Best Practices for Hybrid and Hyflex Teaching

Teaching to a WEB or hybrid class of students, especially classes with a mix of students attending class in-person via video, can be challenging for instructors. To get you started we have identified basic strategies that can help you prepare to deliver your classes to mixed audiences.

Prioritize

What do students NEED TO KNOW to be successful in your class? Be sure you provide a road map to help students navigate your course.

Communicate

Clear, consistent, and regular communication with your students is key.

• Send an announcement or email via Canvas communicating your plans, expectations, and any details they need to know to engage in your class.
• Post your Syllabus in Canvas.
• Consider creating a recurring Zoom meeting to hold office hours with students. This can benefit all your students (and instructors, too), not just those who attend class remotely.

Keep It Simple

Create what you need for online engagement. You do not need to explore every tool available in order to deliver a successful, robust class. Keeping it simple will help ensure that your students can easily navigate your course and are clear about what is expected of them.

Record Your Lectures

Consider creating recordings of your lectures and/or holding live Zoom sessions during your scheduled class time. You can use Zoom conferencing to record asynchronous and live sessions. Penn State offers Zoom video conferencing to meet with up to 500 people online simultaneously. For classes over 500, Microsoft Teams can accommodate up to 15,000 people. Note: We recommend recording live sessions for students who are unable to attend synchronously due to illness/time zone/travel restrictions.

Be prepared to create video and audio on your computer. You can accomplish this without the purchase of expensive equipment. We recommend this microphone and webcam. The RIIT Group may also have equipment available for loan.

Keep Students Accountable

Set up an assignment dropbox for each of your assignments in Canvas. Create a Kaltura video quiz or a Canvas quiz that covers the material you provide online. Create discussions for students to engage around lecture material/readings/cases that you post.

Rethink Assessments and Grading

When preparing to move a course that was originally designed for a face-to-face format to hybrid or hyflex delivery, it is important to review and possibly rethink your assessments. Assessments that work well in a classroom may not always work well in the online format. Adjustments may be necessary to ensure your assessments both measure your students’ mastery of course objectives and are easy for students to navigate.

Learn more about Grading and Assessment.

Ask for Help

eLDIG is available to work with faculty and staff to discuss everything from advice for creating engagement online to suggestions for software, microphones, and camera settings to keep your course running as smoothly as possible.