Hybrid Learning Supports

Benefits of Hybrid Learning

• • Flexibility. Hybrid learning offers flexibility for how cohorts of learners can join the instructional sessions, while maintaining opportunities for collaboration and communication between peers and with their instructor. For learners who (for many potential reasons) cannot attend an in-person class, hybrid learning allows them to learn remotely from their homes and home communities.
  • Synchronous social learning opportunities. It is hard to replace the intimacy and immediacy of live discussions. Hybrid learning supports vibrant peer-to-peer interaction that creates a strong basis for group work, presentations, Q&A sessions, and deep, lively conversations.
  • Maintain in-person learning supports. The facilitation of an in-person cohort provides opportunities to those learners who need the additional structure and hands-on supports that can only be provided in a brick-and-mortar setting.
  • Equitable access opportunities. Hybrid learning extends program and course opportunities to students from traditionally underserved areas of the province, expanding the potential slate of academic offerings at regional college sites, while also enabling learning for anybody around the world who can join as a part of the synchronous online cohort.

Challenges of Hybrid Learning

• • Unique design considerations. To make the most of the hybrid learning format, each learning experience needs to be designed with deliberate attention to building connection and supporting interactive learning, both within and between the respective cohorts (in-person and synchronous online). As such, hybrid learning requires extensive design consideration, careful selection of learning activities, and potentially smaller class sizes for best results.
  • Demands on instructors. Hybrid teaching is a new approach for most educators. Instructors will need time and support to learn and apply new methods of teaching that will be effective for hybrid delivery.
  • Demand for human supports. Hybrid courses are human resource intensive, and typically require the coordinated efforts of a team of additional educators (TAs, proctors), technical support personnel (media production, technical assistants), and academic supports (instructional designers) for successful delivery.
  • Constraints of technology and infrastructure. Hybrid learning may require new equipment expenses and room upgrades (e.g., cameras, microphones, multiple screens), and some learning environments will simply not be suitable for hosting the in-person cohort during a hybrid delivery.

Jiang is teaching a 3rd-year Sociology course that is delivered in a hybrid format with the help of the Distance Education Unit. The course has seats for 12 in-person learners, and 18 synchronous online learners. Every week, Jiang teaches two 1.5-hour classes from Broadcast Studio B, where staff members from Media Production offer technical assistance with the audio, video, and a Zoom Meeting for the online learners to participate. Jiang likes to use a mixture of lecture with Powerpoint, but includes lots of spirited live discussions and informal debates to break up the lectures. He has also recently started using live polls with PollEverywhere, and has embedded these into his Powerpoints to gauge student opinions on controversial issues, or determine where misconceptions might be held by the learners. Jiang relies on small groups and breakout rooms in Zoom to ensure all students are able to engage with their classmates in the discussion topics, then asks representatives to share with the larger group. Media Production staff members record the Powerpoint display, classroom activity, and the Zoom session, and edit this into single Panopto video, which Jian later shares with his students via Canvas for post-class review. 

Audrey is teaching a 2nd-year Commerce course, and has been assigned to a technology-enabled room with multiple large display screens, cameras, and microphones to capture video and audio of the classroom activity. While 15 students are registered as in-person learners, an additional 30 students are registered as synchronous online learners. Audrey spends some time before the term begins to consult with academic support staff, plan her lessons out for the term, and get to know the technology she will use. When the term starts, she is ready to start teaching in a hybrid format. She starts each class by launching the Zoom Meeting so that the online synchronous students can join in. She relies on a variety of tools built into her Canvas course to lend structure to the activities of each scheduled class, and uses lots of Polling and Whiteboarding tools that allow both cohorts of learners to share and interact during the class. Audrey is fortunate to have a TA, who helps to moderate the Zoom chat and alerts Audrey to important comments and questions that come in from the online learners. The assessments in the course are almost entirely project-based, and Audrey relies on surveys from students to determine if they prefer to meet with project group members in-person or virtually, and assigns the project groups accordingly. At the end of the term, each group does a presentation of their work via Zoom.

Ali is teaching a graduate course in a professional certificate program, with 10 students registered as in-person learners and 20 students registered as online synchronous learners. The classroom Ali is assigned to does not have much technology built-in beyond a computer with speakers and a projector, but Ali is able to borrow some additional equipment from his department. Once a week for his 3-hour evening class, Ali brings along a single camera that he sets up with a “wide angle” shot of the classroom, as well as a lapel microphone for himself, and a wireless handheld microphone that can be passed around the classroom as needed. Ali is comfortable with launching the Zoom Meeting and connecting feeds from the classroom projector as well as the camera and 2 microphones. Ali uses Powerpoint slides to structure the activities of the class, and also sets up a series of Google Docs for his students to participate in shared note-taking activities. At times, Ali leans on didactic lectures interspersed with large-group discussions, so he moves around the classroom a lot and will pass the handheld microphone to students as needed to make sure all comments can be heard. He also encourages both cohorts of students to use the Zoom chat as a “backchannel”, and he makes sure to occasionally check-in with the online group to review and respond to their questions and amplify important comments. Ali assigns group work for several of the large assignments of the course, and allows students to self-sort into groups – sometimes they prefer to meet in-person, but typically their busy schedules make it so that virtual meetings work best. 

Provide Easy Access to Frequently Used Tools

A feature shared between fully online courses and hybrid courses is the use of the Learning Management System (LMS). Often, the LMS serves as an information and access hub for your course materials and activities. Tools that students need to use regularly should be easy to find and access. One of the first ways we can make finding the right tool at the right time easy for our students is by being selective about what appears on the course navigation. If we included everything available in Canvas in the course navigation, the list would include over 25 items! Links to tools are a distraction for learners and can get in the way of what they’re there to do: use the tool to learn.

Enhance Your Course With These Ideas:

• • Customize the course navigation, removing links not required for your course, and sequencing them by how often students will need to access them and level of importance. Learn how to customize your course navigation.
  • Use the Redirect tool for frequently accessed external sources. For example, some courses have their course materials posted publicly outside of Canvas and therefore do not include many materials within Canvas itself. The Redirect tool provides a simple way for students to access the materials.
  • A great feature in Canvas is being able to link to specific resources within your course. For example, if you’re making an announcement about an assignment, you can link directly to the assignment. This lets you keep all relevant information in one place (i.e., often you only have to make an update in one place) and provides multiple ways for students to access the very same resource. Learn about course links.

Clearly Identify Technologies, Features Used, Requisite Skills, and Supports

It is common to assume that students today are experienced and proficient with technology on day one of class. The truth is a little more complicated than that, and therefore it is important that we provide foundational supports to allow our students to get up to speed and focus on the learning as quickly as possible.

Any specific technologies (e.g., Zoom) or features (e.g., breakout rooms) that are required for full participation in your course need to be communicated to your students. Support resources for the technology and the features to be used should be shared with students as early as possible. You may wish to share with students the degree of proficiency required to participate fully in using the technology.

If students are using third-party content or tools (i.e., not built directly into Canvas), link to support resources and provide a clear explanation of how to access the content and tools.

Enhance Your Course With These Ideas:

• • An overview of the tools and which specific features will be used in the course.
    • One suggestion is to create a Module in Canvas such as Technology Support where you can list the tools used and link to documentation, video tutorials, and quick reference guides. This keeps information in one convenient place for you and your students.
  • Quick links on the course homepage to the IT Helpdesk. (and example follows this list)
  • Detailed login instructions, including what to do if learners are unable to login or need to reset their passwords in the web-based tool.
  • A list of basic skills that learners need to navigate and operate in this platform.
  • Bonus: A Panopto video on how to access the tools and find online help. Consider adding how the technology will be used, along with why the specific technology was chosen.

Help Students Learn Required Technical Skills Effectively

Similar to all skills, developing proficiency with technology takes time and practice. One way we can support our students is to provide time and opportunities to practice using the technology and features expected of them. Students should get enough time to orient themselves to using the tools and features prior to applying their new skills. We can also scaffold activities throughout the course to develop skills (e.g., if using breakout rooms, begin with a simple activity and use auto-groups rather than self-select groups).

Space out overviews, practice, and application of the technology skills in your course. This allows students to develop their skills and troubleshoot any issues that may arise. Introducing low stakes activities prior to higher stakes and more involved activities is another way to scaffold skill development.

Enhance Your Course With These Ideas:

• • Consider including how-to videos, documentation, or practice activities for each different type of feature or activity you are planning. For example, if you are doing a jigsaw activity, include a video explanation of how you expect it to work and include links to how to use breakout rooms.
  • Include specific “tips and tricks” related to the activity and required technology and feature to be used.
  • Building on the skills and features shared and used in previous activities.
  • Create a technology tips Q & A forum. Invite students who can answer questions to help support other students in the course.
  • Limit the number of different tools and features you use in your course. This will support students on their way to proficiency by repeatedly using the same tool and features.

Include Terms of Use and Privacy Policies

Our students entrust the university with their personal information and information about their activity while engaging with course work. Privacy policies often detail the types of information (identity, submissions, logins, access logs, etc.) being monitored, collected, and/or distributed.

Technology often collects data in the background, and students should be provided the opportunity to understand what is being collected, how it is being used, and feel that their data is adequately safeguarded.

Enhance Your Course With These Ideas:

• • Include a section in the Course Information Documents that includes links to the privacy policies for all technology used in the course, including the LMS.
  • Post links to privacy policies in the activity or assignment instructions that require learners access a specific technology.
  • Check with IT or Academic Technology campus partners to see if they have a page listing all technology privacy policies, which you can link directly to from your course. Ask them to include links to technologies that you are using in your course as well.

Consider Accessibility When Selecting Tools and Presenting

As instructors we have the opportunity to make students’ learning experiences better by creating content and facilitating classes in ways which empower them to participate effectively and independently. That is a goal of integrating accessibility practices into courses. In the context of hybrid learning environments, we focus on digital accessibility which can broadly be categorized into visual, hearing, motor, and cognitive. Considering your course materials and facilitation through this lens benefits disabled learners, and may improve the learning experience of all learners in your class.

Enhance Your Course With These Ideas:

• • Check with USask Access and Equity Services for guidance on accessible technologies and specific tools and approaches to avoid.
  • How to Make Your Presentations and Meetings Accessible to All is a set of guidelines from W3C that covers all aspects of presenting. Three things from this comprehensive list that can be incorporated into your presentations today include:
    • Cover all displayed text
    • Describe pertinent parts of graphics, videos, and other visuals (unless they are strictly decorative), and
    • Describe other visual information
  • The Accessibility of Remote Meetings Note, from the W3C, provides a lot of useful information for remote and hybrid meetings. A few items of note for teaching include, the following, but an Instructional Designer can assist further as needed:
    • If breakout rooms are used, ensure that all participants understand how to use them and logistics of entering and leaving them.
    • If a professional captioning service is not available, enable automated captions (Zoom, live transcription).
    • Ensure a sign language interpreter is present where applicable. The can be kept on screen using the spotlight feature in Zoom.
    • Plan for the possibility that some participants may need more time than others to complete tasks, such as writing or editing documents or using collaboration tools, that are to be carried out at the
    • Ensure that any words spoken by a person without a microphone are repeated by a person with a (Hybrid meetings)
    • Ensure that online waiting rooms are disabled so online participants that lose connection can easily rejoin without disturbing the hybrid meeting. (Hybrid Meetings)
    • Ensure that the timing of discussions and breaks are effectively conveyed to both in-person participants and online participants.
  • Make your PowerPoints accessible to your students. This includes both sharing the files, but also creating the files in ways that make them more accessible. See the Accessible Slide Presentations YouTube Playlist for step-by-step tutorials.
  • Your syllabus should include a link to Access and Equity Services for students, but you can also place a link in your course if you include a student support module.
  • Include an accessibility statement in your course. An Instructional designer at DEU can assist with writing your statement.

• • Broadcast Studio B in Education 12.1 – Visit this page for more information on the layout and technology in this classroom, which is specifically designed and equipped for hybrid teaching. 
  • USask Room Equipment Information – Descriptions of the available bookable spaces across campus, what technology is available in the rooms, and instructional materials where available. 

• • Considerations for Concurrent Hybrid Teaching – A blog post from DEU, this offers some guidance for how to deliberately design hybrid teaching activities that are equally-engaging for in-person and online learners, and considers ways to take your hybrid course “beyond simply livestreaming a lecture”. 
  • Multi-Access Delivery Models for Uncertain Times – A blog post from DEU, this was written while many instructors were transitioning from emergency remote teaching back to in-person teaching. Considering a situation where not all students would be able to return to the classroom, it offers some high-level examination of teaching modalities and some practical considerations for ensuring flexibility and equitable access to learning opportunities. 
  • Choosing a mix of F2F and remote online? Tips for smoother hybrid approaches – A blog post from the GMCTL with some tips for managing self-supported approaches to hybrid teaching.