To Include in-person and remote learners in hybrid setting can be very challenging.
It is important to design and plan the course that takes into account the students that are in-class as well as remote students.
Netiquettes for hybrid/HyFlex setting can include:
- guidelines for technology: when to use micro and cameras,
- guidelines for discussion: when and how to participate – chat for all, discussion slots in order to include remote and in-class students. Role of a person for monitoring chat questions.
It can be complex for an educator to balance between the two groups and may ended both groups unsatisfied. To manage this, it can be more open class discussions, lots of collaboration, and various dynamic tasks so students do not lose focus. If the remote group is small, they can be easily combined face-to-face students for group activities.
Some tips:
Have every student log onto a video call. This allows remote and in-person students to collaborate in small groups.
Use chat tools for real-time collaboration and communication. Tools like Slack, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams and others allow for real-time conversation and collaboration without requiring a video/audio set up.
Prepare activities collaboration and interactions. Pre-set up “cohorts” of students (mixing in-person and remote) that stay together over time. Small groups should use technology to document and share their work, making their thinking visible to all students.
Be aware not to leave students unsupervised for a long time. Dividing attention between the two groups in class and remote students can make both groups unsupervised and unsatisfied. But to manage this, you can have more open class discussions, lots of collaboration, and various dynamic tasks so students don’t lose focus.
Pay attention to speaking and pronunciation. It might be hard for the online students to catch what the in-class students and instructor say. It is often necessary to reformulate what the face-to-face or online students said to make it clear for everyone.