtechbooks.org/-ohe.

Beatty, B. (2007b, October). Hybrid Classes with Flexible Participation Options – If you build it, how will they come? Proceedings of the Association for Educational Communication and Technology International Conference, Anaheim, CA.

Beatty, B., Littlefield, C., Miller, J., Rhoads, D., Shaffer, D., Shurance, M. and Beers, M. (2016, April) Hybrid Flexible Course and Program Design: Models for Student-Directed Hybrids. Paper and panel session presented at the OLC Innovate 2016 Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Who doesn’t love phrases, such as, “The Future is Here”? How about “The Future is Near”? Those are two phrases that we read in regard to virtual and augmented reality (VR AR). So, let’s take a walk through the “Ancient Past” and see when harnessing the awesome power of VR and AR will transform education. We can do some carbon-dating of when the future is coming.

“The future is here, and it has come faster than anyone thought. In an age marked by the rapid integration of computers in schools, the ultimate technology looms on the horizon – the age of virtual reality in schools. Using virtual reality as an educational tool conjures up visions of a Jetsons-like futuristic scenario, students exploring their schoolwork immersed in virtual reality, gaining a deeper understanding of their subjects. A physics class experiment with a simulated virtual reality lab where they control the properties of objects and observe them from any angle. In another part of the school, a social studies class uses virtual reality to travel back in time into the Battle of 1812. Spanish class visits the ancient Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza, and soon.

Harnessing the awesome power of virtual reality for educational uses will permanently change the nature and course of how children learn. No longer will children sit idly by in classrooms – the opportunity is here to provide them with an unprecedented chance to explore, engage, and visualize schoolwork like never before” (The Journal, 1999).

This article was written in The Journal more than 20 years ago. It sounds like it could have been written, today.

And, Do I Need One?

Most colleges and universities use a Learning Management System to deliver courses. You may have heard of some of the more well-known ones, such as Canvas by Instructure, Blackboard, or Moodle. You may have even taken a course in one of these popular LMS. If you are wondering what an LMS can do for your organization, let’s look at what an LMS does and why you may need one.

For corporate use, an LMS is an online application where you can house, deliver, and track your workforce development or training content. In addition to delivering content, an LMS can handle items such as onboarding for new employees and compliance training.  With the current skills gap impacting so many industries, your need for continuous educational opportunities and leadership training is ongoing.

An LMS for your business can result in improved productivity, lower training costs, and better compliance. In addition, employees are more invested when you are invested in them. Your goal with continued professional or workforce development is to enable and support employees to realize their full potential. An LMS can help with that!