Highlights of HyFlex High-Tech experience

A small group of Dawson faculty members opted to meet some of their students on campus for optional in-person classes when this was permitted from March 22-April 12. It was a lot of work to outfit classrooms with cameras and up-to-date technology in preparation for the in-person activities.

Due to public health restrictions, a limited number of students could attend classes in person for any given section. The other students would attend class remotely as usual.  This type of set up is known as Hybrid-Flexible (HyFlex) pedagogy. This model provides a bridge between online and on-site teaching, and can offer access to asynchronous course content as well (when classes are recorded). Using this model, students have access to a multitude of learning approaches: from the way content and information are presented, to the location where that content is received and even in the way that knowledge may be assessed.

Three teachers decided to use a high-tech Active Learning classroom (3F.38) for their optional in-person activities: Annie-Hélène Samson (Biology), Carmen Leung (Chemistry) and Selma Hamdani (Psychology). The room is equipped with pod tables ideal for collaborative work and with SmartBoards. The collective affordances of this room and of HyFlex pedagogy synergistically combine to form a unique learning space where students can collaborate and cooperate on artifacts online and on-site in real time. The projection of student cameras on the large SmartBoards gives a semblance of a unified group. This is an important attribute of HyFlex classrooms.

Although the optional in-person activities were halted briefly after they started, the experiences of those few weeks were invaluable and are discussed below.

Teacher testimonies: 

Annie-Hélène (Biology):

Experience appreciation grade: 9/10

Annie- Hélène never used this type of room before, but loved her experience. It was useful to try the room ahead of the first class. She enjoyed being back on campus and the students who were present did too. Seeing the smiles in the students’ eyes was worth it. The planning and orchestration of activities was time consuming, but it paid off. Annie-Hélène felt like she was preparing a brand new class, and was anxious about teaching on campus again. Like riding a bike, she says she recalled all the skills. The on-site students used the SmartBoards to complete activities designed on PowerPoint. They also created chromosome models using pipe cleaners, while the online students used cut pieces of paper. It was clear that the on-site students enjoyed a rich experience. The joy and enthusiasm in that class was evident.

Carmen (Chemistry):

Experience appreciation grade: 7/10

Carmen had the heartwarming experience of witnessing her on-site students introducing themselves to each other. All the preparations and course adjustments were worth it. The most notable challenge of her HyFlex experience was not the pedagogy, but rather the technology. The teacher SmartBoard was sluggish probably because of the high demands of the multiple platforms used (Zoom, Miro, second-screen connection, slide annotation). Trying the room ahead of time definitely helped diminish some of the technical challenges. The sound quality was also challenging. Carmen had to the repeat questions and comments from on-site students so that the online students could hear them better. Despite the technical challenges, Carmen felt better and more at ease by the second class and would have probably been even more ready by the third class. Carmen used a collaborative cloud-based platform called Miro. The online and on-site students were working in the same virtual space at the same time. However, the on-site students had the advantage of a less strained communication process than their online counterparts. They could talk to one another and easily point and collaborate on the Miro canvas. She strongly believed that she could have tapped into the full potential of that pedagogy and classroom set-up with more practice.

Selma  (Psychology):

Experience appreciation grade: 8/10

Selma used the teacher board to project the remote students’ camera feeds. It felt like they were truly integrated with the on-site students. The mood was giddy among the on-site students, and the online students noticed and claimed to be jealous of those who were present. Much like Carmen, the most notable limitations were the ones dictated by the technology. The sound was the biggest challenge. The room became quite noisy (despite the low number of attendees and masked speech). Selma used her laptop to interact with the online students while they were in breakout rooms. This ensured some level of personalized and private interactions between the breakout teams and the teacher. When the entire class was interacting, the online students could not hear what the on-site students were saying very well. Selma “Spielberged” her way across the classroom by bringing the camera with its integrated microphone closer to the on-site students whenever they wanted to make a comment or ask a question. Both Carmen and Selma’s methods were effective, but one was less worrisome for the tech and media department. It was not possible to combine online and on-site students in the same Zoom breakout rooms, but this is not an impossible feat. With the right planning and opportunity, it could be achieved.   Selma believes that a HyFlex model will be even better when the ratio of students is inversed (i.e. more students in person than online).

Student testimony*: 

These are anonymous testimonies gathered from students:

• It was great to see to the campus one last time before graduating.
• I could smell the campus. I missed that smell. I had a lot of fun and even met a new friend. I would have never been able to do that without that class. It’s an experience I will never forget.
• I had a lot of fun and even met a new friend. I would have never been able to do that without that class.
• I had the best class of the semester during those two classes that we had at the college. It had been a very long time since I had finished a class, not realizing the time had finished and wishing to have more time in the class. I really hope that next semester will be hybrid. At least we could go to college and socialize twice a week. If my feedback can influence other people to go to college, I really would love to!
• Thanks to you and to Carmen to give us the opportunity to go to college. You guys are the only teachers that offered (for me) in-person classes and it meant a lot:)
• I think it was very stimulating to be on campus (compared to online). It was obviously easier to focus as there were less distractions. The team work was more fun than in the breakout rooms, which are often silent. It was a great chance to experience this during this semester!
• I actually loved the experience. It felt like a glimpse into what college is supposed to be like, which gave me hope for next semester. Being with other people in class and meeting them in person for the first time really lifted my mood. It’s a big change from being in the basement all day… After the lecture, we all hung out and got to know each other. In these cases, every opportunity to meet people is welcome!

*A formal student survey will be distributed to students pending REB approval.

Recommendations: 

HyFlex is not for the faint of heart. It requires careful orchestration, a lot of planning and a dash of tech savvy.

Here are some recommendations for anyone interested in trying a HyFlex approach:

1. This is NOT the same as pre-pandemic fully in-person teaching.
2. This is NOT the same as online teaching.
3. Determine what you will do in class. The HyFlex model is obsolete if we only lecture or use student engagement techniques that are solely adapted to fully online teaching. It is a whole new beast (new to us) that requires its own unique activities.
4. Familiarize yourself with the room and technology beforehand.
5. Troubleshooting takes time. Plan for it. It does get better with every trial.
6. Remember to interact with both online and on-site students equally.
7. Things may take longer to complete (transitions take time).
8. Solicit student patience and help if necessary (e.g. monitoring the chat).
9. Don’t expect to do it all at once. There are many pieces of the teaching puzzle to manage at once. It’s ok to reduce your expectations of your own performance. It is ok to delegate tasks to students, technicians or other helpful souls.
10. Be kind to yourself and to students. Things may not go as smoothly as you expect the first time (or the second), but things do get better. You and the students will get more familiar with the processes.

HyFlex pedagogy has mixed reviews. It is a taxing approach that needs to be carefully evaluated and orchestrated. Teachers have to split their time and attention between on-site and remote students. In an ideal world, teachers could benefit from the help of a technician or teaching assistant. That being said, the advantages of this model outweigh its downsides. The flexibility and true inclusivity of this model are its strength.

We humans have an immense potential for adaptation. We have adapted to the remote teaching situation, and may be able to adapt to HyFlex too. Either way, it is clear that we are witnessing an evolution in education. We can agree that the universal right to education should not be limited by one’s ability to commute to a campus.

Submitted by Selma Hamdani (DALC co-coordinator and Profile Coordinator, Psychology)