Equal Access for All Students
The goal is to make all 3 groups of students--asynchronous, Zoom attendees and those in the physical classroom--all feel that they are part of the same community, with equal opportunity to learn and contribute to the course.
Here are some strategies you can use:
Have all students actively participate in online discussion tools
Encourage students to comment on each other’s posts
Mention comments from these discussions during class
Say the name of the person who contributed
Make an effort to recognize contributions from asynchronous students
Have all students add to discussions before and after class to increase the opportunities for asynchronous students to participate
Use other asynchronous collaboration tools and assignments for the whole class
Google Docs* (have students use g.harvard workspace with their Harvard Key)
Asynchronous students can use Open Cast Social to comment and add questions to recordings. This video shows how. Start watching at 1:40
Give instructions to asynchronous students during class
Look directly into the camera and talk to them.
Tell them where on the course Canvas website they’ll find their instructions.
For the first week or two, you may want to show this on your computer.
Advise them to not spend any more time on the activity than the in-class or live-online students do. Suggest they keep the video on so they know when it’s time to move on.
Learn about tools you can add to your Canvas course site
This Canvas site explains interaction tools you can use for your course
Use the Immersive Classroom for HyFlex Teaching tool (coming soon)
Let us know if you'd like to take part in a pilot by emailing: gabe_abrams@harvard.edu
Building Community
It’s important in any course for students to feel like they part of a learning community. This is even more important in courses with online students, and particularly, in courses with asynchronous students. It takes effort to plant the seeds for this community to grow, but it’s worth the effort.
Start the semester off by having students:
Introduce themselves to each other. They can:
Write an introduction on a discussion board
Record an introductory video using a method they are comfortable with, and attaching it to a Welcome Post that you create on a discussion board
Use the Student Locations tool in Canvas so they can show each other where they live
View each other’s Canvas profiles
On the first day of class, mention what you’ve seen.
Be Approachable
Let your syllabus do the talking
Include a welcome statement
Use friendly language and tone
Tell your students you are serious about employing inclusive teaching strategies in your course
Record a welcome video
Hold office hours. Consider varying the times for students in different time zones.
If you have a TA who will be holding sections, drop in once or twice during the semester.
Use your students’ names when talking to them or mentioning a contribution they’ve made. Learn to pronounce their names and use their pronouns correctly.
Expectations
It’s important that potential students understand that the expectations and experiences for students taking a HELIX Classroom/Hyflex class are different than they are for on-campus classes or even classes taught entirely through Zoom. This needs to be made clear before they register.
In addition to having expectations for the class as a whole, you will probably have expectations for each of your 3 groups of students--on campus, via Zoom, and asynchronous. And, don’t forget to let your students know what they can expect from you.
Expectations for the whole class
Let students know that a goal of the course is for the entire class to be part of the same community, even though students will be participating in different ways. So, students should be encouraged to communicate and work with students taking the course in different formats.
You can pass on some tips about inclusivity and social emotional awareness to them.
Students Participating On Campus
Encourage the students who are in the classroom with you to include the students on Zoom in their conversations, and when possible, also mention contributions from asynchronous students.
Students Participating via Zoom
Students must have the equipment needed to participate via Zoom. The Web-Conference Technology Guidelines explains what they will need. They also should try to address comments made by students in the classroom and asynchronous students.
Students Participating Asynchronously
Students are expected to watch the recordings of all the class sessions and have the same deadlines for completing assignments as the other students.
What Students Can Expect From You
Let you students know how they should contact you. Also let them know how much time it will take for you to get back to them.
Resources
Managing a large HELIX Classroom, Part I: Active Learning and Student Community
Managing a large HELIX Classroom: Part II: Class Discussions
*Some students in China may have trouble accessing Google