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How many of you enjoyed in-person graduation and commencement activities this spring? I certainly did, with an honors recognition ceremony, a doctoral hooding ceremony, and two main university graduations - one for 2020/2021 graduates (finally!) and one for 2022 graduates. The joy of getting together with students, faculty, staff, and families was just incredible! At San Francisco State University, we have been waiting for this for two full years.
Not everyone could join in the in-person celebration, though, and some events provided a remote participation option for students and family. Many may think that the need for that option was a sad thing, but "better than nothing." What about you? What's your perspective? And how is this similar to a common perspective on campuses that the online participation options in HyFlex courses are "not ideal, but better than nothing."
Setting personal opinions aside, let's try to take the perspective of a student (or family member) who has earned a place in the graduation celebration but cannot attend the in-person event. This could be to health concerns, location, or any one of many legitimate reasons (... not just personal preference, but who is to say that isn't legitimate also?). If you were in that situation, would you want your participation to be considered "not ideal, but better than nothing"? Think about that for a moment. What message would that convey from the university and its representatives to the student and potentially their family?
Not good. We can do better.
This same perspective may be present in those involved in HyFlex instruction and learning. If students get the impression from the course design, the instructor's language, and facilitation skills/patterns that their participation online is "not ideal, but better than nothing", how does that impact their affective experience? What about the impact on their engagement, motivation, and eventually their learning?
If you have decided that your students need access to both online and in-person participation in your course(s) and that they need the ability to choose which path is best for them for each session, then your responsibility is to design and facilitate effective, engaged, and motivating learning experiences in every mode you provide. Students have a shared responsibility in their learning, of course, but first and foremost you (faculty, designer, administrator) have the responsibility to make sure this is available to them.
If you need resources and/or skills to help you provide an excellent learning experience in all modes, then start looking for ways to acquire them. It may take time, but we should have this as a driving goal for our implementation.
As you listen to the conversations (in-person or online) in your academic networks, it may become pretty clear that most of us - at least on occasion - can do better. And if you really don't believe that you can provide quality in all modes, then perhaps you should rethink your strategic choice to use HyFlex courses.
Next Gathering Scheduled: June 23, 2022
Topic: What is the Impact of HyFlex Courses on Campus Community?
We’ve scheduled our next gathering event (webinar) for June 23, 8 am – 9:30 am PDT (GMT/UTC -7) to discuss the potential impact that offering HyFlex (hybrid and flexible) courses may have on campus community life. When students are free to choose to attend class in person (on-campus) or online, does this change the campus experience? With legitimate concerns over the reduced social engagement on campuses during the pandemic, and the impact that may be having on school enrollment and class registrations, this is an important question for institutional leadership to consider, and HyFlex practitioners should be part of this discussion. Does a large number of HyFlex courses further reduce on-campus community? Does offering flexible learning solutions to students attract more enrollment? How can we assess the impacts? Bring your ideas, questions, and comments, and join us live online if you can. Registration link: https://bit.ly/3HdkSOJ
HyFlex "In the News"
This month I am highlighting the work of York University (Toronto, CA) in reporting an update to the campus community on their HyFlex pilot effort, and plans to increase the number of courses this coming academic year. They share some excellent support resources; you may want to check those out.
1. "Success of hyflex pilot is a collaborative effort" by Elaine Smith published May 19, 2022 at the YFile website: https://yfile.news.yorku.ca/2022/05/19/success-of-hyflex-pilot-is-a-collaborative-effort/ Read this short newsletter article to hear about their strategic effort to start small, build success, refine technology plans, and align administrative systems to prepare for a more substantial rollout of HyFlex this coming academic year.
The support team has provided a substantial HyFlex Guide for faculty, available here: https://www.yorku.ca/teachingcommons/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2021/11/Hyflex-Document_MFM4.pdf Full of helpful additional links for local faculty, this guide may help you decide the support your campus should prepare for faculty, and perhaps consider an accompanying guide for students!
Another excellent resource (from my perspective at least), is this website describing the technology provided in their HyFlex classrooms: https://lthelp.yorku.ca/hyflex
If you'd like to see more examples of institutional support resources, visit the HyFlex Learning Community forum, HyFlex Resources to Share - https://www.hyflexlearning.org/forums/forum/hyflex-resources-to-share/
HyFlex Course Design Workshops June 13-17 and July 18-26, 2022 - open for registration
Our HyFlex Course Design workshops this summer are happening June 13-17 (M-F) and July 18-26 (M, W, F, M, T) 2022. This fully online workshop is hosted on our own LMS site, is facilitated by several members of the HLC team, and consists of five 90-minute synchronous sessions throughout the week, supported by online resources and asynchronous discussion activities each day. Fully asynchronous participation is also supported. Participants can earn up to two HyFlex Learning badges for workshop activities and the completion of all assignments.
For a full description and the opportunity to enroll, visit https://www.hyflexlearning.org/workshops/ If you'd like information on how to register groups or pay for registration other than with a credit card, please contact us at hyflexlearning@gmail.com.
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